Ways to Get Involved with Your Local Community

Do you find yourself wishing you knew more people in your area or had a few more connections? One way to improve your connectedness in your local community is to get involved. If you take the time to look around, you will find a number of opportunities to spend your time helping others.

1. Spend Some Time at the Soup Kitchen

If you can serve food or flip a pancake, head to your local soup kitchen or emergency homeless shelter to help serve a meal. Not only will you feel great by giving back a little, but you will also get the chance to make some contacts in your community with some of its most caring people, as well as some of its neediest.

2. Attend a Community Meeting

Attend a public meeting for your neighborhood association or your city. Learn more about the planning process and upcoming events or potential concerns the community has. You may even learn about other opportunities to get involved, like committees that are forming. Community meetings also give you the chance to hear others’ opinions about the community and where it is headed.

3. Organize a Cleanup Day

Keep your community clean and tidy by organizing a group of people to have a cleanup day. You will feel great knowing you helped make your community a better, cleaner place to live, and you will get to meet like-minded individuals. You just might strike up a new friendship.

4. Volunteer at the Animal Shelter

Animal shelters need volunteers to play with, walk and feed animals. They simply don’t have enough staff to give all of the deserving animals in their care the proper attention. If you love animals, consider volunteering your time to help. Animals that are well socialized have a better chance at adopting, so you just might save a life as a result.

5. Give Something Back

If you don’t have time to volunteer, you can still get involved by giving. Collect food or clothing to give to a homeless shelter or food bank, or sign up to give blood at your local neighborhood blood drive.

6. Visit a Retirement Home

Elderly in nursing homes often struggle with isolation and loneliness. Take over a deck of cards and spend some time socializing with the elderly in your community. Chances are you will come away with a new appreciation for their history and quite a few stories.

Giving back to the community is a rewarding way to spend your time and energy. With these ideas, it’s easy to get involved in your area, giving you the chance to get to know other and make a positive impact.