Service Scavenger Hunt

Deal 10 small acts of service for a team, a club or a family, scored 1 to 3 points.

Service Scavenger Hunt

Team nameAdult with the team

  1. Buy nothing. Anything given comes from your own home, with a parent's OK.
  2. An adult goes with the team for every task outside the home.
  3. Stay out of the road and knock only on doors your team knows.
  4. Photos show the finished task, never the people you helped.
  1. Make a thank-you poster for the people who collect your trash and recycling2 points. Tape it where they will see it on collection day.
  2. Clear fallen leaves from a neighbor's steps2 points. Ask first. A broom or a rake, no blowers.
  3. Bake cookies for a fire station or a shelter that accepts them2 points. An adult handles the oven; ask the place first.
  4. Plant flowers in a shared bed where the owner says yes3 points. Use plants or seeds you already have.
  5. Make a poster asking your club to bring one item for a drive2 points. Name the item and the day.
  6. Make a thank-you card for a nurses' station through the front desk2 points. The desk decides where it goes.
  7. Make a card for a neighbor who lives alone2 points. Deliver it with an adult from your team.
  8. Pick three cans from your own cupboard for a food bank1 point. Ask first, and check the dates.
  9. Shovel a neighbor's walk after snow3 points. Ask first, lift small loads, and stay off the road.
  10. Gather books your family has outgrown for a donation box2 points. Only books your family agrees to give.

Points: of 21

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How it works

This service scavenger hunt swaps finding things for doing things: 60 small helping tasks, from a thank-you card for your mail carrier to a shift at a food bank, scored 1 to 3 points. Nothing is bought.

Read the full guide

A day or a week of helping

For one afternoon, pick Cards and thank-yous and Make and give: everything happens at a table. For a week, deal 20 from all five lists and let teams report back with photos of the finished task, not of the people they helped.

A community service scavenger hunt

Neighbors and community and Clean-up go out into the neighborhood, so an adult goes with every team. The 3-point tasks, such as a food bank shift, happen only where a place asks for volunteers: call ahead.

Tips
  • Score what was finished, not what was planned: a half-shoveled walk is 0 points and a good lesson.

Questions and answers

What are good service scavenger hunt ideas?

Small jobs that help someone today: write a thank-you letter to your local fire station, sort donated items by type, make bookmarks for a library that hands them out, shovel a neighbor's walk after snow.

Is it safe for a youth group or a family?

Every task keeps the printed rules: nothing bought, nothing taken, an adult outside the home, nobody in the road and no knocking on a stranger's door. Tasks with a hot oven or snow carry their own note.

How is a service scavenger hunt scored?

Each task carries 1, 2 or 3 points, shown at the start of its note. A team scores a task once it is finished, and the organizer decides whether a photo or a word from the person helped is proof.

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All 60 tasks

Cards and thank-yous 12

  • Draw a card for someone in a care home 2 points. Hand it to the front desk; staff decide who receives it.
  • Make a card for a neighbor who lives alone 2 points. Deliver it with an adult from your team.
  • Make a thank-you banner for the lunch staff at your school 2 points. Ask the office where it may hang.
  • Make a thank-you poster for the people who collect your trash and recycling 2 points. Tape it where they will see it on collection day.
  • Make a welcome card for a new family on your street 3 points. Deliver it with an adult, and knock only if you know them.
  • Tape a thank-you note for delivery drivers to your front door 1 point. Big letters, readable from the step.
  • Write a thank-you card for your mail carrier 1 point. Show the finished card, then leave it in your own mailbox.
  • Write a thank-you letter to your local fire station 2 points. Mail it, or deliver it with an adult.
  • Write a thank-you note to a crossing guard 1 point. Hand it over from the sidewalk, never in the road.
  • Write a thank-you note to a librarian 1 point. Name one book or event they helped with.
  • Write a thank-you note to a park ranger or a park crew 1 point. Leave it at the park office or the ranger station.
  • Write thank-you notes for the volunteers who run a club you belong to 2 points. One note per volunteer, each with their name.
Show all 60 tasks (48 more)

Clean-up 12

  • Clean up after a practice, a game or a meeting your team attended 1 point. Leave the room or field cleaner than you found it.
  • Clear a storm drain grate of leaves on your own street 3 points. An adult does it with you, from the curb, never in the road.
  • Clear fallen leaves from a neighbor's steps 2 points. Ask first. A broom or a rake, no blowers.
  • Collect litter along a beach or a riverbank 3 points. A grown-up with you, well back from the water.
  • Help set up or clean up at a community event 3 points. Only where the organizers ask for helpers.
  • Pick up 20 pieces of litter in a park 2 points. Gloves on, a grown-up with you, sharp things left for the adult.
  • Pull weeds in a community garden that welcomes volunteers 3 points. Ask a gardener which plants are weeds before you pull.
  • Sort your home's recycling correctly for a whole week 2 points. Check the rules for your area before you start.
  • Sweep the sidewalk in front of your home and a neighbor's 2 points. Ask the neighbor first; stay on the sidewalk.
  • Tidy a little free library box and straighten its books 1 point. Take nothing and add only books you own.
  • Wash the shared balls and cones after a team practice 1 point. Everything back in its bag, dry.
  • Wipe the crumbs off every table after a club meal 1 point. Water and a cloth are enough.

Collect and give 12

  • Check the dates on donated food before it goes in the box 1 point. Set aside anything out of date for an adult.
  • Collect unopened soap and toothpaste from home for a shelter drive 2 points. With a parent's OK. Unopened only.
  • Find unused school supplies at home for a supply drive 1 point. New or nearly new only.
  • Gather books your family has outgrown for a donation box 2 points. Only books your family agrees to give.
  • Gather spare towels or blankets for an animal shelter that asks for them 2 points. Check the shelter's list first.
  • Give away a toy in good shape that nobody plays with anymore 1 point. Wash it and check it is whole.
  • Make a poster asking your club to bring one item for a drive 2 points. Name the item and the day.
  • Pack crayons and paper you already have for a waiting room 2 points. Ask the office first whether they want them.
  • Pick three cans from your own cupboard for a food bank 1 point. Ask first, and check the dates.
  • Put together a board game with every piece for a community center 3 points. Count the pieces against the rules sheet.
  • Sort donated items by type at a drive your team is running 2 points. Food, clothes and books in separate boxes.
  • Sort your own clothes and bag the ones that no longer fit 2 points. Clean and folded, for a place that takes clothes.

Make and give 12

  • Bake cookies for a fire station or a shelter that accepts them 2 points. An adult handles the oven; ask the place first.
  • Decorate paper placemats for a community meal that asks for them 1 point. Crayons or markers, nothing that rubs off on food.
  • Draw a map of the free places near you: parks, libraries, water fountains 2 points. Mark each one and give the map to a new neighbor.
  • Fold paper stars for a waiting room whose office says yes 1 point. A string of ten counts.
  • Knit or crochet a square for a blanket drive 3 points. Check the size the drive asks for.
  • Make a birthday card for a care home's monthly party 2 points. Hand it to the front desk.
  • Make a no-sew toy from an old T-shirt for an animal shelter 2 points. Knotted strips only, no buttons or beads.
  • Make a thank-you card for a nurses' station through the front desk 2 points. The desk decides where it goes.
  • Make a welcome sign for the newest member of your club 1 point. Their name, spelled right.
  • Make bookmarks for a library that hands them out 1 point. Ask the library first; ten is a set.
  • Make flash cards for a younger student's spelling list 2 points. Their list, their words, neat enough to read.
  • Plant seeds in cups from your kitchen and give the seedlings away 3 points. Only once they have their first true leaves.

Neighbors and community 12

  • Carry groceries in for an older neighbor who asks for help 2 points. Only for a neighbor your family knows.
  • Collect a neighbor's newspapers and mail while they are away 2 points. Only with their OK, handed over by an adult.
  • Give an hour to a library's reading buddy program 3 points. Sign up through the library.
  • Hang a bird feeder made from things you already have 2 points. In your own yard or a garden that says yes.
  • Help at a food bank shift that welcomes young volunteers 3 points. Sign up through the food bank.
  • Make a list of local places that take donations 2 points. Name, what they take and their open days.
  • Plant flowers in a shared bed where the owner says yes 3 points. Use plants or seeds you already have.
  • Put up a notice for a neighborhood clean-up day 2 points. Only on boards where notices are allowed.
  • Read aloud to residents during a care home visiting program 3 points. Only through the home's own program.
  • Shovel a neighbor's walk after snow 3 points. Ask first, lift small loads, and stay off the road.
  • Walk a neighbor's dog with the owner beside you 2 points. The owner holds the leash if the dog pulls.
  • Water a neighbor's plants while they are away 2 points. Only with their key handed over by an adult.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site by its editors in September 2026: 60 small acts of service for a team, a club or a family to finish in a day or a week, in five lists: cards and thank-yous, clean-up, collecting and giving, making and giving, and neighbors and community. Nothing was copied from another list. Every task follows the same rules: nothing is bought, anything given comes from the team's own homes with a parent's OK, anything outside the home is done with an adult, nobody goes into the road or knocks on a stranger's door, and volunteering happens only where a place asks for helpers. No charity, store or place is named. Points and levels are the editors' judgment. Licence: own work