Explorer Service Ideas

Service can be done by anyone at any age.  

This post should hopefully help provide you with some ideas on what service activities might be appropriate and what might be available for the different ages in our troop.  These are just ideas and really...the opportunities to provide service are endless.  Use this as a tool and build your service ideas and opportunities from here.  No service is too small if it's showing God's love to another!

We encourage you to serve behind the scenes (shopping for a food pantry) and directly with those in need (serving lunch at a food pantry).  

Explorer     10 hours of service = 1 service star

Explorer Service Ideas

• Set up a lemonade/bake sale and raise money for a special cause or organization that you pick.  Make the food, set it up and be the salesperson.
• Offer to clean the toys at a local church or day care.  
• Take a neighbors pet for a walk.
• Volunteer at a local moms group in their childcare...some organizations are MOPS and Teen MOPS.
• Talk to a local pet shelter and help out with whatever tasks they might need help with...or just to play with the animals.
• Offer to babysit a child or play with some kids so a mom you know can have a break.
• Pick weeds in a community flower bed, at a local school or at a local church.
• Work at your church - consult your church's Children's Ministry Team to see what you might be able to do to help.
• Be a baker for transplant recipients and their families at Gift of Life Transplant House.  Girls can shop, plan, bake, clean-up and help deliver the food.  All time working on these things counts as service.
• Hold the door open for someone at church...without anyone even asking you to do it.
• Send a card to your Sunday School Teacher
• Color placemats for Season's Hospice in Rochester.  Just give them a call to pick up some that you can work on at home.
• Make a tie blanket for a child through an organization such as Project Linus.
• Ring bells for The Salvation Army
• Send a card to your teacher at school letting them know how much you appreciate them.
• Drop off a plant or baked goods at your local fire station.
• Rake your neighbors lawn.
• Write your mayor, representative, president, etc. and let them know how much you appreciate their service to the community.
• Put together a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child and deliver it to your church or local drop off center.  Count your shopping time as well as your wrapping of the items for service.
• Walk around a park or your neighborhood and pick up trash.
• Cardsforheroes.org is always looking for cards to send to service men and women overseas.  Make cards for them to use that are blank and the service men and women can use these to send letters back to their families.  See their website for more details.
• Visit someone in a nursing home (non-relative).  Make a craft or card for them too!
• ask at church for any names of peopleto visit or call and ask a nursing home.
• The Elder Network Faith in Action Program is in need of friendly visitor volunteers.  Commitment is one time per week at elderly persons homes.  United Way of Olmsted County has more information about this opportunity.

Reminder:  The service star program is to award the girls for community service.  This is service outside of the family.  So visiting an elderly woman at a nursing home is service, but visiting your own great-grandma in a nursing home is not.  

If your daughter wants to earn an award for service to family, that is awarded separately through our badge program.  The badge is titled, "Family Helper".