Building a Strong Community (Part 2)

Here are 5 things you can do right now to improve your chances of building a strong community:

 

1. Actively engage people.  The foundation of a strong, wise, resilient community is people knowing and actively engaging with each other.
2. Start a group.  It could be a neighborhood sports team, a neighborhood association, book club, greenspace project, dinner exchange, neighborhood watch group, etc.  The goal is to bring people together and let the connections blossom organically.
3. Throw a party.  Nothing brings people together, of all ages, like having a good time.  And usually involving food.
4. Clean up the neighborhood.  Again, this could be a greenspace project, graffiti removal, art project, etc.  Simple projects where people of all stripes come together nurture community pride and mutual admiration.
5. Provide opportunities for learning.  Everyone in a community knows something someone else would love to learn, it's just a matter of connecting them.

There are good resources out there for more ideas and suggestions.  One is CommunityMatters. CommunityMatters is an organization that equips cities and towns to strengthen their places and inspire change. They champion the idea that through transparent, collaborative conversations, communities can steer change at home. And they offer tools, resources and expertise.

Any new project may seem daunting from the start, but it just takes one person to spark the change.  People want a strong community.  Build it one person at a time.