Ive never heard of a Tom Sawyer party, but I’ve been to several- family members or friends who ask for help with painting/ landscaping/ moving. It’s easy if everyone does a little work, you get to chat with friends, and it’s nice to know that if you need help in the future, people will return the favor. That’s what community is all about. As a child, I belonged to a shul that had a cleaning day once a year. I remember the pride of looking at the windows and knowing that they were clean because of my work.
That being said, there are also groups that are required to do community service. I’ve seen Boy Scouts cleaning up and building structures for local parks/ libraries/ VFW halls. They aren’t paid for the work, the town looks a little nicer as a result. If you need work done in a public area, you can contact them.