I was at an orientation-type meeting for my daughter’s school a few weeks ago. As I sat there waiting for the director I was thinking only of my own “to do” list and wondering who long I would have to sit here. As the director spoke I began to hear some stories that made me very ashamed of the attitude I had going into the meeting. The director spoke briefly but concisely about all the wonderful attributes of the school. To my surprise though, she quickly began describing in detail what the school meant to the others in our community. She began to tell stories of how significantly the children who attend the school gave back to our community. She described stories of how the artwork of a 4 year old had brought such joy to elderly at a local nursing home. She talked about holiday cards that she would bring to the sick or elderly who could not get out of their homes. She spoke about the cards and letters that they give to sick members of the community and not just their church members. She spoke in particular a young mother whom was battling cancer and how cards and artwork from the preschool children was something she looked forward to during her months and months chemotherapy treatments. And although this young mother lost her battle with cancer, her diary told the story of what it really meant for her to receive those little treasures from our preschoolers. These were real life examples of people who live (and die) in our neighborhoods and are not random unknown people seen on Oprah. These were mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, and grandparents just like us who were sick and not worried about “to do” lists. AND they actually looked forward to and drew strength from scribbles on a piece of paper or the hand-shaped turkey picture sent home for Thanksgiving. Needless to say I felt like _ _ _ _ (fill in the blank with your own expletive).
Community is an important thing and not just when you are looking to move into a neighborhood. When clients come to me looking to buy a home they ask for neighborhoods with a “strong sense of community,” a good school district, responsive fire and police departments in low crime areas. These attributes are a direct correlation to how strong the sense of community is. Good communities are made up of good neighbors…good communities don’t just happen. They are built by the individuals who live there. Strong communities are built from people who actually volunteer their time…time they probably don’t really have to spare. Strong communities in turn bring strong commerce in the form of solid local and national businesses and subsequently tax dollars.
Whether you are looking to buy a home or sell a home, helping build a strong community will only be a benefit to your bottom line as well as your communities. For goodness sake, get involved!!
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