Lesson 5:

Who Can We Help?

Learning Targets

Students will explore nonprofit organizations across eight cause categories, connect their personal passions and mission statements to a cause, and choose an organization or service project to support.

Duration 50 MINS

Downloads Lesson Plan, Presentation, Presentation, Poster, Acorn Cut-Outs & Select a Non-Profit for Your Service Project

Materials Electronic devices, presentation slides, worksheet

Downloadable Materials

Lesson Plan: Who Can We Help?

Students explore eight cause categories (Animals, Kids, Housing, Environment, School, Food Insecurity, People with Medical Needs, People with Disabilities) to choose an organization or service project. Guides students toward their first concrete philanthropic action step as a class.

Presentation: Who Can We Help?

Introduces nonprofit organizations across eight cause categories with an 'I Want to Help...' category selector. Encourages students to match their passions and mission statements to a cause. Closes with a 'We Are Philanthropists!!' celebration slide.

Presentation: Nonprofit Resource List by Cause

Supporting slide deck listing specific nonprofit organizations across six cause categories: Medical, Disabilities, Environmental, Animals, and Housing & Food. Organized for classroom browsing as students research and choose an organization to support for their service project.

Poster: What's in Our Project Heart?

Print and display this tree poster as the anchor for the paired Acorn Cut-Out activity (Item 5). As students add their acorns, the tree fills in to show where the class is leaning as they choose their service project direction. Keep posted throughout the program.

Activity: Acorn Cut-Outs

Print and cut apart these acorn shapes. Students write their service focus idea, then add their acorn to the "What's in Our Project Heart?" tree poster (Item 4), building a collective picture of the group's interests and values.

Activity: Select a Non-Profit for Your Service Project

Students select which nonprofit they will move forward with for their service project. By using the Project Heart Project Ideas website or researching on their own, the class will determine whom they can help and how.

Need Ideas? See What's Possible.

From aluminum foil cat toys to 3D-printed medical devices, students across the country are turning their passions into powerful community impact. The Project Ideas section showcases real student projects organized by cause—complete with book recommendations, downloadable activities, and partner connections. Whether your students care about animals, the environment, seniors, or social justice, you'll find concrete examples and practical resources to spark their next meaningful project.