Connecting Skills and Interests to Community Needs

Anticipatory Set 

Do you know what you're pasionate about? Do you have special talents you can volunteer to help serve your commuhnity? Are you aware of what your community needs are? This video will help you connect your passions and talents to helping out your community. 

Video

Questions

1. What are some of your interests and skills?

2. What are the needs you have observed in your community (may be defined as a geographical place or by shared interests)?

3. What steps can you take to learn more and take action using your passions to meet those needs?

Follow Up 

A "community needs assessment" may involve interviewing nonprofit staff, conducting surveys, observing issues, looking at maps of what is in the community, and analyzing statistics to find out where needs are in the community that are not being met. Start with your interest area - the arts, poverty, animals, equity - and find out as much as you can from people and research.

Ask the experts what is needed and match their list with your interests and talents to address one part of the gap.

What are the next steps you can take in helping serve this need with the resources you have? Be creative! How can you take small or big actions to begin to create change in your community? 

Take voluntary action with your unique time, talent, or treasure that makes one small difference for the common good.