Idea 2: Combat Nocturnal Boredom and Provide Charitable Labor
Okay, so this idea’s been lingering in my head.
Problem A: Suburban kids tend to be bored at night. [Sorry, I hate generalizations, too, but just run with me]. Though we were relatively good at being active in the day, my friends and I spent most of our late high school nights driving around and finding parks, parking lots, and 24-hour restaurants. We would have loved to just have something…anything!…to do that was both social and productive.
Problem B: Charities need hands for mindless tasks…packing boxes, stacking cans, counting things, etc.
Solution?: Have a place that is half-hang-out, half-charity labor center. It will be open at nights and on weekends and teens could stop by with their friends at any time and do charitable work. The work would have to be relatively mindless (packing boxes, organizing food/clothes, etc.), so that the teens could do the work while also socializing. The centers could have TVs and food and have special events like “Watch the Super Bowl and pack boxes,” “Friday night sort and dance” and “Sandwich-making kareoke.”
I would love to hear ideas/thoughts regarding this. I might run with it if the idea develops some more.
A few prebuttals, though:
-I know that this isn’t valiant. This isn’t a way to make teens feel good about themselves without having them put in much effort. Rather, its simply an idea that could be an effective way of providing charitable labor and alleviating nocturnal suburban boredom.
-I know that there has to be some details worked out. For example, how do you ensure that the centers are not abused—that people who go there actually do the work?
Any thoughts?
