IDEAS

.entry-header

11 Votes

Do you have no idea what to tell your IB students to do to complete

their CAS requirement? Well, below are some ideas that can be used as
CAS activities, many of them with a global focus and almost all of them
could be completed as a project (a project must be completed over a
significant duration of time, covering at least two categories of CAS, and
with at least two or three other people). If you have ideas please leave
a comment and Ill include them here on this page. Thanx

10 Great Volunteer Ideas

20 Ways for Teenagers to Volunteer
30 Hour Famine
100 Ways Teens Can Serve
AmeriCorps
American Cancer Society
Bead For Life
Big Sunday
City of Hope
Cleanup the World
Do Something
Foodfast
 Generation On
Global Nomads
Global Volunteer Network
Habitat for Humanity
Hands On Network
How to Make a Difference in 15 Minutes
Humanitarian Day
idealist
Invisible Children
iparticipate.org
Malaria No More
Measles Initiative
Operation Gratitude
Red Cross
Ronald McDonald House
Save the Children
SaveDarfur
Share Our Strength
Stand Up For Kids
Students Rebuild
Taking it Global
The Memory Project
The Philanthropy Project
The Smile Train
The Volunteer Family
Volunteer Ideas for 5 Different Age Groups
Volunteer Match
TreePeople
Young Heroes

CAS Project Ideas

Below are almost 50 examples of actual CAS projects conducted by current and
former students at UAIS that have been particularly successful and rewarding and
may be utilized by the incoming Diploma Programme candidates. See the following
students/teachers for more information on:

Junior Leadership Macomb (NEW!): Are you interested in being a more socially
aware and active member of your county? Are you open to collaborating with
student leaders in other school throughout Macomb County? Do you want to serve
as a representative to your school on behalf of leaders of Macomb County? If so,
apply to the Junior Leadership Macomb program by June 30th at
http://www.leadershipmacomb.org. See the flyer above for more information.

"Prepare for College" Presentation to Heritage Freshmen and 8th graders

(NEW!): Particularly suited for juniors and seniors is the opportunity to visit Heritage
classrooms and provide advice to 9th graders about how to prepare oneself to apply
to college. This would include providing minimum requirements at state institutions,
a discussion of class choices, leadership and volunteer advice, and anything else
you wish to share. See Mr. Spear for more details.

Heritage School Supply Project (NEW!): Each card marking, UAIS and Heritage
students throw away countless amounts of gently used or unused materials and
supplies that could be donated to future students at Heritage, in the school district, or
in other communities whose students are in great need. This project would require
2-3 students who are willing to work with UAIS and Heritage teachers to provide
collection bins for supplies that are re-usable at every locker cleanout for both
schools. After storing and cataloguing these materials at the end of the year, these
students should spend their summer earmarking a certain number of supplies to
remain at Heritage for incoming students in need and donating the rest to another
school in the district or local community in desperate need. If you are interested in
staring this project, please see Mr. Spear.

UAIS Lip Sync Battle: A (hopeful!) ongoing tradition/fundraiser at UAIS; the

lip sync battle is a night of fun, singing, and dancing for students and teachers!
How great would it feel to be the ones planning this night of fun? Planning the
lip sync battle is just as fun as being in it, but anyone who wants to plan the lip
sync battle must be good communicators(with both students and staff!),
diligent with deadlines and planning, and reliable. Running the show requires
student and teacher interest in performing, audition dates, rehearsals, mass
advertising to students and families, concessions, an emcee, and a reward for
the winner. These requirements are demanding and sometimes challenging,
which is why we recommend 2-3 people to take on this project. All the
proceeds earned through this show are donated to the UAIS Debate and
Forensics teams. (In 2015, we earned $500. Let's see if you can beat
it!) Contact Mr. Kuhlman or seniors Ziyaneh Taleghani and Joana Lepuri if
you're interested!

Video Game Club is a fun club to run, but it requires a lot of responsibilities.
Someone considering taking this club up must be good at managing time to prepare
for planning/running the club, communicating with other club runners, faculty,
teachers, and the student body in the form of announcements and emails. You must
also be very organized in order to efficiently prepare games during lunch, borrow and
keep track of games and supplies from teachers and students, as well selling food
and drinks during club meetings. Another aspect to involved in running the club is
missing some class time to set up games during lunch, which requires constant
communicating with your teachers and catching up on missed work. These are all
challenging requirements, which is why ideally this club would have no less than 3
leaders.
Summary of basic club requirements:
Actually owning the games/systems to bring in for the club (or being able to borrow
them reliably)
Bringing all the supplies on Fridays to school
Taking time out of class to set up, run, and clean up the games during the lunches
on Fridays
Staying after school on Fridays and actually running the club which includes-
Setting up the games in a pre-arranged room
Getting and selling pizza and drinks
Collecting and Depositing money
Cleaning up the games and leaving the rooms exactly as you found them.

Overall, VGC is a very fun club to run. No other school in the district allows people to
play games like Just Dance in the cafeteria during lunches. It is a very unique and
rewarding club that can be very successful if lead by a committed group of
people. Please contact Brenno Wolyniec

Ike Football Manager: Do you love the game of football? Looking for a way to
contribute on and off the field? Student managers are an integral part of any football
team. You can earn service and action hours for this extended project. Download
the document attached in the section above and see Mr. Layson for further details.

The Polaris Project: This organization works on all forms of human trafficking and
serves victims and slaves of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a growing
international epidemic involving girls and young women and is a silent epidemic
because much of the predatory behavior occurs online, away from schools and
public locations. The Polaris Project seeks to educate, protect, inform, and prevent
human trafficking all across the nation. In the past few years at UAIS, many
students have contributed to fighting violence against girls and women. Particularly,
the 2014 Softball Tournament versus IAM has raised funds for this project. Find out
more information at http://www.polaris.com or see Mr. Spear. Additionally, Executive
Director Katy Maitland of the Michigan Abolitionist Project of Southeast Michigan
(http://www.michiganabolitionistproject.org/) can serve as a resource or potential
speaker to a group of students. If you are interested in contacting her, please see
Mr. Spear or visit her site for more information.

Water Works Academy/Water Works Theatre: Are you interested in beginning or

sharpening your acting skills over the summer between your junior and senior
year? The Water Works Theatre Company, based in Royal Oak, is looking for
students just like you! Visit their website at: www.waterworkstheatre.com for more
information on how to join and potentially earn action hours in addition to the
creativity hours for an extended project.

Operation Prom: Everyone knows how expensive prom is, but luckily, most girls
have the money to attend the event. Imagine what it would be like to be asked to
prom by a boy and decline--not because you don't like him--but because your father
has been laid off or because of family medical expenses. What do you say to
him? What do you tell your friends? Too often, this is a choice between lying and
embarrassment for girls in our community--and to no fault of their own. What if there
was a way to provide these girls with a dress for free? Operation Prom seeks to
solve that issue. We are looking for a motivated group of students willing to collect
gently used prom dresses of every style, color, and size and for a list of girls that
counselors, teachers, and administrators in our other buildings can provide. As an
addition to the project, students can raise money to provide the cost of tickets for
those girls especially in need. If you are interested, please contact Mr. Spear or
email Mrs. Versele at Henry Ford High School for more information.

UCS Elementary School Supply Fundraiser: With a partner, find a UCS

elementary school in need of school supplies for students for the beginning of the
year. Coordinate with the principal and teachers in that building to arrive a target
grade and list of supplies for students. Propose--quickly!--a house competition
fundraiser for spring Olympics and design point-awards for supplies. After collected,
compile goody-bags for those classrooms at the elementary school and donate the
supplies before the beginning of the school year. Please see Mr. Spear for more
information!

Earthworks Urban Farm/Capuchin Soup Kitchen: Earthworks Urban Farm and

Soup Kitchen is a combination urban farm and provider of food to the local
community of Detroit. Volunteers help grow fresh, healthy, and organic food options
to the attached food kitchen for those in need. The organization is unique in that it
provides opportunities for creativity (building a garden), action (working the garden)
and service (helping those in need). Student opportunities involve providing service
on-site in the food kitchen, working the organic garden, and contributing fundraising
to help sustain this urban project. For more information, please visit their website:
http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/# for ways you can help in an extremely unique
setting.

UAIS Charity Fashion Show: The UAIS Charity Fashion Show strives to combine
theatre, artistic vision, and innovation, all while using fashion and apparel design as
a medium, to fundraise. Profits from the show are then provided to the UAIS arts
department to alleviate the cost of essential student materials. An opportunity to
fuse two prior separate realms: theatre and fashion. No longer do models simply
walk down a runway; a visual and performance-art based showcase takes
place. Contributing to our idea that a fashion show is an opportunity to prsent an
alternate reality to an audience, designers will create individual collections inspired
by their take on one common theme and then compete on our larger-than-life
stage during a night filled with food, music, and entertainment. New to this year's
show, the audience will vote, alongside our panel of judges, deciding who will win a
prize and the opportunity to host and direct the following year's UAIS Charity
Fashion Show. Members are split into committees to create and execute tasks in
the different areas of the event, and many of these opportunities can serve as CAS
hours and even as a student's extended project. Committees Needed:

Promotion
Fundraising
Inventory/Set
Up
Planning
Designers
Food/Drinks
Make-up/Hair
Camera/Photography

Please see Mrs. Khan for more information!

UAIS Key Club End of Year Ceremony: Mr. Spear is looking for 1-3 students to
help plan, organize, and collect information for next year's April's farewell and Key
Club end-of-year ceremony. It is not necessary that the students be in Key Club to
volunteer for this project. Tasks will include the coordination of food, booking of on-
site materials and location, recruitment of student-speakers, invitation creation,
completion and production of a program, and one rehearsal the day of the evening
event. Please see Mr. Spear for details.

Who's in the House?: Increase the appeal and team spirit for your house for the
next Olympics. Seek approval from Student Senate and then call a house meeting
to design a full mascot and flag for the next House Olympics as a creativity and
service project. Raise money through a fundraiser of your choosing, donate a
portion to a cause important to you, and focus the rest of your fundraising on
supplies have a leg-up on the spirit competition between all of the other houses! For
a sample of what a flag might look like, come see Mr. Spear.

Organizing UAIS Cooking Club: Recruit, join, and participate in the UAIS cooking
club held after school each week to earn creativity hours, or consider running the
club as part of a larger CAS project. You would be responsible for recruiting new
members, designing cooking experiences, and any other responsibilities that the
club's outgoing officers run. Please see Brielle Komosinski or Mr. Spear for more
details.

Princess Party: Invite younger siblings of UAIS students, daughters of staff

members, and any other girls from ages 2-6 for a special princess party. Have the
girls all dress up in their favorite princess dress, and have a few UAIS girls dress up
like Belle, Snow White, or another princess. Have a contest for the best look-alike or
invite girls in a talent contest to show their singing abilities to their favorite princess
songs. Decorate cookies or have a cake made especially for the event through the
fundraising you do. Or even put together a video collage of the favorite princesses
or create a quiz bowl with questions for the older girls. This has been a successful
event at other schools. Why not try it at UAIS?

"Senior" Prom: Stage a prom for senior citizens at one of our local retirement
communities for which you already volunteer or wish to volunteer at. With a group of
students, design a prom with dinner or snacks for the senior citizens and "classic"
music they would enjoy dancing to, perhaps even the music selections that they
request from the memories of their own prom.

The Pulsera Project: This non-profit organization promotes Nicaraguan students,

artists, and communities through the sale of colorful handwoven bracelets, called
"pulsera" in Spanish. These bracelets are colorful, artistic, and unique. Visit
pulseraproject.com for more details.

Halloween and Trunk or Treat Party: Organize a Halloween party in which you
allow students to decorate Halloween cookies, give prizes for the best costumes,
and any other activity you'd like. Then, provide a "Trunk or Treat" in which young
children trick or treat in the UAIS parking lot in a safe environment that allows them
get candy from the trunks of cars without having to walk the long distances from
house to house.

Kiss a Senior Goodbye: To show your appreciation for the outgoing senior class,
design a decorated bag that you can fill with Hershey Kisses. Have any student--
underclassman or senior--purchase the bags that will be delivered with a thank-
you/goodbye note that will reach a senior. Donate all proceeds to the current or your
future senior class fund through the UAIS boosters.

The Birthday Project: Set up a table at parent-teacher conferences and allow

parents to purchase an in-school birthday delivery bag for later on in the year that
will be delivered to that student on his/her birthday. Fill the bag with a parent card
that they can fill out at the table, and choose from a pre-selected variety of treats and
cute cut-outs that you design. Arrange the bags by date, and deliver them during
lunches. Donate all proceeds to your favorite cause!

HOSA (NEW!): HOSA is a student medical organization and growing club at UAIS
that allows students to explore the medical field through community and national
projects as well as providing opportunity for volunteer work in the community
associated with health care service organization, which is critical experience to
students considering a career in the health care field. Visit:
http://www.hosa.org/node/11 for more information or talk to Ms. Kasperek for more
information about joining or being involved in a potential service and creativity
project.

Food Donations and Packaging for Sterling Heights Seniors: Each year, our
local Kiwanians deliver boxes for UAIS students to collect canned food and other
non-perishables for the holiday season to donate to our local senior citizens. We are
looking for 2 students to drive this fundraiser to collect as much food as possible,
which Kiwanis will pick up, and then work with Mr. Spear to get 5-10 additional
volunteers to package and deliver them on a designated Saturday morning to the
senior citizens in their apartment buildings in Sterling Heights, as our older
Kiwanians cannot lift heavier boxes with ease. If you are interested, pleaes see Mr.
Spear during the spring so you can propose this project at your September initial
meeting.

Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo (NEW!)A great action/service project to put your
training to good use: The Detroit Zoological Society will host the annual Run Wild
for the Detroit Zoo on Sunday, September 14, 2014. Participants can compete in
the 5K and 10K races or take part in the Fun Walk and help support the Ruth Roby
Glancy Animal Health Complex and veterinary care for the Zoo's animals. All
proceeds benefit the Detroit Zoological Society. 5K and 10K runners race through
the scenic streets of Huntington Woods surrounding the Zoo. Don't like to run? Fun
Walk participants follow an enjoyable course throughout the Zoo past many of our
award-winning habitats and receive special giveaways. Afterwards, join us for some
fun at the Post-Race Party sponsored by Kroger! Bring the whole family* for a day of
excitement and enjoy running or walking, live entertainment, food, beverages,
children's activities and the Zoo's award-winning habitats. Registration is required
for people ages 2 and up. Visit: http://detroitzoo.org/events/run-wild for more
information.

Japanese "J" Club: Sullivan-Sensei needs a group of 3-4 motivated students to

form a board of president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer to continue to
build and run Japenese club at UAIS. Meetings would occur every other week for
one hour for the general membership and one board meeting with Sullivan
Sensei. The total time commitment would be roughly 3-4 hours after school per
month, and the focus of the club would be to provide cultural experiences to the
members: crafts, games, food, and others. Great for creativity and service
opportunity!

KIVA: Kiva is an international organization that promotes business abroad by asking

donors to loan money to businesses in poor countries who cannot afford the
outrageously high interest rates. The great news: not only do you get to pick your
business from hundreds of online choices, but the money is paid back since it is a
loan and can be reinvested time and time again. Visit kiva.org or talk to Mr. Spear
for more information.

Young Diplomats Program: In our community, we have a number of families who

sponsor international foreign-exchange students and are in need of having other
students in our community provide them with great cultural experiences to enhance
their experience here in the United States. A small group of students would arrange
each school year to contact these families and their exchange-students, meet one or
more of them, and arrange weekend social trips to various museums and places in
our area. Some options include Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, the
DIA, Cranbrook, the Detroit Zoo, and a Tigers game. Pictures and reflections or a
srapbook would serve as documentation and would look fantastic on a college
recommendation. You might make a great oversees friend, too! An awesome tie to
IB's Internationalism component. For more information, see Mr. Spear or contact
Ken Lampar at k_lampar@yahoo.com.

GoComedy! Improv Company/Talent Show (NEW!): Located at 9 Mile and

Woodward in Ferndale, GoComedy! is where students can learn take classes to
work on comedy skits and routines, as well as improvisations. Great for kids in
theatre, debate, forensics, or any kids who want to rid themselves of stage fright and
build confidence in speaking and performance. Pair this with building a comedy
routine with friends at the annual UAIS talent show, and you'll got yourself a hilarious
CAS extended project! Website: http://www.gocomedy.net/classes.html. Talk to
Ms. Webb for more details.

Heritage Beautification Project: Mr. Spear and Mr. Waak are looking for a group of
students to organize a joint-beautification project of our building with both UAIS and
Heritage students and parents. This would involve planting flowers, weeding,
mulching at the day of the event, but also planning, holding meetings, recruiting
volunteers as well. This is a great project to place on your college applications! For
more information, please see Mr. Spear!

Restoring Heritage as a National Landmark: In the front parking lot of Heritage

stands a sign marking our building as a historical landmark for the first groups of
people on the North American continent some 11,000 years ago. The sign, built
decades ago, is in need of replacement because no funds are available locally. This
project would pair you with community leaders, businesses, and organizations
locally at the Sterling Heights central offices to build a new modern sign that replaces
the old one. Contact Mr. Spear for more details.

Teacher Appreciation Breakfast and/or Video: Fundraiser to sponsor a thank-you

breakfast for the staff at UAIS. Recruit volunteers from Key Club or NHS to help you
make and deliver the breakfasts and invite the staff to watch a video that you have
created from interviews with current students to show your appreciation for the work
that they do. Contact Mr. Spear for further details.

Crevolution or Thunderchickens: Interested in science, robotics, and

engineering? Crevolution and Thunderchickens are UCS-sponsored teams
dedicated to the construction of robot design that competes at local, state, and
national championships. This is an excellent opportunity for students to earn
creativity hours or create a CAS project if they become President or Vice President
of their club, helping Mr. Battaglia (Crevolution) to organize meetings and events. If
you have questions, please visit the website: crevolutionrobotics.org or see Mr.
Battaglia for more information. For information, please see Mr. Battaglia.

Powderpuff Tournament vs. IA Macomb (Fall): Each September, we go to battle

with our IB counterparts at the IA Macomb in a friendly game of girls football. We
need iorganizers to arrange the following: coaches, players (girls only!),
cheerleaders (guys only!), contact the Athletic Director at Ford to use Dunkel Field,
and organize rules and regulations that each school agrees upon. Finally, you would
be expected to recruit our fan base from UAIS through posters, announcements, and
your classes. Practices in the summer and fall should be conducted to retain the
coveted Powderpuff Trophy! Please see Mr. Spear for more information.

Softball Tournament vs. IA Macomb (Spring): Beginning in 2014, UAIS students

from every grade will compete in a softball game versus International Academy of
Macomb to earn the Powderpuff/Softball trophy to retain/earn back at
UAIS. Beginning in late March or early April, you would hold practices at Heritage
for up to 30 members whom you have recruited from all grades and work with
student captains from IAM to agree upon a date and location. Finally, you would be
expected to recruit our fan base from UAIS through posters, announcements, and
your classes. Please see Mr. Spear or Jessie Digiovanni for more information.

Card-Making or Gift Baskets for US Troops: Are you the creative type, good with
design, colors, art and paper? Work with a small group of students who are
interested in designing and creating cards for a particular group (military servicemen
and women, a senior home on Valentine's Day, or another occasion) to provide
some joy and thanks in their lives. Using her room and supplies--and possibly
fundraising to get some of your own, this activity--or project if taken for a significant
period of time and dedication--can be completed on your schedule and pace over a
long duration and be a service to others under the right circumstances. Another
option is to Please see Mr. Spear for details.

Soles 4 Souls: Soles for Souls is a charitable organization providing gently used or
new shoes to impoverished children all over the world. Two of our graduates
successfully collected hundreds of pairs of shoes from various elementary and junior
high schools all over the school district and were published on the Utica Learning
Interchange. A very successful project! Visit: soles4souls.org for details, or contact
Mr. Spear for more information.

Adopt a US Soldier: Serving in the military is among the most challenging and
sacrificial jobs to which anyone can commit themselves. Adopt a Solider allows you
to connect with one soldier in particular for whom you will send letters, cards, and
care packages while this individual serves our country far from home, family, and
friends. Go to http://adoptaussoldier.org to see more information on how these care
packages work. These volunteers can put you in contact with a US solider to care
for. See Mr. Spear for details.

Habitat for Humanity: A non-profit housing organization whose purpose is to build

affordable housing for people in need. Habitat for Humanity has many local offices
that can register you to help either in the Metro Detroit area or elsewhere, should you
wish to travel as part of a group. This can easily provide both service and action
hours for students. Visit habitat.org for more information.

Relay for Life Captain or Community Chairperson: This fundraiser is one of the
most popular and successful at UAIS. Relay for Life is a 24-hour cancer walk each
May that provides more money for cancer research, treatment, and services for the
ill than any other entity outside the federal government. Being a captain requires
attendance at a number of spring meetings at Eisenhower, holding your own
individual team fundraisers, and motiving your team to fundraise. Additionally, the
Shelby Township planning committee is interested in motivated, responsible UAIS
students who are willing to become community chairperson helpers at the
event. This has been a very popular extended project involving multiple UAIS
students each year. For more information, please see Mr. Spear.

Key Club Relay for Life Spirit Project (Key Club Members Only): The UAIS Key
Club is looking for one to two students to take over Relay-day responsibilities and
team spirit responsibilities. These would include t-shirt design, snow-cone truck
fundraising, silent-auction items, a booth or table and selling items at Relay. See Mr.
Spear for details.

Key Club District Board or Committee Chairperson: For Key Clubbers, one of the
best leadership opportunities exists at DCON, where you would run for the Michigan
district positions of Governor, Secretary, Bulletin Editor, Treasurer, or Lieutenant
Governor of Division 16. Other committee-appointed positions that you can apply for
include Membership Development Chair, Projects Chair, New Club Building Chair,
and Convention Chair. This year-long commitment will allow you to serve all Key
Clubs of Michigan, working with Kiwanis district volunteers and some of the most
talented and hardworking Key Clubbers in the state of Michigan. If you are
interested, please see Mr. Spear for more details.

Kids Against Hunger: This project is highly ambitious but what a payoff for your
college application if you can make it work! This organization allows students
to provide high-calorie, easy-to-package meals to the hungry in countries of your
choosing. Set a fundraising goal, spend a year raising your funds. Use UAIS as a
venue. The company buys the food and supplies for you and brings in all necessary
equipment. You provide the student help. For three to four hours, a large group
packages tens of thousands of meals in assembly line form and ships them off to
those in need. This year's event will take place at freshman orientation and use the
incoming freshmen as participants to invite them into the UAIS sense of
internationalism. For more information, go to kidsagainsthunger.org or contact Mr.
Spear.

Student Senate, Student Advisory Board, and Student Voice Committee

Members (note: can be a project or an activity depending on your role): SAB,
Senate and SVC provide unique opportunities for UAIS students to provide service
and creativity to the student body by working with staff and the student
population. In Student Advisory Board, you will learn more about Student
Development Days and Student Olympics. Student Senate will teach you about
facilitating or participating in social activities such as the talent show, spring formal,
and Lifetime Fitness Lock-In. Student Voice allows you to construct some AMES
activities, student transition panels, and work on other projects to improve the
communication and culture at UAIS.

Key Club Induction/Senior Graduation Ceremony: Mr. Spear needs 1-2

individuals whose goal, regardless of whether or not they are on the Key Club board,
will organize, plan, and carry out the end-of-the-Key-Club-year induction ceremony
for freshmen and senior goodbye ceremony in March. Planning for this activity will
begin in December with Mr. Spear. Responsibilities include finding underclassmen
to speak on behalf of graduating seniors, aiding the board in the presentation of
certificates, inviting our local Kiwanis, current members and their parents, and
creating a presentation year-in-review with the help of other members. Hours can
count toward Key Club as well as CAS. Mr. Spear will supervise, but you must be a
member of Key Club to conduct this extended project.

Academic Assistance Program Volunteer: The Academic Assistance Program is

an after-school tutoring club designed to provide one-on-one help to UAIS and
Heritage students in need of academic assistance on a weekly basis. Other
students have more specialized one-on-one sessions with students at the
elementary level who have requested help from other students. Participating as a
member would only constitute service, but individualized tutoring with one particular
student could constitute an extended project if lesson plans were created as to meet
the 2/3 of the criteria on a consistent basis. Applications will be available to
students soon by the new coordinators. Please see Mr. Spear for more information.

SOAR Tutoring Program: If you are interested in helping tutor a student in

academics on a weekly basis, this is a great opportunity because the sessions and
students are arranged for you. All it takes is attending a 90-minute training session
prior to tutoring and deciding upon a schedule that works best for
you. Recommended highly by a current UAIS parent who participated as a mentor
to children. For an extended project, your "product" could be a testimonial or letter of
recommendation by both the student and the parent, both of which could be included
in your college application or portfolio. For more information, please see Mr. Spear
or visit the following website for more information:
http://www.eaglesportsclub.com/soar/soar.html

Recycling Program at UAIS/Heritage: One student would be responsible for

running a recycling program throughout Heritage, providing recycling bins to all
classrooms and emptying them every Friday. This can and should be paired with
Heritage's "Green Schools Initiative" to quality as both service and
creativity. Contact Mr. Multhaupt for more details.

Sterling Heights Police Volunteering: If you are interested in law enforcement as a

potential career, this may interest you. Meeting on Mondays, you would train and
learn about the various aspects of serving as a police officer and spend much of your
time helping in the community as you volunteer at public events. A video or
portfolio of documentation could serve as a "product" of your experience. For more
information, contact Mr. Spear.

Key Club Annual Achievement Focus Project: Join or remain in Key Club and
meet with Mr. Spear to focus on one Key Club service partner or project that Key
Club is responsible for. These involve Project Hope (Helping Other People Eat),
Project Eliminate (Curing Neo-Natal Tetanus), or other UNICEF sponsored
projects. For a list of activities and ideas, please see Mr. Spear, who can provide
you with other globally-related projects.

Global Village Simulation Weekend: This is a weekend simulation you will never
forget! Global Village places you in a simulated third-world country for 24 hours at a
remote location in Howell, Michigan, where teams of "countries" barter for what little
supplies, food, and other resources you need to survive overnight. With a teacher as
your local "elder," you will build a fire to cook your food, be forced to communicating
in a foreign language to members outside your group, and immerse yourself
experientially in a teamwork and education-rich weekend that will forever change
your feelings and attitude. For more information, please contact Mr. Spear

Dodge Park Beautification: Because of funding cuts to Macomb County parks,

Dodge Park is in need of beautification and clean up each spring, fall and just prior to
Sterlingfest each July. Students are responsible for meeting with Sterling Heights
officials, visiting a nursery, estimating costs of plants, planning a design for
beautification, recruiting a Key Club or other group of students to donate flowers, and
enacting the plan. Each fall, the annuals would then be removed and the
park grounds raked and winterized. For information or interest in simply
participating, contact Mr. Spear.

Flip-Flops for UNICEF: Collect supplies to make makeshift flip-flops, which are easy
to decorate and fun to sell. Donate the proceeds to UNICEF or another fund or
cause of your kind. See Mr. Spear for details.
Class Graduation Video: Graduation is sooner than you think. Capturing all of the
best moments means capturing them now, not later. This opportunity should be
discussed and approved by student advisory board but could provide enrichment of
the graduation experience and be a wonderful opportunity. See Mr. Spear if you are
interesting in discussing this idea further.

Child Fund International--Water Sanitation: "Don't Drink the Water," many people
will warn you when visiting Mexico on vacation. This group set out to raise money
through fundraising to provide clothes and one water filter to each family for healthy
drinking water to avoid infection, sickness, and death in poor areas. Each filter,
costing one hundred American dollars, can provide a lifetime of clean water for a
family or even a neighborhood. If interested in more information, contact Mr. Spear.

Build an Autonomous Vehicle: Sponsored by Square One and IAV, work with a
group to earn creativity and service hours in building an autonomous Barbie
Jeep. This is an especially fun group project for those interested in technology and
science but requires quite a bit of coordnation and teamwork. A grant of $2000 can
be provided by the company to get your project going. Contact Mrs. Pfannes for
more details.

Dresses for Africa: This project involving creativity and service. Students take
pillows, cut and sew into dresses, and donate them to a woman in Brownstown,
Michigan, who runs a non-profit organization donating these dresses (and
sometimes shorts for boys) to impoverished children in Africa. Meetings during the
weekends. Visit littledressesforafrica.org.

Macomb County Parks and Recreation Beautification: Macomb County funds

have been closed to beautify the entrance signs at all trails and parks throughout the
county. Mr. Spear has been working to establish a relationship with the county in the
hopes that a group of students would spend a spring and summer beautifying some,
most, or all of these areas for park patrons. Another request is to raise a
few hundred dollars through some means to donate a park bench per year with our
school and/or students' names on the bench, which would permanently remain a
tribute to students' commitment to our community. If interested in these projects,
neither of which have been taken up yet, please see Mr. Spear, who will place you in
contact with the supervisor in Sterling Heights.

UAIS French Club: Madame Blain is looking for one or two students to continue her
French club at UAIS. This club would constitute both creativity
and service. Students would be responsible for planning the club's agenda and
activities and seeking the advice of Madame Blain's own experiences with her
former club at Eisenhower. Contact Madame Blain for more details if interested.

UAIS French Club at Oakbrook: Madame Blain's outgoing seniors

have established a wonderful connection with students at Oakbrook Elementary,
teaching them lessons in French and providing them many wonderful creative
activities and other projects over the course of the last year or two. She is looking
for a small group of students to continue that tradition next year. If you are
interested, please see her or Mr. Spear.
UAIS Spanish Club at Schwarzkoff: Current seniors Sanziana Bona and Paige
Ferland have worked with principal Lou Misovski to design a Spanish club at
Schwarzkoff with the current elementary school students over the last year, teaching
them lessons in Spanish similar to the French club at Oakbrook. If you are
interested, please talk to either Senora Burak, Senor Scalici or call Schwarzkoff to
discuss this continuing possibility with Lou Misovski.

UAIS National Spanish Honors Society/UAIS Spanish Club: The UAIS National
Spanish Honors Society needs board members who are dedicated to running the
club, recruiting and evaluating members, sponsoring and holding activities and
events, and developing leadership skills. By joining as a member, you have the
opportunity to apply for or being recommended to a position on the club, such as
president or vice president, that can serve as your CAS Extended Project. Please
contact Senor Scalici or Senora Burak for more details.

Michigan Humane Society: Past students have constructed makeshift kitten homes
or forts to donate to the Humane Society through a Key Club sponsored event. This
project would involve the gathering of cardboard, art design materials, and other
resources, and then recruiting a large number of students, perhaps through Key
Club, to put the forts together before shipping to the Humane Society. More
information can be found by discussing this and other project opportunities by
contacting the the Michigan Humane Society or visiting their website.

Visual Arts/Theatre Fundraiser: See Mr. Kuhlman or Mrs. Khan for information on
how you can give back to both departments with a list of important supplies that all
students at UAIS can benefit from. Feel free to pair this with some of the projects
listed above, or come up with your own fundraisers that can help support

Other Clubs That You Could Start:

1. DECA

2. Model UN

3. Origami Club

4. Ping Pong Club

5. Red Cross Club

6. SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving)

7. Yoga Club

Other Ideas for CAS Projects That YOU Can Start

1. Soup Kitchen: Organize a small group of students to volunteer at a nearby soup

kitchen for a number of times over the course of a year.
2. Forgotten Harvest: Go to forgottonharvest.com to see how you can volunteer
either your time or resources to contribute. Become a team leader of a small group
over the course of year or run a food drive on off-holiday times preferably, and you
have an extended project.

3. Dresses for Africa: Visit www.littledressesforafrica.org for more information on

how this project can help provide clothing to African children, who have none!

4. Hugs for Soldiers: Our soldiers commit much of their lives away from their
families to provide security to the rest of the American people. Support them at any
time of the year, but especially around holidays, by generating a project from the
ideas at www.hugsforsoldiers.org. These fun, hands-on projects will help you give
back to those who put their lives on the line every day.

5. Blanket-Making: Select a hospital, homeless shelter, retirement home or other

location in need to making blankets that you cut and tie from materials that you
purchase as a result of fundraising. Jo-Ann Fabrics has all of the supplies you need
and simple instructions online will have you making original blankets for a special
group in need. No sewing necessary!

6. Fleece Mittens: Many individuals go the entire winter without adequate gloves or
mittens to cover their hands. Using a simple pattern at the following link, you and a
small group can donate dozens of mittens to a homeless shelter for the holiday
season: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/01/fleece-mittens.html.

7. Stocking Stuffers: Set up a fundraiser at UAIS to raise the funds necessary to

stuff stockings for a local homeless shelter. Provide necessary items, such as
toothbrushes, socks, snacks, and other necessities that you brainstorm. Pair this
with a soup kitchen visit for a great extended project!

8. Teacher or Student Survival Kits: Show your appreciation either to the UAIS
staff or another staff in UCS or--if possible--the incoming freshmen by fundraising to
create either a Student Survival Kit or Teacher Survival Kit at the beginning of the
year. Brainstorm important supplies that teachers or students seem to run out of that
are needed in every class, and provide this thoughtful gift as a way to give back to
the UAIS community in some way.

9. Sponsor a School Team/Club: Is there a team or club that is desperately low on

funds that needs to be successful? Become their boosters for one year. Provide
fundraising help. Get teachers or students in the club motivated and creative to
provide low-cost and low-overhead ideas to raise money to send a team or group on
a trip or provide funding for a critical need.

10. Holiday Caroling: In the fall, start a caroling group at the school. Set practice
times each week, and set a visitation schedule for the holiday season. Provide
creativity and service hours to other students in the process!

11. Candy-Grams: Sell candy or flowers at lunches and deliver to students at a later
date. Use the proceeds to support a club or organization, or donate to a cause that
is important to you.

12. Make Bird Feeders: Sponsor a program at a local elementary school where you
teach young students how to make and give the gift of bird feeders to family
members and friends. Fundraise for supplies, if necessary, or use the proceeds to
help that elementary school with its projects. Visit
http://www.ehow.com/how_6533247_make-bottle-bird-feeders.html for more
information.

13. Dog/Car Wash: Car washes are typically a lot of work to raise $200-
300. However, if done the right way, they can provide a lot more money than the
convention ones. Create posters, recruit 20-25 individuals and find a busy location
on a nice weekend. Get each of your participating members to be sponsored or
pledged PRIOR to the event, so that you can get the fundraising you need even
before the car wash occurs. Usually this doubles or triples the amount the car wash
raises and everyone gets a bigger piece of the fundraising total.

14. Adopt a Family: Plan to provide Christmas gifts to a family in need at the
holidays. Go to: http://www.voami.org/Services/Children-Youth-Families/Adopt-A-
Family for more information on how to fundraiser and sponsor a family in
need. Wrap presents and deliver to provide the best holiday ever to some children in
need.

15. Holiday Veterans' Dinner: Thank your local veterans by raising money and
hosting a special dinner for their service to our country. Have each family involved
cater dishes to save on overhead and rent--or seek for free--the rental of a local
establishment to provide a great home-cooked meal to honor these veterans.

16. Nursing Home Secret Santa: Organize a nursing home Secret Santa gift
exchange at your local nursing home by having senior residents fill out a card
describing what they like, pairing your group of students with a senior resident or
two, and arranging a day of gift-giving.

Creativity
1. Design and create a mural at school (C/S)
2. Plan and execute an art project for kids at a residential treatment center.
(C/S)
3. Plan and execute an art project at a school where students dont have art.
4. Learn a new musical instrument.
5. Learn an especially challenging piece of music/dance routine (C/A, if
dance)
6. Choreograph and participate in dance routine for sports events (C/A)
7. Perform music and dance in a new or especially challenging context
(public audience, large audience, competition context)
8. Do a world map mural project with younger students and teach about
geography. (C/S)
9. Plan a musical program and perform for hospital patients (C/S)
10. Teach art/music/dance to another person/group of people. (C/S)
11. Design a website for a school/non-profit/charity organization. (C/S)
12. Design a series of after school tutoring sessions. (C/S)
13. Teach anything- this always involves design and creativity if its done
correctly
14. Design an awareness campaign for an environmental issue. This could
include a creating posters, creative announcements, creative presentations
(C/S).
15. Create a mini photography portfolio with a clearly defined theme,
objective, and goal (i.e. NOT These are all the pics of my friends holding up
peace signs!)
16. Take a ceramics class.
17. Write a poem or short story for the HIS Yearbook.
18. Help out with yearbook creation and design
19. Write a speech on UN Day theme (C/S)
20. Start a debate team
21. Design programs for UN Day/World Spelling Day/World Maths
Day/International Literacy Day/Any other Day (i.e. be in charge and make it
creative.) (C/S)
22. Start a photoblog or join new photographers groups on Flickr where you
can share your photography and improve your photography. 365 photos
project, Photo Friday etc.
23. Find an ugly wall in your neighbourhood and design a mural for it. Ask
permission from whoever owns it and then enlist friends or neighborhood
kids to help out with it. (C/S)
24. Create a historical walking tour of Hiroshima in English with map and
signs explaining the historical significance (C/S)
25. Create a nature walking tour of Hiroshima in English with map and nature
information (C/S)
26. Design and create attractive signs with environmental messages for your
school or neighborhood. (C/S)

Action
1. Plan an overnight hiking expedition take an experienced outdoors
person with you
2. Climb a mountain
3. Try bowling. Try golfing. Try curling!
4. Try surfing at Hamada.
5. then get good at surfing.
6. Learn to swim
7. Learn to SCUBA dive or get advanced certification
8. Try mountain biking. Organize a trip for a group from school.
9. Commit to riding your bike to school a certain number of times per week
10. Learn to skateboard- BE CAREFUL!!!
11. Join a gym over winter. Set yourself a workout plan and stick to it!
12. Join weightlifting classes
13. Join hip hop dance classes
14. Train for an upcoming running race and set a goal for yourself.
15. Join a tennis club
16. Find a community garden and help out in it (A/S)
17. Teach sports to kids who dont get the opportunity to learn (A/S)
18. Learn to ski or snowboard this winter
19. Plan an overnight camping activity for a group of interested
elementary/middle school students and lead it (with teacher supervisor).
(A/S)

Service
1. Tutor at a local elementary school
2. Work as a teachers aide in a local elementary school
3. Volunteer to help play with orphans at local orphanage
4. Teach singing/piano/guitar as a lunchtime or after school club
5. Teach people at non-profit or charity about open-source software and how
they can use applications to make their organization serve people better
6. Visit the hospital for bomb survivors weekly and chat to the residents, or
teach them a new craft/skill.
7. Volunteer to teach a workshop at a local internet caf on writing a resume
(S/C)
8. Organize a beach clean-up with your friends: find a local company who
will dispose of the trash and recycling and spend a few hours cleaning the
beach.
9. Campaign the local government on an issue you feel strongly about
10. Plant trees in watershed. (S/A)
11. Become certified in CPR/First Aid at local Red Cross.
12. Become a CPR/First Aid instructor and teach classes at local Red Cross.
13. Serve as a translator for school activities as and when needed.
14. Help a lower school club set up a website (like maybe the Thousand Crane Club) -
(S/C)
15. Design and perform a creative skit about healthy eating habits for lower school
(S/C)
16. Research healthy eating options and change Hungry Hideout food offerings. (S/C)
17. Design a poster campaign for healthy eating (S/C)
18. Start a Model UN team (S/C)