Module 2: PLAN IT
Community Service
Planning Guidelines
Planning Community Service
Ask yourself, will we do Community Service as a school group or as individuals? If you’re doing it as a group, think about what’s available in your community. For example, joining tree planting days or community events where help is needed. If Community Service will be managed by individual students, we have a list of organisations and ideas on the Challenge Hub which you and your students will get access to once you’re signed up.
Community Service Ideas
1. Rubbish Pick-Up or Tree Planting
Students can do this with minimal adult supervision. You can find local planned days through Sustainable Coastlines and Google.
2. Street Appeals
Shake a bucket and collect money for a nationwide charity.
3. Donate time
Volunteer man-hours. From working at the SPCA, the local library, an aged care facility or coaching younger kids.
4. Get creative – sew, knit, bake or draw
Donate handmade items to people in need, the local hospital, Plunket or charity op-shops.
5. Think big and organise donations
Rally the community together to donate goods, food or money and donate it to an organisation like Women’s Refuge or the Salvation Army.
Community Service FAQs
How do students figure out what to do?
We have lists of organisations and Community Service ideas on the Challenge Hub which you’ll get access to once you’re signed up.
Ask your students to think about their interests or an organisation that’s close to their hearts. Are they interested in helping the environment or younger children? The elderly or animals? An organisation like Cancer Society NZ, or the SPCA?
You can use the Volunteer NZ website or Google to find organisations in your area, ask whānau for suggestions or ideas as they might belong to an organisation like Lions, Rotary Clubs, Sports Clubs or a Church. Or get social! Use your social media community pages to search for ways to help the community.
When can students do their Community Service?
Most students complete their Community Service hours outside of school hours, but a school can organise an event during school hours too.
Ask yourself – do my students have support at home to complete their Community Service outside of school hours? If not, consider whole class Community Service projects during school hours.
How do students introduce the William Pike Challenge?
We provide students with a branded document that introduces them as William Pike Challenge students and explains what they’re working towards. It can be found in the Challenge Hub. They can print it out or attach it to an email when they’re introducing themselves to organisations or groups.
Our volunteers are becoming quite popular and some organisations know all about the William Pike Challenge kids!
How are Community Service hours tracked?
Through our Challenge Hub! We encourage students to share photos and write reflective writing when they log their hours too.
Students need to include their supervisor’s email address when they log their Community Service hours so they can be verified. An automatic email is sent to their supervisor for approval. Once it has been approved, the Community Service hours are recorded in the students’ Challenge Hub profile.
Is the 40 Hour Famine a Community Service activity?
We prefer students to use their Community Service to make a difference in their local community.
The 40-hour Famine can be counted, but only recorded as two hours towards their Community Service hours.
Can students do more than one kind of Community Service?
Yes! Students can participate in many different types of Community Service throughout the year.