Especially the younger members need the clarity of that concept: A large community project is difficult to grasp, and collecting money is easy, and undemanding, and if it's not followed up by proper discussion, or, like in Akela Joy's case a concrete, tangiable result of the effort.
I try to do my good deeds. Not that I think about it very often, I just try and be as a generous and helpful person as possible. It's not that difficult: Holding the door open for a collegue, helping a lost student out in the liberary, sharing lesson materials... Sometimes I "pay it forward" and buy a bag for the next shopper in line, or ask the staff at my favourite café to treat the next customer to coffee on me.
A good turn should be done not expecting any thanks or rewards. The satisfaction of knowing you've made someonelses day a little bit easier should be enough. And, if you believe in it, it helps your Karma.
This winter it has been rather easy to get the good turns in, as there has been ridiculous amounts of snow to shovel, and the neighbours have been poorly, so my husband and I have tried to do their bits of pavement as well as our own. They've kept an eye on our house when we've been away and are always so nice, so it's not a huge effort.The greatest reward is knowing that we've helped out. An unexpected bonus was the two envelopes we recieved today. One was a voucher to use in our favourite coffee shop, one had a substansial sum of cash. We tried to give it back, but they wouldn't have it, so we've decided to use it for a family meal in a restaurant. Good karma.
They had originally planned a sleep-over in the Hut in town to get started constructing their bath tub raft for the legendary Bath Tub Race in Säve in April, but had forgotten to book, so they rearranged the weekend: Instead of driving up to collect the tubs, they took the rest of the gear up into the woods instead. 
We had a lovely chat in the car about leadership: comparing their group in scouts with the theatre group they are both part of, discussing the need for a leader in a group, inofficial group leaders, haow to deal with them and how to win and keep the trust of group members. I think we all learnt a great deal.
The woods were white and silent. The first part of the road had been cleared, but soon we were wading through knee high snow. The two accompaning dogs loved it, but I felt slightly silly, as I had shoes on rather than boots. When their friends arrived I left them there to go back home to write, but I rather wished I could have stayed there.
On my way down to the car (appr. 10k) I made an interesting observation: It took less energy, and went a lot quicker to jog through the deep snow that to walk! At least I now have had a little bit of exercise.
