During the holiday season's celebrations, many people tend to forget about those less fortunate who could use help. For this reason, service-learning projects that focus on community sharing are particularly significant around the holidays. Incorporating academic learning into normal holiday school food or clothing drives are project ideas and can last year round.  But how can a simple donation drive become active service-learning?

First, visit local shelters and food banks to determine the agencies' needs. This is especially important since there are many misconceptions about the demographics of homelessness and its causes. A large percentage of the homeless are women and children, therefore affecting the items that are most needed by shelters. Common items in demand, like diapers, baby food and toiletries tend to be forgotten. 

Students can also meet with people living in shelters, discuss issues that affect the residents and find out directly what they need the most.  Students might sponsor a specific family, making dinner for them at Thanksgiving and donating presents for their children for the holidays.
 
Discover the donation sources for a local food bank. Donations for these centers have steadily decreased since the advent of “dollar stores” throughout the last decade. Many companies who used to donate goods damaged or near expiration, now sell these products to dollar stores for profit. The goods once received for free by food banks are often sold at reduced prices in local chains. Have students try to locate potential donors and start a business recruitment program.

Here are some other ideas for service-learning projects concerning the issue of homelessness and hunger:
  
1.  History classes can research several periods in history to learn how local, national and global events affected rates in homelessness, such as the Great Depression, World War II, or local droughts affecting rural farmers. Visit local senior and retirement communities where students can conduct interviews to find out how events like the Great Depression affected the residents' lives.

2.  Students in math classes can determine the cost of providing an individual or a family with basic items for a year by calculating the yearly cost of clothing and nutritional meals for a family. They can then compare this calculation to the changes in inflation and costs of living over recent years in relation to the percentage of homeless people each year.  Students can begin to learn how world events can affect economic trends and national employment rates. 

With this knowledge, students can network with local businesses to find sponsors for each item, such as supplying baby formula for a specific child. Talk to local drug stores about donating their travel or trial/sample sized items to the local shelter.

3.  Visit local senior and retirement communities to locate individuals with hobbies that could be used to help the homeless. Talk to a local knitting club about knitting blankets or sweaters for children at the local shelter, or find a sewing club interested in providing a season of clothes for an individual.

4.  Help network a woodshop class with Habitat for Humanity for a day of service-learning. Take a home economics class to a local soup kitchen to help cook the day's meals. Have a printing and graphics class design flyers for a fund-raising drive or business cards with directions to a local shelter or soup kitchen. Talk to a health education class about the importance of child immunizations, and help parents at a local shelter find clinics to provide these services.
 
Too often the issue of homelessness falls victim to stereotyping and speculation. When students meet people at a local shelter, they will learn about the experience in a more personal and real way. By putting a face to the problem, students can directly reach individuals and make a direct impact on their lives. As this holiday season approaches, actively involve your students and teach them the spirit of giving.