At our school, the student council organizes and advertises spirit days once a month. We also complete quarterly service projects.
We have
-collected pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House
-collected canned goods for the local food pantry
-blankets, food products, and toys for an animal shelter
-sponsored a baseball cap dirve for a local Verterans nursing home
-collected donations for victims of Katrina and the sunami
-created valentines for nursing homes and children's hospitals
-collected excess Halloween candy for children's hospitals, nursing homes, and retirement homes
-recently raised $15,000 for one of our students who suffered a brain injury

You could also take them on a field trip to view your local government in action.

Our student council empties the recycling bins for our school, creates posters for upcoming school events, and plans fundraising and service projects. They have read to seniors at a nearby nursing home for Valentine's Day, recorded their own voices to make books on tape to donate to a homeless shelter, and helped raise funds for Sub for Santa. Last year they also collected pop tabs as a school fund raiser.

I am sponsor of the Fifth & Sixth Grade Honor Club and we have a Thanksgiving canned food drive. We also raise money in the event of any kind of natural disaster. The idea of the club is to reward the students and get them involved in the community so we also take them on a couple of field trips. You could also have a clean up day at a local park or lake for community service.

This year i am running the student council. It is my first year doing this and i am looking for ideas to do with the kids. Please let me know what ideas you may have!