How to Start a JustServe Club in Your School

Have you ever wanted to make a difference in your community, serve alongside friends, and build skills that will help you long after graduation? Starting a JustServe club at your school is a fun, simple way to do all three.

Across the country, JustServe has nearly 300 clubs, with dozens more launching every school year. These clubs have provided opportunities for thousands of students attending middle school, high school, and college.

A JustServe club is a group of volunteers who come together regularly to find and organize ways to serve their community. Most JustServe clubs are started by students, but they can also be started by community members. Some clubs focus on one big project a semester, like a schoolwide food drive. Others tackle something new every month, from writing cards for veterans to coordinating a park cleanup. However a club decides to serve, JustServe makes it easy to find real needs, connect with community organizations, and get others involved.

Joining or starting a club does more than look good on paper, although it does that too. Here’s what students say keeps them coming back:

• It’s fun. Planning and carrying out service projects with friends is one of the best parts of the club. You get to be creative, work as a team, and see the difference you’re making together.
• It strengthens college and job applications. Consistent, organized volunteer experience stands out to admissions officers, scholarship committees, and future employers.
• It builds real skills. Participating in a club means practicing leadership, teamwork, organization, and problem-solving—skills that carry well beyond high school and college.
• It creates connections. Clubs are a natural way to meet new people who share a similar drive to make a difference, including fellow students and leaders in local organizations.
• It meets real needs. Every project connects your club to something that actually matters in your community, not just an activity for its own sake.

Starting a club is more straightforward than most students expect. It comes down to three steps:

1. Register your club. Add your club as an organization on JustServe , then find a teacher or staff member willing to serve as your advisor. Registering makes it easy to promote projects, share contact information, and get support from a JustServe representative.
2. Recruit members. Spread the word through school announcements, posters, and social media. Talk to friends and classmates about why the club matters and how they can get involved.
3. Plan service activities. Think about what your school or community needs, then build a list of projects your club wants to tackle, from clothing drives to tutoring programs.

Once your club is up and running, a few habits can help it thrive:

• Give every member a specific role
• Recognize volunteers for their work
• Ask for feedback along the way
• Look for opportunities to team up with local organizations

Participating in national days of service , like MLK Day of Service or Global Youth Service Day , is also a great way to keep momentum going throughout the year.

Students across the country are proving just how much impact a JustServe club can have.

Pleasanton, California

Two new JustServe clubs at Foothill High School and Amador Valley High School teamed up with local veterans on a project to make and install permanent flag holders at veterans’ graves in the Pleasanton Pioneer Cemetery. Over 60 youth volunteers pitched in across three work sessions, cutting 310 pieces of PVC pipe and drilling 620 caps.

Columbia, Missouri

A 16-year-old sophomore at Rock Bridge High School started a JustServe club because he wanted his peers to have an easy way to get involved in local service opportunities. Just weeks after launching, the club’s timing lined up with a major nationwide food donation initiative delivering truckloads of food to communities across all 50 states (an effort in collaboration with America250 on the “America Gives” effort).

Williamson County, Tennessee

Five newly formed JustServe clubs at Brentwood, Centennial, Nolensville, Page, and Ravenwood High Schools kicked off the school year by working with a local food-distribution nonprofit. Seventeen student volunteers helped organize and distribute about 15 tons of food to hundreds of families in under three hours. That same group of Tennessee clubs later volunteered at a wheelchair basketball tournament , cheering on players, sorting and delivering 285 t-shirts, and tying no-sew blankets for a local nonprofit.

Stories like these show that a JustServe club doesn’t need to start big to matter. It just needs a group of students willing to show up for their community.

Ready to bring a JustServe club to your school? Visit the JustServe Clubs page for more tips on registering your club, recruiting your friends, and picking your first project.