The CAS Project

A successful CAS project is a requirement to earn the IB Diploma.  UAIS students must propose their CAS project no later than their second interview in December of junior year.  Though they need not begin at that time, we strongly recommend all students complete their CAS project no later than the end of the summer before their senior year, so that it can become a focal point of college applications and scholarship applications. The rubric requirements for the CAS project can be found under the "Rubrics" tab of this website and on Mr. Spear's CAS training packet (see "Student Handouts" tab).

CAS Project Ideas

Below are almost 50 examples of actual CAS projects conducted by current and former students at UAIS that have been particularly successful and rewarding and may be utilized by the incoming Diploma Programme candidates.  See the following students/teachers for more information on:

Volunteering at The Detroit Zoo: The Detroit Zoological Society is looking for energetic youth ages 14-17 to be part of our Zoo Corps. This is an opportunity to earn community service hours while working with a team from the Education Department at the Detroit Zoo. Benefits include leadership experience, customer service training, learning and practicing communication skills, and a professional work setting. Opportunities to volunteer stretch throughout the year, including weekdays, evenings and weekends.

"March is Reading Month" Evening Book Club Event: Do you love to read and discuss your favorite books?  Consider an evening event where you and a group of fellow juniors each pick one book of any subject area or genre--fiction or non-fiction--that is your MUST READ BOOK and recruit one staff member and a group of students to read that book and discuss it one evening during a "March is Reading Month" evening book club at UAIS.  All CAS project students must recruit and work with the teacher to design the discussion questions together and lead a lively discussion that evening.  The entire group should celebrate before or after with some snacks and drinks and invent a quick program to laude the books being discussed that evening for a future reading list.  If March is too tough a go, you could also consider a summer event, though that might be trickier with teachers' schedules and building accessibility.

Tutoring International Students the English Language: ENGin is a non-profit initiative providing free, high-quality speaking practice for English learners in Ukraine while offering all English speakers throughout the world a flexible and rewarding service opportunity.  Visit: Home| ENGin (enginprogram.org) for more details.  No teaching experience is required.  Applicants must be between 14-25 years of age.  Time commitment per student is 1-1.5 hours per week.  You may take on more than one student at a time.  After submitting an application, you will have one 15-minute interview where you'll be asked about your preferences, hobbies, time zone, and gender preference before being approved and connected to a student who has been properly vetted and screened for you!

Junior Leadership Macomb: Are you interested in being a more socially aware and active member of your county?  Are you open to collaborating with student leaders in other school throughout Macomb County?  Do you want to serve as a representative to your school on behalf of leaders of Macomb County?  If so, apply to the Junior Leadership Macomb program by June 30th at http://www.leadershipmacomb.org.

Ninth Grade Heritage Honors Night: Each year in May, our principals and Heritage counselors put on a evening freshman farewell honors night at a local hall as a formal event.  If you are interested in leading this event to provide a memorable farewell to the Heritage 9th graders that evening, please speak with our principals about this leadership opportunity.  You would be responsible for a number of tasks to help design a smooth event, and you would likely be in attendance as well.  

"Prepare for College" Presentation to Heritage Freshmen and 8th graders: Particularly suited for juniors and seniors is the opportunity to visit Heritage classrooms and provide advice to 9th graders about how to prepare oneself to apply to college.  This would include providing minimum requirements at state institutions, a discussion of class choices, leadership and volunteer advice, and anything else you wish to share.  See Ms. Fitzsimonds for more details.

For Fall 2023 ONLY--UAIS TedTalk for Staff and Alumni: An ultimate fundraising opportunity for our program, recruit teachers and UAIS alumni to present a TedTalk on something of academic or personal importance.  Note: A more ambitious project would be to host auditions for individual students as well.  In either case, you goal is to have between 5-7 speakers.  Promote your evening event, and charge admission so that current students and families can come see their teachers present.  All proceeds would go to the school or to a senior class gift, for example.

"Meet the UAIS Staff" Mural: Work to collect a brief biography of every UAIS teacher/administrator, and create a large board that has each teacher's bio and picture to greet incoming students and families as well as show off the accolades, awards and educational commitments of the one and only UAIS staff.  Fundraising won't be necessary to buy the supplies.  Just work on designing a template and collecting the information from the staff.  A little artistic design to make it appealing and finding the wall space to mount the final product is important, but definitely doable.  If you are interested, find a partner or two and come speak to Mr. Spear!

Mock Skit of UAIS Teachers: Particularly suited to theatre students but fun for anyone, work with students in your grade to produce a mock teacher skit where you jest at your teachers' mannerisms, quips, dress/demeanor, personality traits, and hangups.  Write an script of a comedic situation and develop a performance that you can present with your classmates on one of our Olympic Days.  This has been incredibly successful and hilarious in the past.  The challenge is to find the time to rehearse where all players can be present.  Excellent for a creativity project!  Hilarious for the school.  This is a summer project when you're off from school.  See Mr. Spear or Mr. Kuhlman for more details.

Heritage School Supply Project: Each card marking, UAIS and Heritage students throw away countless amounts of gently used or unused materials and supplies that could be donated to future students at Heritage, in the school district, or in other communities whose students are in great need.  This project would require 2-3 students who are willing to work with UAIS and Heritage teachers to provide collection bins for supplies that are re-usable at every locker clean-out for both schools.  After storing and cataloguing these materials at the end of the year, these students should spend their summer earmarking a certain number of supplies to remain at Heritage for incoming students in need and donating the rest to another school in the district or local community in desperate need.  If you are interested in staring this project, please see Mr. Spear.


Special Needs Camp: The Autistic Play Place located in Sterling Heights is not only a fantastic place to earn volunteer service hours but has also been the focus of a number of gymnastic camps that UAIS students have put on in the past.  If working with special needs children is something you're interested in, give the Autistic Play Place a call!

American Red Cross Blood Drives @ UAIS/Heritage: Want to save lives?  Work individually with Mr. Zacharias (Heritage staff) to recruit blood donors for a minimum of two Blood Drives to be hosted in the UAIS/Heritage Media Center.  Talk to or email Mr. Zacharias (kenneth.zacharias@uticak12.org) for more details.

The Humane Society of Macomb: At the Humane Society of Macomb, volunteers are asked to help out with either the cats and/or dogs by playing with them, walking the dogs, etc.  This is done for the animals in order to develop their relationships with humans and enforce positive interactions with the animals so that they are ready for their future homes.  If interested, please contact the center directly.

UAIS Lip Sync Battle: A ongoing tradition/fundraiser at UAIS; the lip sync battle is a night of fun, singing, and dancing for students and teachers! How great would it feel to be the ones planning this night of fun? Planning the lip sync battle is just as fun as being in it, but anyone who wants to plan the lip sync battle must be good communicators(with both students and staff!), diligent with deadlines and planning, and reliable. Running the show requires student and teacher interest in performing, audition dates, rehearsals, mass advertising to students and families, concessions, an emcee, and a reward for the winner. These requirements are demanding and sometimes challenging, which is why we recommend 2-3 people to take on this project. All the proceeds earned through this show are donated to the UAIS Debate and Forensics teams. Contact Mr. Kuhlman if you're interested! 

Football Manager: Do you love the game of football?  Looking for a way to contribute on and off the field?  Student managers are an integral part of any football team.  You can earn service and action hours for this extended project.  Download the document attached in the section above and see Mr. Layson (high school coach) or Mr. Crossen (junior high coach) for further details. 

UAIS Senior Yearbook Supplemental: A great combination of creativity and service!  Each year, the yearbook comes out in the fall, which means there is no way to sign yearbooks on Senior Day.  A senior supplement costs $20 and provides the extra pages for seniors to sign each other's yearbooks before they actually arrive.  You do NOT need to have journalism experience or even be in yearbook to run this project, but under the supervision of Mrs. Yeokum, you will learn some basic design rules and publication ethics.  Here are the requirements of this project:

By September of junior year, meet with Mrs. Yeokum and have this CAS project approved at meeting #1.
You will have from September to April to get at least 35% of the senior class to pay for a supplement for senior year.
At 35%, this means the project is a success (29 seniors out of 81).  If you fail to get 35% of juniors to purchase it by April, you will need to find a new CAS project.
After April, continue to sell into senior year to maximize participation.
Work with Mrs. Yeokum to design the actual supplement, collaborating with the student(s) who are getting pictures for the senior slideshow CAS project.
Meet with Mrs. Yeokum after or before school for design approval.  Produce, publish and get many thanks from your graduating class.

This is 2-3 person group for this project.  See Mrs. Yeokum for more details.

Water Works Academy/Water Works Theatre: Are you interested in beginning or sharpening your acting skills over the summer between your junior and senior year?  The Water Works Theatre Company, based in Royal Oak, is looking for students just like you!  Visit their website at: www.waterworkstheatre.com for more information on how to join and potentially earn action hours in addition to the creativity hours for a CAS project.

Operation Prom: Everyone knows how expensive prom is, but luckily, most girls have the money to attend the event. Imagine what it would be like to be asked to prom by a boy and decline--not because you don't like him--but because your father has been laid off or because of family medical expenses.  What do you say to him?  What do you tell your friends?  Too often, this is a choice between lying and embarrassment for girls in our community--and to no fault of their own.  What if there was a way to provide these girls with a dress for free?  Operation Prom seeks to solve that issue.  We are looking for a motivated group of students willing to collect gently used prom dresses of every style, color, and size and for a list of girls that counselors, teachers, and administrators in our other buildings can provide.  As an addition to the project, students can raise money to provide the cost of tickets for those girls especially in need.  Visit: http://www.operationprom.org for more details.

Earthworks Urban Farm/Capuchin Soup Kitchen: Earthworks Urban Farm and Soup Kitchen is a combination urban farm and provider of food to the local community of Detroit.  Volunteers help grow fresh, healthy, and organic food options to the attached food kitchen for those in need.  The organization is unique in that it provides opportunities for creativity (building a garden), action (working the garden) and service (helping those in need).  Student opportunities involve providing service on-site in the food kitchen, working the organic garden, and contributing fundraising to help sustain this urban project.  For more information, please visit their website: http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/# for ways you can help in an extremely unique setting.

UAIS Charity Fashion Show:  The UAIS Charity Fashion Show strives to combine theatre, artistic vision, and innovation, all while using fashion and apparel design as a medium, to fundraise.  Profits from the show are then provided to the UAIS arts department to alleviate the cost of essential student materials.  An opportunity to fuse two prior separate realms: theatre and fashion.  No longer do models simply walk down a runway; a visual and performance-art based showcase takes place.  Contributing to our idea that a fashion show is an opportunity to prsent an alternate reality to an audience, designers will create individual collections inspired by their take on one common theme and then compete on our larger-than-life stage during a night filled with food, music, and entertainment.  New to this year's show, the audience will vote, alongside our panel of judges, deciding who will win a prize and the opportunity to host and direct the following year's UAIS Charity Fashion Show.  Members are split into committees to create and execute tasks in the different areas of the event, and many of these opportunities can serve as CAS hours and even as a student's CAS project.  Please see Mrs. Khan for more information!

Princess Party: At your home elementary school, invite younger siblings of UAIS students, daughters of staff members, and any other girls from ages 2-6 for a special princess party.  Have the girls all dress up in their favorite princess dress, and have a few UAIS girls dress up like Belle, Snow White, or another princess.  Have a contest for the best look-alike or invite girls in a talent contest to show their singing abilities to their favorite princess songs.  Decorate cookies or have a cake made especially for the event through the fundraising you do.  Or even put together a video collage of the favorite princesses or create a quiz bowl with questions for the older girls.  This has been a successful event at other schools. 

"Senior" Prom: Stage a prom for senior citizens at one of our local retirement communities for which you already volunteer or wish to volunteer at.  With a group of students, design a prom with dinner or snacks for the senior citizens and "classic" music they would enjoy dancing to, perhaps even the music selections that they request from the memories of their own prom.  This has been a successful project for a number of UAIS students at local senior homes.  Find one in your living area and contact the event coordinator.

The Pulsera Project: This non-profit organization promotes Nicaraguan students, artists, and communities through the sale of colorful handwoven bracelets, called "pulsera" in Spanish.  These bracelets are colorful, artistic, and unique.  Visit pulseraproject.com for more details or see Senora Burak.

The Birthday Project: Set up a table at parent-teacher conferences and allow parents to purchase an in-school birthday delivery bag for later on in the year that will be delivered to that student on his/her birthday.  Fill the bag with a parent card that they can fill out at the table, and choose from a pre-selected variety of treats and cute cut-outs that you design.  Arrange the bags by date, and deliver them during lunches.  Donate all proceeds to your favorite club or department!

Bi-Annual Salvation Army or Purple Heart Drive: With a partner or two, arrange a 1-2 week pickup of all supplies that your local Salvation Army will take for the needy.  Identify a room in the building for drop-offs of materials, and speak to all service leadership groups to encourage participation.  Make announcements, send emails, and coordinate collection and delivery of these to your local office.

HOSA: HOSA is a student medical organization and growing club at UAIS that allows students to explore the medical field through community and national projects as well as providing opportunity for volunteer work in the community associated with health care service organization, which is critical experience to students considering a career in the health care field.  Visit: http://www.hosa.org/node/11 for more information or talk to Ms. Kasperek for more information about joining or being involved in a potential service and creativity project.

Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo (NEW!)A great activity/service project to put your cross-country training to good use: The Detroit Zoological Society hosts the annual Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo on in the early fall of each year. Participants can compete in the 5K and 10K races or take part in the Fun Walk and help support the Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex and veterinary care for the Zoo's animals. All proceeds benefit the Detroit Zoological Society.  5K and 10K runners race through the scenic streets of Huntington Woods surrounding the Zoo.   Visit: http://detroitzoo.org/events/run-wild for more information.

Japanese "J" Club: Sullivan-Sensei needs a group of 3-4 motivated students to form a board of president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer to continue to build and run Japenese club at UAIS.  Meetings would occur every other week for one hour for the general membership and one board meeting with Sullivan Sensei.  The total time commitment would be roughly 3-4 hours after school per month, and the focus of the club would be to provide cultural experiences to the members: crafts, games, food, and others.  Great for creativity and service opportunity!

GoComedy! Improv Company/Talent Show (NEW!): Located at 9 Mile and Woodward in Ferndale, GoComedy! is where students can learn take classes to work on comedy skits and routines, as well as improvisations.  Great for kids in theatre, debate, forensics, or any kids who want to rid themselves of stage fright and build confidence in speaking and performance.  Pair this with building a comedy routine with friends at the annual UAIS talent show, and you'll got yourself a hilarious CAS extended project!  Website:  http://www.gocomedy.net/classes.html.

Restoring Heritage as a National Landmark: In the front parking lot of Heritage stands a sign marking our building as a historical landmark for the first groups of people on the North American continent some 11,000 years ago.  The sign, built decades ago, is in need of replacement because no funds are available locally.  This project would pair you with community leaders, businesses, and organizations locally at the Sterling Heights central offices to build a new modern sign that replaces the old one.  See Mr. Spear for details.

Senior Class Gift for Student Senate Members: Sponsor a fundraiser for your class to purchase an outgoing senior class gift for UAIS.  As juniors, raise funds of between $200-$800 and find something needed or in the spirit of the IBO and UAIS to leave as your legacy.  See Mrs. Khan for more details.

Teacher Appreciation Breakfast and/or Video: During Teacher Appreciation Week, run a fundraiser to sponsor a thank-you breakfast for the staff at UAIS.  Recruit volunteers from Key Club or NHS to help you make and deliver the breakfasts and invite the staff to watch a video that you have created from interviews with current students to show your appreciation for the work that they do.  Contact Mr. Spear for further details.

Crevolution Robotics: Interested in science, robotics, and engineering?  Crevolution is UCS-sponsored team dedicated to the construction of robot design that competes at state, national and international championships.  This is an excellent opportunity for students to earn creativity hours or create a CAS project if they become President or Vice President of their club, helping Mr. Battaglia to organize meetings and events.  If you have questions, please visit the website: crevolutionrobotics.org or see Mr. Battaglia for more information.  For information, please see Mr. Battaglia.

Powderpuff Tournament vs. IA Macomb (Fall and For Student Senate Members): Each fall, we go to battle with our IB counterparts at the IA Macomb in a friendly game of girls football.  We need iorganizers to arrange the following: coaches, players (girls only!), cheerleaders (guys only!), contact the Athletic Director at Ford to use Dunkel Field, and organize rules and regulations that each school agrees upon.  Finally, you would be expected to recruit our fan base from UAIS through posters, announcements, and your classes.  Practices in the summer and fall should be conducted to retain the coveted Powderpuff Trophy!  Please see Mrs. Khan or Student Senate for more information.

Card-Making or Gift Baskets for US Troops: Are you the creative type, good with design, colors, art and paper?  Work with a small group of students who are interested in designing and creating cards for a particular group (military servicemen and women, a senior home on Valentine's Day, or another occasion) to provide some joy and thanks in their lives.  Using her room and supplies--and possibly fundraising to get some of your own, this activity--or project if taken for a significant period of time and dedication--can be completed on your schedule and pace over a long duration and be a service to others under the right circumstances.  Please see Mr. Spear for details.

Soles 4 Souls: Soles for Souls is a charitable organization providing gently used or new shoes to impoverished children all over the world.  Two of our graduates successfully collected hundreds of pairs of shoes from various elementary and junior high schools all over the school district and were published on the Utica Learning Interchange.  A very successful project and a relative hit with local elementary schools!  Visit: www.soles4souls.org for details.

Adopt a US Soldier: Serving in the military is among the most challenging and sacrificial jobs to which anyone can commit themselves.  Adopt a Solider allows you to connect with one soldier in particular for whom you will send letters, cards, and care packages while this individual serves our country far from home, family, and friends.  Go to http://adoptaussoldier.org to see more information on how these care packages work.  These volunteers can put you in contact with a US solider to care for.

Key Club District Board, Committee Chairperson, or Club Board Member: For Key Clubbers, one of the best leadership opportunities exists at the Service Leadership Conference (SLC), where you would run for the Michigan district positions of Governor, Secretary, Bulletin Editor, Treasurer, or Lieutenant Governor of Division 16.  Other committee-appointed positions that you can apply for include Membership Development Chair, Projects Chair, New Club Building Chair, and Convention Chair.  This year-long commitment will allow you to serve all Key Clubs of Michigan, working with Kiwanis district volunteers and some of the most talented and hardworking Key Clubbers in the state of Michigan.  Another option is to become a board member on the UAIS Key Club board and work to provide servant leadership opportunities for UAIS Key Club.  If you are interested, please see Mr. Spear for more details.

Student Senate, Student Advisory Board, and Student Voice Committee Members (note: can be a project or an activity depending on your role): SAB, Senate and SVC provide unique opportunities for UAIS students to provide service and creativity to the student body by working with staff and the student population.  In Student Advisory Board, you will learn more about Student Development Days and Student Olympics. Student Senate will teach you about facilitating or participating in social activities such as the talent show, spring formal, and Lifetime Fitness Lock-In, homecoming, and more.  Student Voice allows you the opportunity to organize presentations to staff and students or take on important initiatives that happen at UAIS.  Please see Mrs. Khan, Mr. Layson, or Mr. Spear for details.

Academic Assistance Program Volunteer: The Academic Assistance Program is an after-school tutoring club designed to provide one-on-one help to UAIS and Heritage students in need of academic assistance on a weekly basis.  Other students have more specialized one-on-one sessions with students at the elementary level who have requested help from other students.  Participating as a member would only constitute service, but individualized tutoring with one particular student could constitute an extended project if lesson plans were created as to meet the 2/3 of the criteria on a consistent basis.   Applications will be available to students soon by the new coordinators.  Please see Mr. Spear for more information.

SOAR Tutoring Program: If you are interested in helping tutor a student in academics on a weekly basis, this is a great opportunity because the sessions and students are arranged for you.  All it takes is attending a 90-minute training session prior to tutoring and deciding upon a schedule that works best for you.  Recommended highly by a current UAIS parent who participated as a mentor to children.  For an extended project, your "product" could be a testimonial or letter of recommendation by both the student and the parent, both of which could be included in your college application or portfolio.  For more information, please see Mr. Spear or visit the following website for more information: http://www.eaglesportsclub.com/soar/soar.html

Recycling Program at UAIS/Heritage: One student would be responsible for running a recycling program throughout Heritage, providing recycling bins to all classrooms and emptying them every Friday.  This can and should be paired with Heritage's "Green Schools Initiative" to quality as both service and creativity.  Contact Mr. Multhaupt for more details.

Class Graduation Video: Graduation is sooner than you think.  Capturing all of the best moments means capturing them now, not later.  This opportunity should be discussed and approved by student advisory board but could provide enrichment of the graduation experience and be a wonderful opportunity.  See Mr. Spear if you are interesting in discussing this idea further.

Build an Autonomous Vehicle: Sponsored by Square One and IAV, work with a group to earn creativity and service hours in building an autonomous Barbie Jeep.  This is an especially fun group project for those interested in technology and science but requires quite a bit of coordnation and teamwork.  A grant of $2000 can be provided by the company to get your project going.  Contact Mrs. Pfannes for more details.

UAIS French Club: Madame Blain is looking for one or two students to continue her French club at UAIS.  This club would constitute both creativity and service.  Students would be responsible for planning the club's agenda and activities and seeking  the advice of Madame Blain's own experiences with her former club at Eisenhower.  Contact Madame Blain for more details if interested.

UAIS Recycling Club: Be responsible for coordinating the emptying of bins throughout Heritage/UAIS for an entire school year.  You will need to communicate effectively with staff to place bins in the hallways on a given day after school each week or two.  Contact Mr. Multhaupt for further details.

UAIS French Club at Oakbrook: Madame Blain's outgoing seniors have established a wonderful connection with students at Oakbrook Elementary, teaching them lessons in French and providing them many wonderful creative activities and other projects over the course of the last year or two.  She is looking for a small group of students to continue that tradition next year.  If you are interested, please see her or Mr. Spear.

UAIS Spanish Club at Schwarzkoff: Current seniors Sanziana Bona and Paige Ferland have worked with principal Lou Misovski to design a Spanish club at Schwarzkoff with the current elementary school students over the last year, teaching them lessons in Spanish similar to the French club at Oakbrook.  If you are interested, please talk to either Senora Burak, Senor Scalici or call Schwarzkoff to discuss this continuing possibility with Lou Misovski.

UAIS National Spanish Honors Society/UAIS Spanish Club: The UAIS National Spanish Honors Society needs board members who are dedicated to running the club, recruiting and evaluating members, sponsoring and holding activities and events, and developing leadership skills.  By joining as a member, you have the opportunity to apply for or being recommended to a position on the club, such as president or vice president, that can serve as your CAS Extended Project.  Please contact Senor Scalici or Senora Burak for more details.

IB Music Night: ​Arrange auditions and then celebrate the musical talents of students at UAIS.  Sell tickets to students at lunch and hype up your event.  Charge admission and donate proceeds back to the music department at UAIS.  See Mrs. Hofer or Mrs. Gard-Eret for details.

Senior/Freshman Handprint Walls: Each year at UAIS, incoming freshmen and outgoing seniors paste their handprints in the main IB hallway.  Contact Mr. Layson with information on organizing this for both grades at the beginning of your senior year.

Michigan Humane Society: Past students have constructed makeshift kitten homes or forts to donate to the Humane Society through a Key Club sponsored event.  This project would involve the gathering of cardboard, art design materials, and other resources, and then recruiting a large number of students, perhaps through Key Club, to put the forts together before shipping to the Humane Society.  More information can be found by discussing this and other project opportunities by contacting the the Michigan Humane Society or visiting their website.

Visual Arts/Theatre Fundraiser: See Mr. Kuhlman or Mrs. Khan for information on how you can give back to both departments with a list of important supplies that all students at UAIS can benefit from.  Feel free to pair this with some of the projects listed above, or come up with your own fundraisers that can help support.

Elementary School Language and Art Clubs: Art and language clubs have been very successful for students at UAIS, paired with principals at home elementary schools to provide visual arts or foreign language enrichment, events, activities, and celebrations with a 20-30 elementary school students once per week over the course of a semester or school year.  Each three-person team rotates weekly responsibilities in lesson planning, gathering supplies, and classroom managing behavior/helping students during the lesson.  This is a wonderful experience that teaches leadership.  See a current junior or senior who is currently doing their project, or see Mr. Spear if you aren't sure who to contact.


Other Ideas for CAS Projects That YOU Can Start…

1. Soup Kitchen: Organize a small group of students to volunteer at a nearby soup kitchen for a number of times over the course of a year.

2. Forgotten Harvest: Go to forgottonharvest.com to see how you can volunteer either your time or resources to contribute.  Become a team leader of a small group over the course of year or run a food drive on off-holiday times preferably, and you have an extended project.

3. Dresses for Africa: Visit www.littledressesforafrica.org for more information on how this project can help provide clothing to African children, who have none!

4. Hugs for Soldiers: Our soldiers commit much of their lives away from their families to provide security to the rest of the American people.  Support them at any time of the year, but especially around holidays, by generating a project from the ideas at www.hugsforsoldiers.org.  These fun, hands-on projects will help you give back to those who put their lives on the line every day.

5. Blanket-Making: Select a hospital, homeless shelter, retirement home or other location in need to making blankets that you cut and tie from materials that you purchase as a result of fundraising.  Jo-Ann Fabrics has all of the supplies you need and simple instructions online will have you making original blankets for a special group in need.  No sewing necessary!  

6. Fleece Mittens: Many individuals go the entire winter without adequate gloves or mittens to cover their hands.  Using a simple pattern at the following link, you and a small group can donate dozens of mittens to a homeless shelter for the holiday season: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/01/fleece-mittens.html.  

7. Stocking Stuffers: Set up a fundraiser at UAIS to raise the funds necessary to stuff stockings for a local homeless shelter.  Provide necessary items, such as toothbrushes, socks, snacks, and other necessities that you brainstorm.  Pair this with a soup kitchen visit for a great extended project!

8. Teacher or Student Survival Kits: Show your appreciation either to the UAIS staff or another staff in UCS or--if possible--the incoming freshmen by fundraising to create either a Student Survival Kit or Teacher Survival Kit at the beginning of the year.  Brainstorm important supplies that teachers or students seem to run out of that are needed in every class, and provide this thoughtful gift as a way to give back to the UAIS community in some way.  

9. Sponsor a School Team/Club: Is there a team or club that is desperately low on funds that needs to be successful?  Become their boosters for one year.  Provide fundraising help.  Get teachers or students in the club motivated and creative to provide low-cost and low-overhead ideas to raise money to send a team or group on a trip or provide funding for a critical need.

10. Holiday Caroling: In the fall, start a caroling group at the school.  Set practice times each week, and set a visitation schedule for the holiday season.  Provide creativity and service hours to other students in the process!

11. Candy-Grams: Sell candy or flowers at lunches and deliver to students at a later date.  Use the proceeds to support a club or department in school.  

12. Make Bird Feeders:  Sponsor a program at a local elementary school where you teach young students how to make and give the gift of bird feeders to family members and friends.  Fundraise for supplies, if necessary, or use the proceeds to help that elementary school with its projects.  Visit http://www.ehow.com/how_6533247_make-bottle-bird-feeders.html for more information.

13. Dog/Car Wash: Car washes are typically a lot of work to raise $200-300.  However, if done the right way, they can provide a lot more money than the convention ones.  Create posters, recruit 20-25 individuals and find a busy location on a nice weekend.  Get each of your participating members to be sponsored or pledged PRIOR to the event, so that you can get the fundraising you need even before the car wash occurs.  Usually this doubles or triples the amount the car wash raises and everyone gets a bigger piece of the fundraising total.

14. Adopt a Family: Plan to provide Christmas gifts to a family in need at the holidays.  Go to: http://www.voami.org/Services/Children-Youth-Families/Adopt-A-Family for more information on how to fundraiser and sponsor a family in need.  Wrap presents and deliver to provide the best holiday ever to some children in need.

15. Holiday Veterans' Dinner: Thank your local veterans by raising money and hosting a special dinner for their service to our country.  Have each family involved cater dishes to save on overhead and rent--or seek for free--the rental of a local establishment to provide a great home-cooked meal to honor these veterans.  

16. Nursing Home Secret Santa: Organize a nursing home Secret Santa gift exchange at your local nursing home by having senior residents fill out a card describing what they like, pairing your group of students with a senior resident or two, and arranging a day of gift-giving.










  .