Do Your Part...

One thing I love about +Link4Growth is that everyone I speak to is actively looking for ways to help our community and in finding ways we can work together at every level, no one is excluded, everyone is needed and everyone is valued, we are all important !

I am going to start a "do your part" section of my blog, where I can list all the little ideas that I and you can do to .....well... do our part in making our community happier, healthier, safer, and more prosperous.

I will include anything which people feel will benefit their communities.  Starting with 13 broad spectrum ideas I will add more as more becoming obvious, are suggested by the people here in my local community of Amber Valley in Derbyshire.

 Many people think they dont have the time to do anything that will have an impact, I have used that excuse at times too, I am a busy mum with 7 children, I don't have time for that, UNTRUE, we all have time to o our part even if its a smile or a wave, to running the local brownies, all this and more can be done through a creative use of time and resources - and of course the internet makes SO much possible now, and all without taking up huge chunks of time.


We ARE our community, does it matter if we live in a small village, an average town or a huge city... does it matter if we know "everyone" or we know "no one"..


For too long our communities have been slowly crumbling the causes of this a wide and varied, but this is not the time or place to hammer out the why's and where for's... that's just wasting time, what we need is ACTION from all of us...

So a list of things we can all do....

Volunteering 

is almost a swear word today and yet voluntary work is so rewarding, what ever our passion whether its kids, animals, or our elders.  We can be of benefit to someone, somewhere.  Offer to help out at your kids school, clubs or groups, coach a sports team, teach a craft etc.

Help your neighbours

Many of us meet our neighbours simply because someone wasn't in and the parcel needs delivering. this is very sad.   , get to know those around you, find out how you can help each other, someone struggling - offer to help, my neighbour Becky and I have become such great friends over the last almost 5 years... we have helped each other, (her help has been a Godsend so many times)... my washing machine broke (and with 7 kids being without a washer for a day is scary!)... helped out with shopping and childcare, listening to each other, cried on each others shoulders...  My kids have gone shopping and taking bins out for our elderly neighbours during heavy snow. So much is possible, if we just look around us.

Donate 

Whether it be food for people, animals, birds, it doesn't cost much to stick a couple of tins of beans or tomatoes or a tinned meal for cats and dogs into the food drive at you local food drive.

Donate clothes, to friends and family, to charity or thrift shops, even rags can go for recycling and used in a variety of crafts.  I have donated tons of stuff to friends and family, to my local charity shops, I believe strongly in giving, and in return I have also opened my front door to find people locally have donated to me an my kids secretly, this has always been such a blessing.

Get Actively Involved

its great to get involved with and/or organise events in your community to raise awareness of local issues, or just for fun... from activity days for kids and families during the holidays, to tea dances for pensioners, film nights, car boots, jumble sales etc.  Anything which gets people together and talking would be GREAT, too many are stuck at home isolated with the only options for help being the state services, which many are wary of approaching.

Set Up Local Groups

whatever your passion whether its photography, local history, nature walks, films, DIY, etc anything which again provides a service locally that encourages the community to work together and get to know each other.

Focus Groups

For those that are inclined to get into the nitty gritty join the local focus groups, set up support networks, get involved with the decisions being made for your community often by people outside of our community.

Educate your community 

All of us have skills, some of which we take for granted from cooking to cleaning, sewing and DIY, gardening, IT skills, car maintenance.  Life skills are something that most kids I know don't have, I have lots of kids and they have lots of friends, all welcome for dinner, many of them have learned to cook with me, or clean and organise something with me, gardening with the family etc.

Work on community initiatives

Its so good to be a part of regenerating areas that are neglected, look at helping with clean up campaigns for parks or local areas, campaign against litter and dog fouling is high on lots of peoples priorities around where I live.

Join up or create a Security Circle 

where people offer skills and resources in times of emergency such as fire, flood, etc.

Support and use your local charities

At the moment they are under threat from the mega-national charities, which are fabulous at raising money, but not a lot goes back into the local area unfortunately.  We have two charities locally that I am aware of and over the next couple of weeks I will be finding out more about them and discovering others locally.

Eat, Drink and Buy Local

Be loyal to your local community, buy local, spend your money locally on local goods by local people, who in turn spend their money locally.  Instead of the alternative where mega-superstores take our money and very little is returned back to the community.

Support local people 

Many people are under tremendous pressure, often to the point of harassment.

Get involved with debt counselling and legal advice center's that help people fight unfair treatment by bailiffs, housing associations, debt collectors and others.  If there isn't one start one !

Other Ideas

Create a local freecycle, trade and skills exchange or similar.

Plants seeds

Both in the physical and in the spiritual, by helping others, by being involved in your local community you can sow seeds for the future, in other peoples spirits, who knows who you can reach and make life better for.