Snowmelt drips from green-boughed pines as vibrant petals peek through thawing earth and chirping birds fill the air with song. Spring has finally arrived. As the weather warms and the world wakes from its winter slumber, so too do people slowly emerge from their denned homes.
Soon, though, spring will turn to summer, and everyone will be out in full force. Prepare now so your community can take advantage of the summer months. Here is how to bring your community together this summer so everyone can enjoy their time together to the fullest.
Make Sure Your Facilities Are Up to Date
As a community leader, you know the importance of the meeting place. Because, without an actual place to come together, a community cannot be. So it’s important to keep your communal areas in quality shape so everyone can enjoy them. This is especially true after winter has now passed. It’s a time when the harsh weather may have taken a toll on physical equipment.
A great place to start sprucing up is the parking lot. If your community regularly meets in one location, make sure it’s ready for the traffic. Not only is an up-to-date parking lot more convenient to use, but it’s also much safer. The last thing you want on a meetup day is an angry pothole just waiting to pop some tires. To fix up your parking lot, call your local asphalt paving company or contact the facility’s owner.
Don’t just limit your renovations to the port of calling—spruce up the place a bit while considering your community’s needs. For example, if your members love to swim, repair any leaky cracks or lining of the gym or YMCA’s pool. Or if there are lots of children, update the playground slides and swing sets so the kids can let loose and stay safe. Always think about what facilities or equipment you could add or improve to bless your community so they can come together and thrive.
Schedule New and Interesting Events
With your facilities and equipment up to date, it’s time for some fun! If your community has been around for a while, then you probably already have some events scheduled to look forward to. But it can be worthwhile to change things up a bit and try something new. Again, think about what your unique community bonds over and what would motivate them to get out and meet up.
For example, say you’re part of a reading club. Well, what if you reached out to everyone’s favorite contemporary author and asked them to do a live reading or book signing? Or if your group loves to hike, why not plan a bigger weekend trip to a far-away mountain range? Think about what your community likes to do and how you could take that enjoyment to the next level. Pushing people’s comfort zones a little, but not so much that they feel overwhelmed, is a good excitement barometer.
If you think your community is up for it, why not raise the stakes a little? Take things up another notch by engaging in a little friendly competition. If your group goes on daily runs, for example, host a sprint race to see whose legs carry them the fastest. Of course, with any competition, there are winners and losers. So make sure that, if such an event is appropriate, it’s well-tempered to your group’s personalities.
Get Volunteering
One of the best things about people is that, when it comes down to it, most love to help others. Unfortunately, the modern Western world highly incentivizes people to think about themselves first and foremost. So many are a bit reluctant to lend their time and money when they feel like they don’t have much to spare. But give people an opportunity — especially one that matches their interests — and watch them come out of their shells to lend a hand.
Volunteering can do so much good on so many levels, and there are so many ways you can get your group to pitch in. One of the simplest is to reach out to a volunteer organization and sign up to help. If your community lives in a city, tons of soup kitchens need help serving and delivering food. Or you can find a trash-cleanup organization to help clean your local rivers, streets, and highways.
Alternatively, get people motivated with the aforementioned interest-based volunteer opportunity. Turn that sprint race into a fund-raiser where all the proceeds go to a charity your community chooses. Or join a walk like the Walk to End Alzheimer’s or participate in events like the Relay for Life, which supports cancer research and honors those affected by the disease. There are so many ways to transform your community into a volunteering force for good and have fun doing it!
Crowdsource Ideas
Being part of a community means sharing your time with others. That could mean engaging in activities that give people energy or take it away. You might have a lot of ideas now for different activities that would bring your community together this summer. But make sure to reach out and check with members to see if those ideas match people’s interests in reality. At the end of the day, you’re all in this together!