American Cheerleader

The holiday season is a great time to reach out to your community. You may not realize it, but as cheerleaders and role models you have the power to influence people to do great things in their schools, communities and world! Good deeds are contagious, so get one of these easy-to-implement spirit-raisers off the ground and start spreading the holiday cheer.

Wrapped in love: Organize a blanket collection at your school or gym. (Or if you and your teammates are crafty, get knitting!) Donate the blankets to an area shelter.

Pass the parka! Donate your old outerwear to a local coat drive and help keep warm this winter. To find collection sites in your town, just do an internet search for “coats for kids” and your city name.

Can it! Select a big basketball game, and coordinate it with a canned food drive. Hang fliers around your school/gym, neighborhood and in local businesses, advertising the date of the drive. Then position collection bins (a nicely decorated cardboard box will do the trick) near the ticket booth at the big game. Donate the goods to a local food pantry or shelter.

Keep it cozy. Ask your school if you can host a hats, mittens, gloves and scarves drive. Station boxes around your school, and advertise the drive by using the PA system during school announcements. These can be donated to an area shelter. (Ask your teachers if they’ll give extra credit points to students who donate!)

Get your bake on. Have a team bake day and go nuts making delicous holiday treats. Deliver the treats to a local children’s hospital or senior center.

Send your love. Get out the construction paper and make holiday cards for the troops stationed overseas. Contact the Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program to find out where to send your thoughts and thanks for their service. A touch of home is just what these soldiers need!

Sit with seniors. Call a nursing home and ask if your squad can spend the day with the residents. The holidays can get lonely for those in an assisted living home around the holidays, and just having visitors is a welcome holiday treat. Organize a cute dance or cheer to demo while you’re there.

Give some beauty loot. Stock up on sample-size shampoo, conditioner, soaps, deodorants, nail files, polishes and more. Tie them in bundles with pretty ribbon and deliver them to a women’s shelter. These toiletry items are in high demand and short supply.

What do you and your teammates do to spread holiday cheer in your communities? Comment below, or e-mail us at acmail@americancheerleader.com.