Community Building and How It Works
This past fall the city and the province were filled with electioneering: some people were deeply engaged with forums, lawn signs and door knocking; others were so ho hum about the buzzing political activity.
Everywhere I went I heard people talking about community building and then I began to think about what community building looks like, who does it and does it matter. The first place I went to was voting behaviours. It feels like if people are engaged, of course they would vote and if not, why not.
The data shows that federal elections get the highest turnout with about 68% of people voting. Why? Does it seem more important to people’s lives? Provincially about 60% of people vote and municipally about 40% vote. Why? Voting is such a critical part of our democracy, our freedom, and our way of life one would think more people would be determined to vote. Recent data shows that under 40s seem reluctant to vote.
That made me wonder about community building: what it means and why it’s so important. Initially it seems so simple. We get to know our neighbours – we greet newcomers and are “Canadian friendly”. We have a new neighbour, Josie who moved to Calgary from Vancouver to be near their daughter. She definitely knows how to be a community builder; within a few days she brought us zucchini chocolate cake to announce their arrival. We were delighted and she and their little dog Teddy are seen on the street as they go back and forth to see their daughter often – we are fast friends going back and forth to see each other’s gardens.
Those small actions of being friendly, of chatting on the street, helping someone carry in groceries, shovelling neighbours snow, helping in times of sorrow, and celebrating important hallmarks. Those small actions build trust and that leads to getting to know people more personally.
When all of those small actions come together, gatherings and events break out. In the alley behind 26A Street they have a Friday 5:00 pm gathering where the kids play and the adults share drinks of all sorts and share their friendships. It seems so civil and so friendly. Soon people share lawnmowers and other tools, gardening tips, and life experiences.
In strong communities, neighbours check in on each other, offer help during emergencies and before you know it people volunteer to clean the hockey rink, serve on the community association board and become politically active. All of this shapes our environment and policies that affect our lives.
As a lifelong volunteer serving on a wide variety of boards, I know that it enriches people’s lives and influences our children’s future behaviours. When I was a kid, my parents volunteered for political campaigns and served as scrutineers at the polls. As an adult it would never occur to me to not vote – it just seemed ‘normal’ which leads me to wonder why so many people don’t.
I have a plea: greet your new neighbours so they know they always have an ally in the ‘hood, entice them to participate in the community and heaven knows, even be willing to serve on City Council someday: that’s community building in a big way. My hats off to every single person who is willing to throw their hat into the ring. They deserve our respect and help whenever they need it. Community building at its finest.
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