The concept of "community" is one that has all kinds of meaning. Basically, it is the idea of being a meaningful part of something greater. Maslow refers to our heirarchy of needs in the following way: survival
needs, safety and security, love and belonging, esteem, and
self-actualization. Love and belonging is where our desire to be a
part of a community or something greater than ourselves alone falls.
In grade school, our class was our primary community within the larger context of school. It was our home base. As we got older, it may have been a sports team, theater group, or something similar. In college, students often think of their residence hall floor as a subset of their hall which is a smaller group of their peers in general. Again, in college, majors, student organizations, etc. provide that small set of connections that help us embrace being part of the larger whole. Then and now, we may have found ourselves lucky enough to have more than one "community." It could be our town, our children's school, our place of worship, community organizations, and more.
Getting connected (knowing what is going on where and when) and getting involved (participating and even leading) are the ways we become part of the community. These places, spaces, and people enrich our lives and our family's experiences. Hopefully, you have found a place as your community and if you are seeking new communities, this website can help get you be on your way. With time and genuine interest in building relationships, these networks flourish and grow.
Below are a few resources related to the concept of community/social networks/social capital:
Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the "Great Good Places" at the Heart of Our Communities by Ray Oldenburg is a book I read with my staff in my former role as a university administrator. The core of the book is that home is your first place, work can be your second place, but where is your "third place," or the place you go where you feel like you are a part of what is happening: from your local coffee shop or bookstore where you are invited to stay and visit with other customers and staff to Cheers - where everybody knows your name. This book is a collection of essays that might remind us of previous places, help us celebrate the ones we have, or inspire us to find new ones.
Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam
"'If you don't go to somebody's funeral, they won't come to yours,' Yogi
Berra once said, neatly articulating the value of social networks." [from Publishers Weekly Review]
Better Together: Restoring the American Community by Robert D. Putnam (Author), Lewis Feldstein (Author),Donald J. Cohen (Contributor)
"The authors highlight case studies of building and applying social
capital, defined as social networks and mutual assistance. The case
studies, based on strong success, longevity, impact, scope, and
established reputation, include the rejuvenation of branch libraries in Chicago;..." [from Booklist review]
www.BetterTogether.org
Through sharing the idea of social capital that we build from the various social network of which we are a part, this site not only provides deeper insight into the concept of community, they share 150 Ways to Build Your Social Capital. Share ideas and get a PDF version directly from their website. From their website:
Social capital is built through hundreds
of little and big actions we take every day. We've gotten you
started with a list of nearly 150 ideas, drawn from suggestions
made by many people and groups. Try some of these or try your
own.
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1.
Organize a social gathering to welcome a new neighbor
2. Attend town meetings
3. Register to vote and vote
4. Support local merchants
5. Volunteer your special skills to an organization
6. Donate blood (with a friend!)
7. Start a front-yard/community garden
8. Mentor someone of a different ethnic or religious group
9. Surprise a new neighbor by making a favorite dinner–and
include the recipe
10. Tape record your parents' earliest recollections and share
them with your children
11. Plan a vacation with friends or family
12. Avoid gossip
13. Help fix someone's flat tire
14. Organize or participate in a sports league
15. Join a gardening club
16. Attend home parties when invited
17. Become an organ donor or blood marrow donor.
18. Attend your children's athletic contests, plays and recitals
19. Get to know your children's teachers
20. Join the local Elks, Kiwanis, or Knights of Columbus
21. Get involved with Brownies or Cub/Boy/Girl Scouts
22. Start a monthly tea group
23. Speak at or host a monthly brown bag lunch series at your
local library
24. Sing in a choir
25. Get to know the clerks and salespeople at your local stores
26. Attend PTA meetings
27. Audition for community theater or volunteer to usher
28. Give your park a weatherproof chess/checkers board
29. Play cards with friends or neighbors
30. Give to your local food bank
31. Walk or bike to support a cause and meet others
32. Employers: encourage volunteer/community groups to hold meetings
on your site
33. Volunteer in your child's classroom or chaperone a field
trip
34. Join or start a babysitting cooperative
35. Attend school plays
36. Answer surveys when asked
37. Businesses: invite local government officials to speak at
your workplace
38. Attend Memorial Day parades and express appreciation for
others
39. Form a local outdoor activity group
40. Participate in political campaigns
41. Attend a local budget committee meeting
42. Form a computer group for local senior citizens
43. Help coach Little League or other youth sports – even
if you don't have a kid playing
44. Help run the snack bar at the Little League field
45. Form a tool lending library with neighbors and share ladders,
snow blowers, etc.
46. Start a lunch gathering or a discussion group with co-workers
47. Offer to rake a neighbor's yard or shovel his/her walk
48. Start or join a carpool
49. Employers: give employees time (e.g., 3 days per year to
work on civic projects)
50. Plan a "Walking Tour" of a local historic area
51. Eat breakfast at a local gathering spot on Saturdays
52. Have family dinners and read to your children
53. Run for public office
54. Stop and make sure the person on the side of the highway
is OK
55. Host a block party or a holiday open house
56. Start a fix-it group–friends willing to help each other
clean, paint, garden, etc.
57. Offer to serve on a town committee
58. Join the volunteer fire department
59. Go to church...or temple...or walk outside with your children–talk
to them about why its important
60. If you grow tomatoes, plant extra for an lonely elder neighbor – better
yet, ask him/her to teach you and others how to can the extras
61. Ask a single diner to share your table for lunch
62. Stand at a major intersection holding a sign for your favorite
candidate
63. Persuade a local restaurant to have a designated “meet
people” table
64. Host a potluck supper before your Town Meeting
65. Take dance lessons with a friend
66. Say "thanks" to public servants – police,
firefighters, town clerk…
67. Fight to keep essential local services in the downtown area–your
post office, police station, school, etc.
68. Join a nonprofit board of directors
69. Gather a group to clean up a local park or cemetery
70. When somebody says "government stinks," suggest
they help fix it
71. Turn off the TV and talk with friends or family
72. Hold a neighborhood barbecue
73. Bake cookies for new neighbors or work colleagues
74. Plant tree seedlings along your street with neighbors and
rotate care for them
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75. Volunteer at the library
76. Form or join a bowling team
77. Return a lost wallet or appointment book
78. Use public transportation and start talking with those you
regularly see
79. Ask neighbors for help and reciprocate
80. Go to a local folk or crafts festival
81. Call an old friend
82. Sign up for a class and meet your classmates
83. Accept or extend an invitation
84. Talk to your kids or parents about their day
85. Say hello to strangers
86. Log off and go to the park
87. Ask a new person to join a group for a dinner or an evening
88. Host a pot luck meal or participate in them
89. Volunteer to drive someone
90. Say hello when you spot an acquaintance in a store
91. Host a movie night
92. Exercise together or take walks with friends or family
93. Assist with or create your town or neighborhood's newsletter
94. Organize a neighborhood pick-up – with lawn games afterwards
95. Collect oral histories from older town residents
96. Join a book club discussion or get the group to discuss local
issues
97. Volunteer to deliver Meals-on-Wheels in your neighborhood
98. Start a children’s story hour at your local library
99. Be real. Be humble. Acknowledge others' self-worth
100. Tell friends and family about social capital and why it matters
101. Greet people
102. Cut back on television
103. Join in to help carry something heavy
104. Plan a reunion of family, friends, or those with whom you
had a special connection
105. Take in the programs at your local library
106. Read the local news faithfully
107. Buy a grill and invite others over for a meal
108. Fix it even if you didn’t break it
109. Pick it up even if you didn’t drop it
110. Attend a public meeting
111. Go with friends or colleagues to a ball game (and root, root,
root for the home team!)
112. Help scrape ice off a neighbor’s car, put chains on
the tires or shovel it out
113. Hire young people for odd jobs
114. Start a tradition
115. Share your snow blower
116. Help jump-start someone’s car
117. Join a project that includes people from all walks of life
118. Sit on your stoop
119. Be nice when you drive
120. Make gifts of time
121. Buy a big hot tub
122. Volunteer at your local neighborhood school
123. Offer to help out at your local recycling center
124. Send a “thank you” letter to the Editor about
a person or event that helped build community
125. Raise funds for a new town clock or new town library
126. When inspired, write personal notes to friends and neighbors
127. Attend gallery openings
128. Organize a town-wide yard sale
129. Invite friends or colleagues to help with a home renovation
or home building project
130. Join or start a local mall-walking group and have coffee together
afterwards
131. Build a neighborhood playground
132. Become a story-reader or baby-rocker at a local childcare
center or neighborhood pre-school
133. Contra dance or two-step
134. Help kids on your street construct a lemonade stand
135. Open the door for someone who has his or her hands full
136. Say hi to those in elevators
137. Invite friends to go snowshoeing, hiking, or cross-country
skiing
138. Offer to watch your neighbor’s home or apartment while
they are away
139. Organize a fitness/health group with your friends or co-workers
140. Hang out at the town dump and chat with your neighbors as
you sort your trash at the Recycling Center
141. Take pottery classes with your children or parent(s)
142. See if your neighbor needs anything when you run to the store
143. Ask to see a friend’s family photos
144. Join groups (e.g., arts, sports, religion) likely to lead to
making new friends of different race or ethnicity, different social
class or bridging across other dimensions
145. __________________________
146. __________________________
147. __________________________
148. __________________________
149. __________________________
150. __________________________ |
More from
www.BetterTogether.orgWhat does "social capital" mean?The central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all "social networks" [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other ["norms of reciprocity"].
How does social capital work?The term social capital emphasizes not just warm and cuddly feelings, but a wide variety of quite specific benefits that flow from the trust, reciprocity, information, and cooperation associated with social networks. Social capital creates value for the people who are connected and - at least sometimes - for bystanders as well.
Social capital works through multiple channels:Information flows (e.g. learning about jobs, learning about candidates running for office, exchanging ideas at college, etc.) depend on social capital norms of reciprocity (mutual aid) are dependent on social networks. Bonding networks that connect folks who are similar sustain particularized (in-group) reciprocity. Bridging networks that connect individuals who are diverse sustain generalized reciprocity. Collective action depends upon social networks (e.g., the role that the black church played in the civic rights movement) although collective action also can foster new networks. Broader identities and solidarity are encouraged by social networks that help translate an "I" mentality into a "we" mentality. What are some examples of social capital? When a group of neighbors informally keep an eye on one another's homes, that's social capital in action. When a tightly knit community of Hassidic Jews trade diamonds without having to test each gem for purity, that's social capital in action. Barn-raising on the frontier was social capital in action, and so too are e-mail exchanges among members of a cancer support group. Social capital can be found in friendship networks, neighborhoods, churches, schools, bridge clubs, civic associations, and even bars. The motto in Cheers "where everybody knows your name" captures one important aspect of social capital.