There’s a day in November when Americans celebrate giving thanks, and many adults give money to charity at the end of the year, as well.

Kids can do that, too, but there are many other ways they can embrace the giving spirit this season — and all year long.

In November 2016, Kids VT published a cover story listing 20 ways families could give back to their communities. Inspired by that feature, we compiled a new list of good deeds that includes a few of those suggestions, along with some new ones.

We hope they help families make a positive impact — and teach kids that anyone can make a difference.

1. Compliment someone you know. A few kind words can make someone’s day. Try to do this once a day for a week to make it a habit. Ideally, compliments are specific, timely and honest. It can be as easy as telling someone “I love your necklace” or complimenting your mom or dad for making a great breakfast.

2. Smile, make eye contact, and say “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” to a stranger. This could be the staff at a local store or someone you pass on the sidewalk.

3. Bake something sweet that’s easy to share. Think holiday cookies, cupcakes or a gingerbread house. Bring it to your neighbors or someone who helps you as part of their job, such as a teachers, librarians, bus drivers, coaches. Don’t like to bake? Give flowers instead.

4. Shovel snow for a neighbor, especially if they can’t shovel for themselves.

5. Write a card to an elder in your family or community to lift their spirits during the darkest time of the year. This could be a grandparent, a neighbor or someone who lives in a nearby nursing home. Wish them a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy solstice or happy new year. Draw them a fun picture to go along with it.

6. Designate some of your birthday or allowance money for others. Spend a third of the money, put a third into savings, and donate the final third to a favorite charity.

7. Organize a drive for a local food shelf. Ask relatives to bring something nonperishable to a holiday meal. Level up by using Front Porch Forum to invite neighbors to drop off donations. Work with your classmates or teammates to collect items.

8. Create a little bookstore or pantry and fill it with nonperishable items that anyone walking by can take.

9. Volunteer as a family. For example, families of up to four people can offer to make a meal or bake something at the Ronald McDonald House in Burlington, It’s a place where families of children receiving treatment at the University of Vermont Medical Center can stay and eat for free. You can sign up to cook or bake by calling 802-862-4943 or emailing info@ronaldmcdonaldhousevt.org.

10. Grant a wish. Many places have a holiday giving tree, with requests for toys or clothing for families in need. Another idea: Hold a fundraiser or donate money to Make-A-Wish, which grants wishes to children who have a terminal or chronic illness.

11. Help military families whose loved ones are deployed with the Vermont National Guard. Individual Guard members do not control where and when they’re deployed or how long they’ll be away. The men and women who serve are our friends and neighbors — they help out during natural disasters and emergencies such as the pandemic — and their families are often under stress during deployments. You can offer a donation or provide a service through the civilian-created website vtguardsupport.org.

12. Send a kid to summer camp. Spending a week or two at summer camp gives kids an opportunity to play games outside, swim, paddle a canoe and do crafts with friends. Many camps have scholarship funds, including Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, which serves kids who have or had cancer.

13. Help animals. Donate dog food or toys to the Humane Society of Chittenden County in South Burlington. In Morristown, the North Country Animal League enlists willing adults and kids ages 8 and up to be dog or cat care assistants and to help with cleaning, laundry and facility maintenance. Franklin County Animal Rescue in St. Albans has a wish list that includes kitten food and cat litter. It’s also seeking foster homes for dogs and cats.

14. Clean out your closet. Round up clothes you no longer wear and donate them to resale shops such as Goodwill in South Burlington and Williston; ReSOURCE in Barre, Burlington, Morrisville and Williston; and ReStore in Williston, Milton and Swanton. The latter benefits Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity.

15. Buy new clothes for someone else. Organizations such as Spectrum Youth & Family Services in St. Albans accept new or gently used clothing donations. The University of Vermont Medical Center’s Emergency Department also collects new winter clothing for patients in need: gloves, hats, warm boots, warm jackets, sweatpants or sweatshirts — sizes L to 3XL. Donations can be dropped off at the front desk of the main hospital entrance — indicate that it’s for the ED — or directly at the ED entrance.

The original print version of this article was headlined “Helping Hands | Fifteen ways for your family to give back”

This article appears in Kids VT Winter • 2026.

Seven Days’ deputy publisher and co-owner Cathy Resmer is a writer, editor and advocate for local journalism. She works in the paper’s Burlington office and lives vicariously through the reporters while raising money to pay them. Cathy started at Seven Days as a freelance writer in 2001 and still has the Rolodex to prove it. As the paper’s first online editor, she launched Seven Days email newsletters and started the paper’s first social media accounts. Cathy has overseen Kids VT, Vermont’s...