Identify Local Needs

No one knows your community better than you and your neighbors do. Take proactive steps to address the challenges you see daily and generate solutions that work in your neighborhood. Whether you and your team decide to partner with the local library to refurbish reading rooms or to organize summer meal distribution at a community center, you already have the resources you need to get started.

• Search Serve.gov and find out what’s already happening in your community. If you see a service gap, consider creating your own project.
• Brainstorm with friends and local leaders about what your community most needs.
• Conduct a needs assessment by mapping resources, holding focus groups, or distributing a survey.
• Visit the Corporation for National and Community Service for in depth guides to identifying local needs.
• Visit the Corporation for National and Community Service website for suggested service activities.