Do A Good Deed A Day for Teens

The Do A Good Deed A Day Program for Teens

William R. Colagrande, MS

Brief Description: In this program teenagers are encouraged to do simple good deeds for others. This promotes greater self-esteem & self-confidence and helps instill positive values & attitudes in the benefactors.

Ages: 13-18

Objectives: Doing good deeds builds self-esteem and self-confidence in teenagers through the achievement of personal goals. It promotes: 1) positive values and attitudes, 2) habits of unselfishness, 3) the value of giving and 4) a generosity of spirit that demonstrate that giving is its own reward and doesn’t carry a cost.

This program harnesses the powerful bonds of peer influence to create a cycle of group support for the achievement of individual goals within the group. In addition to promoting a sense of pride and accomplishment when goals are achieved, the program allows the participants to work through and overcome obstacles where and when they arise, which is in itself a powerful teaching device in the development of necessary life skills.

Format: The program should be undertaken in a communal environment, such is in school, at church or in a scouting, 4-H or similar type of setting. The group, consisting of 6-8 individuals, would meet every two weeks and discuss plans for the upcoming two week module. During the meeting, each participant would identify the types of goals he/she would like to set for himself. A volunteer secretary will keep track of the goals in a group notebook. Assistance in providing suggestions for goal selection, candidate beneficiaries and frequency of goals will be provided by the group. I recommend identifying two tasks to be accomplished during each week. This bi-weekly meeting format can run in a cycle of six consecutive two week modules. At the end of each twelve-week cycle the decision can be made to continue on to another cycle or take a break.

Each group would have one or two adult advisors or trained peer leaders. Their role would be to see that the group remains consistent with program objectives and to serve as a voice of discretion should any proposed goals contain hidden or unintended consequences. The adults/peer leaders will need to practice infinite tact by not stepping in too early or too often: it is important and intended that the group develop its own emerging leadership skills and style. Peer leaders for the group could rotate on a meeting-to-meeting basis, or two individuals could be chosen to serve for the duration of the module.

Examples of good deeds include but are not limited to: complimenting someone, holding open a door, saying hello to a classmate that one doesn’t know well, greeting a stranger on the street, noticing and commenting upon something nice that someone has said/accomplished, doing a family member’s chore for them, or helping a friend/neighbor.

Good deeds should not be confused with performing one’s own chores or other familial obligations that a teenager would reasonably be expected to undertake. They should generally not entail monetary expense. Ideal beneficiaries for the good deed would include classmates, family members, friends, neighbors or individuals/groups in the community.

Each meeting following the initial meeting in the module would start by having a brief go-around, where each member would share his experience in achieving his goals: successes, failures, interesting/unusual/unexpected occurrences, lessons learned, etc. Individuals should be held accountable to be on goal at least 75% of the time; if the success rate falls below this minimum standard, the matter should be explored by the group and resolved.

Failure in consistently achieving target goals should be compassionately examined as an obstacle to be overcome. Even adults fail to achieve their goals and success never occurs 100% of the time. This is a valuable lesson to learn. Failure doesn’t make anyone bad and provides an opportunity to learn and grow from mistakes, understand what went wrong and to formulate a new plan. The important thing here is that either failure or success in achieving a goal provides an opportunity to learn and grow and to build self-confidence and self-esteem.

Additional notes: You may find that as young adults, teens may soon become bored with this format. Feel free to query the group for proposals to vary the format, including that some group project be taken on for the school, church or community. Don’t be afraid to challenge their creativity and commitment. Perhaps pairs of participants with successful experience in the group could undertake to support the formation and development of a similar group with younger children.

Teenagers may not always want to show it, but they light up when they know someone important in their lives recognizes their good deeds and accomplishments. The time invested now in working with teenagers, helping them to form positive attitudes and values, will pay valuable dividends for them and everyone they come in contact with throughout their lives. I think you will find it is well worth the expenditure of time and effort. Go for it!

2004

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