You want to be involved?

How to plan at your church
  1. Name a point person and gather a team to help plan, promote, and pray!
  2. Consider some ideas for getting involved.

There are two types of serving your church can do for Love Cedar Valley:

Kindness Outreaches (these are acts of kindness that people can come to the Love Cedar Valley kickoff and sign up for on the spot. Participants will sign up under a certain outreach sign and head out with a leader for the 1 1/2 hour Kindness Explosion with a group of 6-10 people to a given location. This kind of outreach will allow people from different area churches to serve together side by side! Your church can plan to provide outreach leaders and supplies for one or more general walk-up outreaches.) Here are a few examples from 2006: Soda Giveaway- Leaders and sodas were provided by Harvest Vineyard for this walk-up outreach at a bus stop.
 
Nursing Home Visits- Leaders took groups to various nursing homes to visit residents.

Fresh Carnation Giveaway- Ten location leaders provided by Orchard Hill; two location leaders provided by First United Methodist, carnations provided by Orchard Hill and First United Methodist.

Service projects (these projects are planned by churches and filled with members of their own congregation. Some of these projects will go outside of the 1:00-2:30 p.m. serving time, but all try to be done by the 2:45 p.m. in order to worship together in celebration!) Here are a few examples of service projects done in 2006:
 
Cedar Valley Church - sending a group that day to House of Hope to finish a playground in the backyard. Also going door to door in their church's vicinity with popcorn, free movie rental, and candy package.
 
First United Methodist - They made goodie bags for staff and students at Lincoln Elementary, their Partner in Education and neighbor. They also sent a group to the NE IA Food Bank that morning to serve. And there were families who went to the Western Home on the 29th to play board games with residents.
 
Saint John Lutheran - Moms group made May Day baskets with their children and deliver in the neighborhood of their church.

Orchard Hill Church - Sent two groups to work at Habitat for Humanity. A group also went to the House of Hope to paint a dining room, entryway, and stairway. A group went to Longfellow Elementary to paint and decorate a stage area and the faculty bathroom. A group went to two Longfellow soccer games that day to cheer them on and provide snacks and lawn chairs for the teams and their families

Need MORE Ideas?


Public Places

  • Soft Drink Giveaways
  • Newspapers
  • Vinyl Gloves
  • Umbrella Escorts
  • Windshield Washing
  • Coffee Giveaways
  • Restroom Cleaning
  • Urinal Screens
  • Restroom Deodorizer
  • Grocery Bag Loading Assistance
  • Bag Packing at Self-Serve Grocers
  • Grocery Cart Returns
  • Quarters Attached to Cards for Phone Calls or Parking Meters
  • Donut Giveaway during Morning Traffic
  • Cookies
  • Lifesavers
  • Dollar Drop
  • Quarter Drop
  • Chewing Gum
  • Lollipops / Blow Pops
  • Small Bags of Taffy
  • Gourmet Chocolates (Truffles)
  • Bottled Water Giveaway
  • Flower Seeds
  • Freshen-up Packs - (mints & moist towelettes)

Sporting Events

  • Coffee Giveaways
  • Soft Drink Giveaways
  • Popcorn
  • Popsicles
  • Windshield Washing
  • Peanuts
  • Sunglasses (cheap ones!)
  • Hand Cleaning Towelettes
  • Freshen-up packs - (mints & moist towelettes)
  • Trash Pick Up
  • Bottled Water Giveaway
  • Glow in the Dark Necklace Giveaway

Downtown

  • Windshield Washing
  • Soft Drinks for Shoppers
  • Parking Meter Feeding
  • Umbrella Escorts
  • Business Window Washing
  • Toilet Cleaning
  • Cart Token for Shopping Carts
  • Soft Drink Giveaway to Employees
  • Cookies
  • Cappuccino
  • Polaroid Photos at Carriage Rides
  • Shoe Shines
  • Hand Cleaning Towelettes
  • Stamps in Front of Post Office
  • Business Blasts
  • Seeds on Cars

Parks

  • Doggie Treats
  • Pet Festivals
  • Hot Dog Grilling
  • Helium Balloons for Kids
  • Polaroid Family Photos
  • Picnic
  • Ice Cream Coupons
  • Gatorade at Biking Trails
  • Pictionary in the Park
  • Flower Seed Packets
  • Face Painting
  • Doggie Dirt Cleanup
  • Doggie Wash
  • Golf Balls
  • Golf Tees
  • Golf Ball Cleaning
  • Pump-up Spray Water Bottles
  • Lambs Lunch
  • Matthew's Party
  • Clowning
  • Bottled Water Giveaway

Automobiles

  • Car Wash
  • Windshield Washing
  • Check Oil and Fill
  • Single Mom's Oil Change
  • Washer Fluid Fill
  • Tire Pressure Check
  • Interior Vacuuming
  • Interior Window Cleaning
  • Bulb Replacement
  • Windshield Ice Scraping at Apartment Complexes
  • Windshield Ice Scrapers
  • Freeing Cars Stuck in the Snow
  • Car Drying at Car Washes
  • Windshield Washing at Self-Serve Gas Stations
  • Buy Down Gas to Bargain Price
  • Hand Cleaning Towelettes at Gas Pumps

Roadsides & Traffic Lights

  • Parking Meter Feeding
  • Summer Car Washes
  • Coke Giveaways
  • Winter Car Washes/ Desalting
  • Popsicle Giveaways
  • Trash Pickup with "Kindness in
  • Progress" Signs
  • Towelettes Giveaway on Side of the Road

College Campuses

  • Bike Fix-Up
  • Pen and Pencil Giveaways
  • Post Cards and Stamps
  • Photocopying
  • Floppy Discs
  • Tutoring
  • Soft Drinks, Gatorade, and Lemonade at Class Sign-up
  • Dorm Room Cleaning
  • Drinks at Intramural Athletic Events
  • Drinks at Greek Events
  • Breakfast Pop Tarts
  • Test Essay Booklets
  • Exam Answer Sheets
  • Coffee and Tea during Late Night Study Sessions
  • Pizza on Move-In Day at Dorms
  • Quarter Drop
  • Phone Cards for Long Distance Calls
  • Ice Cream Coupons
  • Care Packages for Students
  • Gum, Blow Pops
  • Snacks (chips, crackers)

Malls & Shopping Centers

  • Christmas Gift Wrapping
  • Dollar Drop
  • Meal Purchasing at the Food Court
  • Quarters in Coin Returns
  • Long Distance Phone Cards
  • Ice Cream Cone Coupons
  • Package Check-In
  • Childcare during Christmas Shopping
  • Coffee/Hot Chocolate Coupons
  • Boxes to Merchants with your Logo and Number Imprinted
  • Business Blast


Holidays

  • Chocolate Hearts on Valentine's Day
  • Roses on Valentine's Day
  • Green Foiled Coins at St. Patrick's Day
  • Parades
  • Easter Baskets for Business Blast Door to Door
  • Butterfly Cocoons for Easter
  • Easter Candy Giveaway
  • Flower Seeds for Spring
  • Mother's / Father's Day Carnation Giveaways
  • Independence Day Festival Giveaways: Glow in the Dark Necklaces
  • Independence Day Picnics House to House
  • Independence Day Festival Giveaways: Blow Pops, Gum Balls
  • Labor Day - School Supplies House to House
  • Halloween - Reverse Trick or Treat (House to House to give them candy)
  • Thanksgiving - Door to Door Holiday
  • Thanksgiving - Door to Door Turkey
  • Door to Door: Mums
  • Fall Candy Giveaway
  • Fall Leaf Raking
  • Christmas: Gift Wrap at Mall
  • Christmas: Giveaway Special Christmas Candy
  • Christmas: Caroling and Candy Canes
  • Christmas: Door to Door Poinsettias
  • Christmas: Giveaway Scotch Tape
  • Christmas: Tree Giveaway
  • Winter: Snow Shoveling
  • Winter: Winter Survival Kit

High School & College Sports Teams

  • Oranges for High School Football Practice
  • High School Sports Party
  • Watermelon after practice
  • Gatorade after a hard practice
  • Facilitate a community service project
  • Make hospital visits
  • Greet students and parents and help the freshmen move in
  • Baby-sit for the coaches
  • Physical therapy rehab
  • Care packages during finals week
  • Offer tutoring
  • Honor a team at your athletic meeting
  • Shag, throw and rebound
  • Shovel manure
  • Go to lesser followed sports
  • Set up social settings
  • Copy great talks and hand them out to the athletes
  • Capture seasonal times with high touch ideas
  • Take a camera to practice/games
  • Make up your own Appreciation Day
  • Clean up after a sporting event
  • Meet with the freshmen for a coke
  • Organize surprise mini-birthday parties
  • Give away peanuts/popcorn at sporting events
  • Offer to do videoing of a team's practice
  • Offer to keep stats
  • Free car washes for the athletic department

House to House

  • Fruit give away
  • Sunday Morning Paper and Coffee
  • Giveaways
  • Leaf Raking
  • Lawn Mowing
  • Grass Edging
  • Screen Cleaning
  • Rain Gutter Cleaning
  • Garbage Can Return from the Curb
  • Food Delivery to Shut -Ins
  • Kitchen Cleanup
  • General Yard Cleanup
  • Door to Door Carnation Giveaway
  • Tulip Bulbs
  • Potted Plant Giveaways
  • Flower Seed Packet Giveaways
  • Sidewalk Sweeping
  • Windshield Washing
  • Snow Removal from Walks and Drives
  • Window Washing
  • Minor House Repairs
  • General Interior Cleaning
  • Community Dinner
  • Doggie Yard Cleanup
  • Weed Spraying
  • Tree Limb Trimming
  • Light Bulb Replacement
  • Seal Blacktop Driveways
  • Fireplace Ash Removal
  • Radon Detectors
  • Carbon Monoxide Detectors
  • Smoke Detector Batteries
  • Fragrance Spraying
  • Dog Washing
  • Filter Change for AC / Heater
  • Garage Cleaning
  • Fireplace Kindling
  • Bark and Mulch for Yards
  • Salt for Snowy Driveways
  • House Number Painting on Curbs
  • Shopping Assistance for Shut-ins
  • Poinsettias at Christmas
  • Picnics at Independence Day
  • Easter Baskets

Miscellaneous

  • Steaks and Salmon for Firefighters
  • Gasoline for Your Neighbor
  • Cleaning Up at Food Courts
  • Toilet Seat Covers
  • Birthday Party Organizing
  • Pay Library Fines
  • Winter Survival Kit
  • Suntan Lotion
  • Surf Wax
  • Summer Survival Kit
  • "Biggie Size" Food Orders in Fast Food Drive Thru Lanes
  • Blood Pressure Screening
  • Mother's Day Carnation Giveaways
  • Car Drying at Self-Serve Car Washes
  • Grocery Store Bag Packing
  • Free Bird Feeders and Refills to
  • Convalescent Home Residents
  • Christmas Tree Collection
  • Christmas Tree Giveaways
  • Bait at Local Fishing Spots
  • Coffee at Bus or Subway Stops
  • Pay Laundromat Washer and Dryer
  • Memorial Service for Unchurched
  • Carnations to Cemetery Visitors
  • Easter Baskets
  • Pizza on Moving Day at Apartments
  • Move In Welcoming Party
  • Lawn Mower Tune-up
  • Time Change Reminder Flyer
  • Cocoons on Good Friday
  • Church Match Books
  • Scotch Tape at Christmas

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds ." - Hebrews 10:24

The mission of Love Cedar Valley is a day to partner with area churches to extend the love of Christ in real
and practical ways in order that our community would take a step in being reconciled to God and one another.


Love Cedar Valley - 3900 Orchard Hill Drive, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
319.266.9796 - Email Webmaster