I’m not sure how most community groups begin, but ours had a very organic start. A few of us recognized some problems we wanted to address and started having conversations, then larger meetings after that. Before long, we had a regular group getting together, a name for ourselves, and a long list of ideas.
In fact, maybe even too many ideas. While stagnation and disinterest is one way community efforts die, decision paralysis is another. If you have everyone wanting to do something different, nothing will ever get done. So we realized that we needed to give our group a unifying focus. If we really want to be a real, positive force in our community, we all have to be on the same page.
We needed a mission.
So we got together and talked about it. While we have variety of goals — addressing food insecurity, promoting community safety, honoring neighborhood history, organizing arts and cultural activities — what we agreed stood behind all of our efforts was the idea of togetherness. We want to help create opportunities for people to talk, connect, and build relationships. We want to build community.
This led us to our mission:
We seek to create a more connected community that serves the needs of everyone who calls Haywood and the surrounding neighborhood home.
Alongside this, we built out a vision for where we want to go:
A strong community support network that helps neighbors feel more connected to each other. A neighborhood where everyone has the freedom and ability to thrive.
And to really round this out and help define what we’re doing, we wrote down how we plan on accomplishing all of this:
- Build stronger social connections between neighbors.
- Increase communication and coordination between neighbors, organizations, businesses, and the government.
- Connect people to the resources, information, and services they need.
- Create opportunities to contribute to the community.
- Help create a safer and more livable community.
Maybe these are all small things. Words and intentions are great, but what really matters is the action that follows. Nevertheless, we don’t believe any of this is just a gesture. Instead, we hope that by defining what we want to do and hope to accomplish, we are building a more solid foundation for all that will come.
Stay tuned.