Some ideas for what your community might be include:

• School Community: Addressing issues within your school, such as bullying prevention, mental health support, or improving extracurricular activities.
• Local Neighborhood: Initiatives to enhance safety, cleanliness, and community engagement in your neighborhood.
• Environmental Community: Efforts to combat climate change, reduce pollution, or promote sustainable living practices.
• Cultural or Ethnic Community: Celebrating and preserving cultural heritage, promoting diversity and inclusion, or addressing challenges faced by specific cultural or ethnic groups.
• Senior Citizen Community: Programs to combat loneliness and support the elderly, such as senior center activities or technology training
• Immigrant or Refugee Community: Offering support services, language assistance, or cultural integration programs for newcomers
• Gender or LGBTQ+ Community: Advocating for gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and creating safe spaces for marginalized individuals
• Rural or Farming Community: Addressing rural challenges like access to education, healthcare, or sustainable agriculture practices.
• Digital Community: Promoting online safety, combating cyberbullying, or raising awareness about digital literacy.

There are lots of ways to discover a problem that affects a community you care deeply about. In addition to your own life, here are some ideas:

• Environmental Concerns: Many students are passionate about the environment and may care about issues like pollution, littering, deforestation, and the well-being of animals.
• Bullying: Bullying is a significant concern for students. They may want to create a more inclusive and kind school environment.
• Community Cleanliness: Students often notice litter and trash in their neighborhoods or at school. They may want to organize clean-up efforts to improve their surroundings.
• Animal Welfare: Young children often care deeply about animals and may want to help strays, advocate for responsible pet ownership, or support animal shelters.
• Hunger and Homelessness: Some students may be aware of people in their community who are struggling with hunger or homelessness. They may want to start food drives or fundraisers to help those in need.
• Education: Students may want to improve their own schools by suggesting changes, such as better playground equipment or more engaging lessons.
• Health and Wellness: Health-related issues like promoting exercise, healthy eating, or mental health awareness can also be of concern to elementary students.
• Cultural and Diversity Awareness: Students might be interested in promoting understanding and appreciation of different cultures and backgrounds within their school or community.

No idea is too big or too small! Here are some ideas for social projects that K-7 students can undertake to make a positive impact on their community:

• Trash Cleanup: Organize a community clean-up event to pick up litter and beautify local parks, playgrounds, or streets.
• Kindness Rocks: Paint inspirational messages or artwork on rocks and leave them around the community to spread positivity.
• Book Swap: Set up a book exchange station where people can donate and borrow books for free, promoting literacy and a sense of community.
• Thank You Cards: Create and distribute handmade thank you cards to local firefighters, police officers, teachers, or healthcare workers to show appreciation.
• Community Art Project: Organize an art project where children create colorful murals or paintings to decorate public spaces.
• Senior Outreach: Visit a local senior center and spend time chatting, playing games, or doing crafts with the elderly residents.
• Recycling Initiative: Promote recycling within the community by creating informative posters or bins for collecting recyclables.
• Supporting Animal Shelters: Collect donations for animal shelters — such as pet food, blankets, and toys — and deliver them to a local animal shelter.
• Environmental Awareness Campaign: Raise awareness about environmental issues, such as pollution or water conservation, through informational campaigns and interactive activities.

Let’s say the problem the student wants to solve is environmental concerns in their community, and their solution is to create a community clean-up event. Here are some ideas on next steps:

• Learn About It: Find out more about the problem, like how much trash there is and why it's a problem.
• Make a Goal: Decide what you want to achieve, such as having a really clean playground.
• Plan a Cleanup: Get ready to clean up the area with your friends.
• Get Supplies: Find bags and gloves to help you clean.
• Tell Everyone: Let your friends, teachers, and parents know about your cleanup plan, so they can join in.
• Clean It Up: Go out with your friends and start picking up the trash.
• Take Pictures: Before and after pictures will show how much better it looks.
• Show Everyone: Share the pictures and tell everyone how it went.

Sometimes the best ideas are when you remove any possible barriers. There are no guidelines for this question – be bold.

Let’s say the student project is a community clean-up. Here are some roles young people and adults could play to put this idea into action:

• Communicator: Communicators spread the word about the project by talking to teachers, classmates, and parents to get them involved.
• Creative Designer: Creative designers make posters, flyers, or visual materials to raise awareness about the project.
• Materials Manager: Materials managers keep track of the supplies needed for the project, such as gloves and bags for a cleanup.
• Event Organizer: Event organizers plan and execute specific events related to the project, like a cleanup day or awareness campaign.
• Motivator: Motivators encourage classmates and friends to participate and stay excited about the project.
• Safety Officer: Safety officers make sure everyone follows safety rules during activities like cleanups or events.

Here are some ways we see young people engage others to take action:

• Create Eye-Catching Posters: Design colorful and informative posters that explain the problem and its importance.
• Organize a School Assembly: Organize a special assembly to present the problem and share information about our project.
• Morning Announcements: Share your project on the morning announcements to encourage other students to join in. 
• Start a Club or Group: Form a club or group of like-minded students who are passionate about the issue. Together, we can brainstorm ideas and plan events to address the problem.
• Engage Teachers: Talk to a teacher to incorporate the issue into a lesson so more students learn about it during class.