How To Give Back To Your Community

A community is defined as ‘the condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common.’ It’s the people who you live near, who play an active role in your life, who you work with, and are connected to. You can easily belong to multiple communities at once, and it’s incredibly likely that at least one of your communities and at some point in time, supported you. It might have been that they helped you start your business, that they helped you to grow, or get over a difficult situation. The best thing about being actively involved in your community is the fact that they are there for you as you are there for them. And it’s only right that you want to give back to them.

Charity

Why not do something for charity? Get together with your community and decide on what to do and who to donate to. You can choose a charity that means something important to you, or one that is smaller and local, and doesn’t get as much funding. Giving back doesn’t necessarily mean giving directly to your community, but it can be banding together to give to a deserving cause. Are there any local events that you can get involved in where you can set up a stall with the usual bake sale or raffle? Or can you go bigger and do a sponsored hike or climb? How about a group of you train for a 10k or marathon? No matter how much you raise, it will be greatly appreciated.

Volunteering

You can volunteer on your own or as a group, and it can have such a huge impact for so many people and organisations. Volunteering does kind of fall under charity work, but it doesn’t require an event or loads of planning to take place. You can just head on down once a week, or whenever you have the time to spare. You can look into volunteering at animal shelters, or in schools to help with trips or tutoring. Local museums and galleries always need volunteers. You will easily be able to find something within your community. Just remember that if you are going to work with children, you might need to have a background screening. Choose a field that you are interested or invested in and see how you can help.

Sponsoring

If you have a business or just some spare money, then why not look into investing or sponsorship. Investing does gain you a return on your money, where sponsoring if merely an act of kindness. Look at the CEO of Q Link Wireless, Issa Asad; she helped to sponsor a makeover for the Embrace Girls Foundation. What if you can make the same sort of difference in the lives of others? Is there a group in your community that deserves something good? A youth team or group perhaps?

Youth Groups

And speaking of youth groups; there are so many different types of groups and clubs that you can get involved in, or even start up. Look into nationwide organisations like scouts and girl guides, and see if you can become a leader there. Or you might have a particular skill in acting or music and can set up something in those areas, like an amiture dramatics group, cycling club or choir.