1. Plant a Tree or Garden
The summer is a great time to help the environment and make the earth and your neighborhood more beautiful. Two organizations that promote tree and flower planting are:

Community Blooms
Kids' flower- planting project

Trees for Life
Tree-planting project

2. Become a Volunteer Lifeguard
How to find out more information:

Junior Lifeguard Programs

U.S. Lifesaving Association

3. Take a Volunteer Vacation
Overseas Volunteer Opportunities

Best Bets for Volunteering Abroad http://www.volunteertravel.com/ Volunteer Travel http://www.charityguide.org/vacation.htm how to make a difference during a volunteer vacation 4. send your kids to volunteer camp http://www.ajss.org/ American Jewish Society for Service - high school work camps Volunteer work for teens http://www.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?pageLoc=/story/21/story_2159_2.html&boardID=2517 6. Be a Parks Volunteer Many volunteering opportunities exist for people who like to spend their time outdoors. Environmental advocacy groups often have outdoor volunteer programs. There are also organized service projects on hiking trails and in national parks. http://www.sca-inc.org/ student conservation association http://www.serviceleader.org/advice/outdoors.html guide to volunteering outdoors in parks and wilderness areas. Offers many more outdoor volunteering opportunities. Wildnerness Volunteers http://www.wildernessvolunteers.org/ 7. Do a Park or Street Clean-up Many communities have organized clean up days. But this is the kind of thing you can easily do on your own, too, or in a small group. Keep your town or city looking beautiful in summertime. http://www.kab.org/ Keep America Beautiful Where you can find your local affiliate http://www.kab.org/listing1.cfm has urban partnerships to keep cities clean too Also provides easy ways for kids to keep their neighborhoods clean. 8. Build a House for a Family Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical housing organization that builds new homes for homeless or low-income families. Read more about Habitat and its founder Millard Fuller here. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7047_1.html Find a habitat affiliate near you" http://www.habitat.org/local/ 9. Participate in a Charity Run or Bike Ride Combine the good weather and your athleticism for a good cause. Summertime is full of running, walking, and biking for charity opportunities. For example, check out the:

Cure Autism Now 5K http://www.cureautismnow.org/calendar/maryland5K/autism5k.htm in Potomac, MD on July 4

http://www.mos.nmss.org/events/MS150.html MS 150 Bike Tour in St. Louis, Missouri in September Plus: http://www.charityguide.org/fewhours/funrun.htm how to make a difference by participating in a fun run or check out CharitySports.org a listing of running, golf, swimming, biking, and related events 10. Participate in a Kids' Literacy Programs During the months off from school, help children in your neighborhood stay on top of their reading skills and learn to enjoy books, or become a summer tutor in a subject that you know well. Check out these sites:

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/SimpleThings/ Simple Things you Can Do to Help Kids Read

http://www.rif.org/ Reading is Fundamental, a national grassroots network of family and children's literacy volunteer programs. 11. Check Up on the Elderly or Ill in Your Community Each summer, hundreds of people suffer or die from heat exhaustion and related illnesses. There are ways to prevent this. -learn first aid http://www.parasolemt.com.au/afa/ http://outreach.missouri.edu/newfront/summer/heatinjuries.html How to prevent heat-related injuries/ check on the elderly in your neighborhood http://www.reachoutforwarmth.org/summer.html reach out for warmth - helps low-income people in Minnesota pay their summer electiricy bills summer fan drives http://www.familyeldercare.org/programs/summerfandrive.asp Council for Jewish Elderly http://www.cje.net/involved/volunteer_op.html