Giving Back: Community Service as a Coven

Community service as a coven helps broaden your horizons by having a deeper and richer understanding of the needs of society and the population you are trying to help. It brings you closer to individuals in your own community, families, and your local environment. By doing community service as a coven, you gain firsthand experience and an understanding of the conditions in your neighborhood or city. But most of all, it provides all members of the coven the opportunity to become active members of their community, which has lasting, positive impacts not only on society at large but also on individuals.

Working together as a coven to volunteer has psychological, social, and cognitive benefits for everyone involved. First, on an individual level, community service decreases personal stress and can ease depression while increasing overall life satisfaction. And it helps people to enhance their knowledge while increasing interpersonal communication skills. After the amount of time many of us have spent in isolation, dusting off some of our social skills is a great idea! Second, on a social level, it creates and develops bonds between people – between coven members, those they are helping, and others who live in the community. It increases social awareness, responsibility, and stewardship.

Contact hypothesis is a sociological theory developed in the 1950s by Gordon Allport. He posited that contact between two groups on an equal level could promote tolerance and acceptance. Sadly, there is a lot of misunderstanding and bias towards witches and pagans. When a coven reaches out into their community and works alongside people of other faiths, they not only do good work for those in need, but they combat bias among conflicting groups.

Community service activities can give back to your community in a variety of ways. It can focus on the community as a whole, those who live in the community, or honoring the environment in which we live. Here are some great ways to get your coven involved this year.

Consider adopting a wild animal. You don’t have to raise it as a coven together (but what a cool idea!). Contact an organization such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) or a specific species rescue group to contribute. Many organizations have adoption kits where they will send you a photo of the animal you adopt along with a report or history of its life. Pick a totem coven animal to save, and have coven members check in periodically to see how your adopted animal is doing.

If lots of your coven members have pets, a great way to get involved with your furry friends is through volunteering to bring your dog to assisted living homes or hospitals. You might have to get your dogs certified in some cases, which is another great bonding activity for coven members. Once you are certified, you can bring your dogs to brighten someone’s day as a group.

Sometimes our clothes closets get a little messy and full! As a coven, you can all donate some extra clothes to an organization that helps women dress for success. Some organizations will help low-income students with a dress for prom or disadvantaged women who have an interview with professional attire. This is an awesome way to help women in your community feel good, look good, and succeed, making the world a better place for all of us!

There’s nothing better than a home-cooked meal, especially for people who aren’t able to cook for themselves. Providing healthy, nourishing food for people with an illness or disability can be a great coven community service project. Come together and cook as a coven, then take the food to someone in need. Or, if cooking isn’t your jam, choose an organization that delivers meals instead. Get a few coven members together and ride along while helping others.

Mentoring younger people is extremely rewarding. Think of how much fun your coven could have sponsoring a young person and helping them grow. There are so many ways to get involved – from helping with afterschool tutoring to formally mentoring a young person through an organization. Offer to come as a group to the local high school and help students with their college applications or math homework.

It isn’t just humans that need help too. If your coven wants to work with four-legged friends, many local animal shelters need help. Band together and see how many dogs you can wash or take for walks as a group. Or bring everyone together to play with the kittens and cats. Local shelters are happy to let your coven know what they need help with. Don’t forget our furry friends need us too!

Are there any seniors in your neighborhood that might need a helping hand with their yard work or house projects? Reach out to the elderly in your community and consider setting up a weekly or biweekly time to come and make their lives a little bit easier.

As a coven, send some bright blessings to our soldiers overseas. Write letters as a group to send in care packages to military personnel. Everyone loves getting a letter! Several organizations focus on getting these letters out to soldiers.

Food banks are an excellent way to help your community. As a coven, you can help to drive and pick up food from local grocers, work together to sort it at the facility, and then distribute it to families in need. Food banks are a great way to work together and see a project through from collection to distribution. And it’s economical for the earth!

If you want to get your coven outdoors, organizing a clean-up is a great way to help the community and get some much-needed fresh air. Grab a pair of gloves, a box of garbage bags, and head to a local park or beach. Spend time together while making the environment healthier and cleaner for all of the plants and animals (including humans!). Some organizations identify areas that need help and sponsor programs to clean up those areas. See if there are any in your area!

Does your neighborhood or city have a community garden? If so, see if your coven can get a plot where you can work together to grow your own food. If not, see about getting involved with a local community farm. There’s always a lot of work to be done on a farm, and the more

hands helping, the lighter the work.

If your coven can’t get away to the local community farm, consider planting food for the local wildlife. Help out the smaller critters in your neighborhood. You can set out bird feeders for migrating birds, create habitats for hummingbirds, or plant some trees so squirrels will have a few more nuts. You can even plant flowers to feed pollinators. Whatever works for your area, just know the wildlife will appreciate it! And if you want an extra boost, download a naturalist app to help document local animals and plants.

Another way to honor nature through community service is to support a park near you. There are many local, state, and national parks that would love to have a coven come and help volunteer. You could help with various events and activities or maintain green areas and facilities. There are so many opportunities to help out – you are sure to find something that fits each coven member.

If you don’t have time to volunteer as a coven, consider going to a fundraiser or charity event as a group. Pick an organization or event that you all would like to attend and help them raise money for their cause. Going together can be a wonderful bonding experience!

Simple gestures of kindness can be a form of making your community a better place. If your coven doesn’t have the time or resources to go out and volunteer, you can strengthen your community one kind act at a time. You don’t have to do large-scale things to make a noticeable impact on your community. Challenge each coven member to do at least one random act of kindness each week and report back to the group. That’s 52 kind things a year times the number of people in your coven – think of all the good you will be bringing your community!

Community service doesn’t have to be large contributions to formal organizations. Service to those around you can be small, simple gestures that help make the world a better place. Donating your valuable time as a coven for local non-profits, schools, and shelters is the most effective way of giving back. There are thousands of ways to get involved in a myriad of topics. So choose one that works best for your coven and start making the world a better place through your journey of kindness!