A dent can be pretty
The other day I had a very nice lunch with two very nice, active and activist women. As usual on such a lunch, there is too little time and too many ideas.
We really want to:
- bring the corporate world closer to the non-profit world
- create partnerships with meaning
- start a ‘Foundation for activist women’
- meet for lunch more often…
Above all we were thinking of easy ways to get people to participate in their community. Not that we want to force people to volunteer, far from it! That would be a total disaster besides having the oppositve effect.
We were more thinking about how can we create projects, partnerships that make this ‘helping’ and interacting automatic, cool and something people would want to do.
I think that any change needs to be driven by someone. A person or a group of people.
I also think this person can be anyone.
But often we wait for that person or that group to come and ask us for help or to show up so that we can identify with it and join them.
What if…
What if we just made the change we were thinking of?
What if you just proposed to the commune to teach English to children?
What if you just asked to help out at the school party?
What if you just hung up a silly, happy poster at our local bus stop?
What if you turned the village phone booth into a small library?
What if you put up little motivational quotes in the bathrooms at work? (yup…that would be me 
– if you want some to lighten up your company bathrooms, and I’ll get you some!)
What if you ______________________ (fill in the blank)
Helping your community does not necessarily mean you have to join the Red Cross, take care of the disabled once a week or become the editor of another charity’s newsletter.
Although those are very praiseworthy actions, they are not for everyone.
Furthermore, a community is not just the non-profit world. It’s also people (you, me, evvvvverybody…) and companies.
Many changes start small. Small is good.
What small dent can you make in your community?