7 ideas to jumpstart community practice

How to get started on getting started

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from Pam McAllister

"I signed up to volunteer with a tribe in southeast Michigan who need help transcribing archival documents"

"I'm planning to start a monthly (themed?) karaoke night with my pals"

"Working on a multi faceted project around police accountability/reform/ abolition"

"I sent out another round of invitations to our potluck, and I used Elise's ideas to help create a handout for the potluck for a whole range of commitments people could make."

In mid-January a bunch of us took an hour to cowork on something, anything, that would jumpstart our next community practice¹. This was the whole and only point of the gathering. The quotes above are from what folks used the time to work on – literally everything everyone did was cool and inspiring. In the days leading up to it, I stressed about shortening the time and/or adding more activities to the event, but the time itself was the point.

When getting started on anything involving other people, time might always be the point.

This isn’t about time in the sense of having oodles of it, but time in the sense of dedication. Protection. Devotion. Setting the intention: research your library board, call around to local halls to see about space rental fees for a weird party you want to throw, pressing send on the volunteer form for the grocery delivery org that redistributes donated food.

…And then setting aside the holy time to do this.

I use the word "holy" because it feels that way whenever we devote space, time, and attention to something. I know I'll usually shove a task like signing up to volunteer between "unload dishwasher" and "stare at sun" but there is something about letting it stand on its own for even 15 minutes that elevates its beauty, importance, and chances of actually getting done.

In this way, community practice is more like a creative habit or meditation or mending the button that’s been dangling off your ratty cardigan for 5 years; it needs you to honor its importance in order to actually happen.

All of the practices listed below get at this spirit. These were originally shared with event participants of GET INVOLVED BUTTON in January before we took an hour heads down together and did #thework.

These ideas are freakishly basic to the point of me wondering if they are worth sharing at all, but maybe this is a good thing. Most of them naturally avoid social media too, which might be something you’re craving in these cursed days.

Ok! The 7 things!

1. SET ASIDE HOLY TIME

The unskippable step

The same way you would (or wish you would) for your creative practice, mindfulness, exercise time, daily walks. This work probably won’t happen in the margins until it’s a part of your daily reality. Maybe it is 10 minutes every Wednesday morning before sunrise. Maybe you get other friends together and go heads down at a coffee shop. Whatever you do, name it, protect it, commit to it. That’s what makes it holy!

2. FILL OUT YOUR CALENDAR WITH LOCAL EVENTS

Find your event sources. These could be from:

• your local/regional paper’s website

• an Eventbrite search for your zip code

• a simple search for “[my town/state] events”

• local library events

• your city’s website

• meetup.com - it still exists! and even if the results make you cringe maybe it tips you off onto something cool

• gathering places – music venues, pride centers, coffee shops, small theaters, YMCAs, bookstores, parks, schools/colleges, museums or art spaces

• conveners and artists – bands, performers, organizers, mutual aid, food drop-offs, meet-up groups

Add the event details, date, and time on your calendar for the next 2-3 months so all the information is right there alongside your other life stuff. Even if you don’t go, it’s a cool way to have these happenings in your consciousness! And look mom, no instagram!!

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ BONUS POINTS: create a separate calendar for your events and SHARE THIS COOL RESOURCE YOU MADE with a friend! my friend just did this for upcoming screenings at the local film archive and it makes it so easy for me to add it to my own calendar. So cool!

3. WRITE AN EMAIL TO SOMEONE YOU THINK IS COOL

Maybe it is the info@ email of an org you have been admiring. Maybe it is a local councilmember or member of a library or non-profit board. Maybe it is the one person organizing cool things near you and you just wanna know them! You could say something like “I so appreciate what you’re up to – could we grab a coffee sometime in the next few weeks?” and then you go drink some coffee with them!

4. SIGN UP FOR TOO MANY LOCAL EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

You can always unsubscribe later. Literally sign up for 10! See what happens!

5. GO DOWN A RABBIT HOLE

Open the website or a social media account or the recent newsletter from something you follow. Click a link they mention about something else – maybe it’s a local org, gathering, legislation, restaurant – and go to their page. Find another link they mention and click on them. Keep going until you have so many tabs you want to run away from your computer but feel 14% more tapped in to things happening near you.

6. HOW-TO PALOOZA

We all know there is no ONE right way to do anything, especially when it comes to building community. It’s all about many actions over time! BUT if you need a jumpstart, here are some great places to browse how-to’s:

• Shareable – 300+ how-to articles on everything from organizing “really really free markets” to “how to share a cow”

• How to create a mutual aid network

• Get Together – templates + frameworks for beginning your own community

• Community Weaving – more amazing community-building frameworks!

• Libraries For The People – an extensive resource on advocating for your local libraries with extremely tangible ways to do so!

• Community Workshop – similar to Shareable, everything from building a library of things to pop-up theatres

7. ACTUALLY FILL OUT A VOLUNTEER INTEREST FORM

Find a local organization who could use volunteers by searching “[your town name] volunteers”. Even if none of these opportunities strike your fancy, maybe it sparks another idea or reminds you of something else you heard about. Click on their GET INVOLVED BUTTON and fill out the form to volunteer on their website.

If you’ve got any favorite practices to this end, I’d love to hear them.

or simply click that ₊˚.⋆⁺₊💜₊˚.⋆⁺₊ at the top if you indeed liked it, we always appreciate that here at group hug hq!! love to you all

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1. “Community practice” is word salad for: volunteering! hosting! organizing! participating! donating! Doing any of this with organizations, collectives, friends that you want to build something with. i loathe jargon but sometimes you need a short little phrase for a lot of things at once!