75 Ways to Keep MLK Day Active All Year

Send a letter or care package to a soldier deployed overseas

Visit a wounded veteran at the hospital

Donate unused frequent flier miles to a military family organization

Do home repairs for a veteran or military family

Drive a veteran or military family member to a medical appointment

Help a veteran tell their story through an oral history project

Serve and prepare food at a homeless shelter

Help someone who is out of work with their resume or job search

Donate to your local food bank

Volunteer as an income tax preparer

Help build or renovate a home

Donate gently used professional clothes to an organization that helps people rejoin the workforce

Volunteer at a food pantry to prepare and distribute meals

Clean your closets, attic, basement, or garage and donate gently used items to a homeless shelter

Organize a coat and winter clothes drive

Deliver meals to homebound seniors

Stop and have a conversation with a homeless person

Help a local nonprofit post their volunteer opportunities on Serve.gov

Spread the word about your city's emergency warming centers and hypothermia hotlines

Help connect a homeless person to services they need

Serve on a nonprofit board of directors

Share your technology skills with a nonprofit that needs them

Volunteer on a hotline

Become a mentor

Teach English classes to adults

Volunteer or donate books to your local library

Teach a senior how to use a computer

Serve as a tutor

Teach parenting classes to young fathers and mothers

Participate in a service-learning project

Become a homework helper at your school

Volunteer to lead a club or teach an after-school enrichment class

Read books to elementary school students

Chaperone a school field trip

Organize a book drive

Participate in a school beautification project

Be a recess or lunchroom monitor

Bring someone new with you when you volunteer

Participate in a charity ride or race

Hold a dance for your local senior center or nursing home

Become a virtual volunteer by helping a nonprofit with graphic de

Volunteer at your local youth or recreation center

Invite local police officers to present a drug awareness or safety program

Read books or the newspaper on tape for the visually impaired

Be a hospice volunteer

Take a volunteer vacation

Attend a meeting of your neighborhood association

Visit patients or provide administrative support at a hospital

Assemble emergency supply kits

Get trained to respond to emergencies

Become CPR certified

Make presentations to schools and community groups about emergency preparedness

Become a volunteer firefighter or EMT

Volunteer with your local police department

Help create or expand a community garden

Clean up a nearby empty lot, or pick up trash on your street or in your neighborhood

Walk or bike to work or school once a week

Test the health of the water in your local lakes, rivers, and streams

Replace old light bulbs with energy efficient ones and turn off appliances when you're not using them

Take mass transit more often

Make an intensive commitment to serve by joining AmeriCorps

Join the bone marrow registry

Become a coach for a youth sports team

Make quilts or blankets for hospitalized children or wounded soldiers

Volunteer on MLK Day and the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance

Create a neighborhood safety patrol

Help build a playground

Rake leaves, shovel snow, clean gutters, or wash windows for a neighbor

Share your lifetime of skills and experience by joining Senior Corps

Give blood

Be a friend to someone with mental illness

Pick up groceries for a senior citizen in your community

Volunteer at a local animal shelter

Check in on your elderly or disabled neighbors regularly, especially in hot and cold weather

Visit Serve.gov to find a volunteer opportunity