Community is Everything
Community is the bedrock of We Are For Good. In fact, it’s the basis of our first and final core values: Everyone Matters and Community is Everything. Community is vital in creating change and disrupting the status quo and accepted norms. And we just love it when community is flexed for good.
This past year has been a challenge, but have you noticed how the most uplifting moments have been found from community? We have adapted, grown, survived, and gotten by with a little help from our friends. So how do we go about continuing to create and nourish these communities after such a challenging year? Let’s look at some examples Jon and Becky gave us in this Community is Everything podcast episode.
EXAMPLES OF HOW YOU CAN BEGIN BUILDING COMMUNITY
1. Peaceful protests
2. Social media posts
3. Crowdfunding
4. Sharing a kind word to someone in a public setting
5. Exposing a problem
6. “Seeing” someone (wave at a homeless individual, drive-thru the Little League carwash fundraiser, greet and learn the names of frontline workers)
7. Hold companies accountable
“When you understand the power of support, then you gravitate toward replicating it. When you understand the weight of pain, you want to move into spaces that eliminate it. We’re here for that. And if you are too - well, then you’ve found your people. Welcome home.”
Building community with like-minded people is what fuels us. We desire to build a vital space where all are welcome, support is encouraged, and where citizens can share brainpower, tools, support, challenge, and plenty of cognitive diversity (Becky’s new favorite word!). So here’s today’s challenge: reach out to someone with an opposing view from you over a cup of iced coffee to strengthen your empathy mindset. If you’re growing yours, then your opponent is doing the work too. What an easy, simple thing we can all employ camaraderie and compassion. Find your community. And if you can’t find one - come join ours!
We recently launched an awesome, free hangout space in the We Are For Good Community App for good humans wanting to talk nonprofits, philanthropy, empathy, marketing, and fighting for things that matter with like-minded friends. Think of this network as the “after-party” of the We Are For Good Podcast - a place for you to turn for help and feedback when you’re feeling stuck. It is our own little social network to help each other do more good, together. We hope to see you there!
So go, listen. Learn. Love on one another. Be someone’s shoulder to lean on. Build community the way we all know-how.
Keep doing good, do-gooders.
PS: Looking for inspiring stories where community has saved and deeply impacted lives? We’ve curated a couple of our favorite stories of people who are rocking community here: The Pearl House, Sierra Club, Stupid Cancer.
Want to Explore Futher? Dive into these episodes of the podcast:
Jonathan McCoy, CFRE is the Founder + CEO of We Are for Good and Co-Host We Are For Good Podcast
Becky Endicott, CFRE is the Co-Founder + Chief Storyteller of We Are for Good and Co-Host of the We Are For Good Podcast