There are loads of community-based activities that you could get involved in throughout 2020. We’re not suggesting you do them all! But the idea is to involve people in communal, social and supportive activities that reinforce a sense of community, but also engage those who might be isolated or lonely or who might need that little bit extra help to get by.
Sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start. Finding funds and recruiting helpers isn’t easy; but making ‘community’ a reality can be very rewarding, and for the right reasons. Check out numbers 51 and 52 for help!
1. Join a Good Neighbour Scheme - find out more here
2. Start a Good neighbour Scheme - find out how here
3. Look after a community orchard
4. Start a local chicken- or bee-keeping scheme
5. Arrange fish ‘n’ chip supper socials at the village hall
6. Set up a community hub
7. Join an oil-buying collective - visit ThinkingFuel to find out more
8. Apply for an Awards For All grant to fund a local activity or facility
9. Grow a community allotment or shared garden
10. Bulk-buy you and your neighbours’ essentials together
11. Set up a local history club
12. Round up a guerrilla gardening task force
13. Start a community E-bay shop
14. Host a community petting zoo
15. Organise a ‘Good Life’ event
16. Carry out an accessibility check in your community
17. Start a book exchange
18. Run a monthly lunch club
19. Set up a community choir or orchestra
20. Hold a monthly talent-sharing class
21. Start a community bike repair shed
22. Begin a local newsletter or website
23. Make a film about your community
24. Develop a ‘welcome pack’ or directory
25. Host a children’s treasure hunt or teddy bears’ picnic
26. Try a scarecrow-building competition
27. Start a ramblers’ walking group….
28 .…or a cycling group
29. Host an ‘open mic’ night at the village hall
30. Run a film club
31. Install a defibrillator
32. Set up a dog-walking club
33. Start a Silver Surfers computer club
34. Buy a fitness DVD and start a class
35. Start a local Facebook page
36. Set up a Warm and Well scheme
37. Undertake a community-led plan or survey
38. Run an Open Gardens event
39. Organise a Murder Mystery night at the community hall
40. Start a community car scheme for those without transport
41. Organise free talks by local experts
42. Advertise your venue for use by other groups and neighbouring communities
43. Arrange for your village hall to be licensed….
44. ....and run a beer festival!
45. Organise a music or arts festival….
46. ….or maybe an Antiques Roadshow
47. Organise a village Bake-Off….
48 ….or a wine-tasting evening!
49. Open a pop-up restaurant
50. Invite local press and radio to see what’s happening
51. Look for professional advice and guidance on organising a project….
52 .…by joining Community Action Norfolk!
[Thanks to Rural Action Yorkshire for the original idea of 52 good things]