Community Life Bucket List

We aren’t meant to do life alone. Community gives us the relationships, encouragement, ideas, resources, and opportunities that help us grow—and reminds us that what we have to offer matters.

At We The People Rise, we believe community is where possibility becomes real. When people connect, share what they know, support one another, and create together, everyone becomes more capable—and together, we can build a future none of us could create alone.

50 Things You Can Do to Build Community

Host a flash mob — Pick a song, teach a simple dance, and surprise everyone.
Pick up trash together — Turn cleaning up your neighborhood into a social event.
Host a dance — No fancy venue required. A backyard, park, or community room works.
Check out a person from the library — Create a Human Library where people “check out” someone for a conversation.
Connect with a sister city — Partner with a community in another country and start exchanging stories.
Silent Disco or Rave Session at your local museum, church, or library — Create an event where people dance to music listened to on wireless headphones. These are popular in Europe.
Start a skill swap — Trade an hour of something you know for an hour of someone else's expertise.
Host a Neighborhood or cul-de-sac potluck — Pick a night - September is usually good - and invite everyone to bring a dish.
Start a community book adventure — Read a book and then do something inspired by it.
Organize a neighborhood morning walk — Pick a route and invite anyone to join. Post it on Nextdoor.
Host margaritas in front of your house — Have snacks for kids - who usually show up first - and adult beverages for the parents who come looking for their children.
Create a neighborhood scavenger hunt — Teams of strangers solve clues together.
Start a community garden — Grow food, flowers, and create a compost area.
Adopt a senior — Visit, call, read with, or simply spend time with someone who could use company.
Adopt a newcomer to the community or work — Help someone new find their way around.
Host a clothing swap (or a Bitch and Swap) — Bring what you don't need and take what you love. Works great for kids and ladies.
Have a Pizza and Movie night for the kids and parents — Fridays everyone is tired. Take turns hosting.
Host a community yoga, tai chi, knitting group or other activity — Post your event around town, on Meetup, in your local community Facebook page, and anywhere else you can think of.
Create a free little pantry or library — Share food and books with your neighbors.
Start a “Buy Nothing” exchange twice a year — Give away things you no longer need rather than selling them.
Host a sidewalk chalk festival — Turn an ordinary street into a community canvas. Especially fun for kids.
Have a porch concert — Invite local musicians to perform somewhere informal or just go in your garage and invite people to stop by.
Create a community choir — No auditions. Just show up and sing.
Host a karaoke night — Make terrible singing part of the fun.
Organize a neighborhood game night — Cards, board games, trivia, video games whatever gets people showing up and talking.
Start a walking, running, or biking club — Give people a reason to show up regularly.
Host a “Strangers at the Table” lunch — Seat people with someone they don't know.
Create a group for a compliment day — Challenge everyone to give five sincere compliments.
Leave kindness notes around town — Put encouraging messages where strangers will find them.
Start a “You’re Not Alone” bench — Designate a public spot where people can sit and chat.
Host a cultural potluck — Share food, music, stories, and traditions from different cultures.
Have an international movie night — Watch a film from another country and discuss it afterward. (or just a regular movie and no discussion also works)
Start a pen-pal exchange — Connect local people with people somewhere else in the world. Or, set up a mail box in the neighborhood and do it anonymously.
Host a “New Lens” night — Invite people to share an experience that changed how they see the world.
Organize a community service day — Give everyone several ways to pitch in.
Help someone start something — A business, garden, hobby, nonprofit, book, or crazy idea.
Host a “Bring Your Weird Hobby” night — Give people permission to show off their wonderfully unusual interests.
Create a community art project — One mural, quilt, sculpture, or installation made by many people.
Start a neighborhood tool library — Share tools instead of making everyone buy their own.
Host a “How Can I Help?” gathering — People share what they need and what they can offer.
Organize a community treasure hunt — Hide surprises and clues throughout town.
Have a gathering — Coffee, chairs, music, and people. No networking required. If you have space, put benches around for people to gather.
Host a “Second Chapter” night — Invite people to talk about reinvention, career changes, retirement, or starting over.
Create a mentorship match — Pair someone who has experience with someone who wants to learn.
Start a book club — Most public libraries have bookclub kits.
Start a community newsletter — Encourage people to share personal updates, talk about what's going in the neighborhood, and list birthdays.
Host a community birthday party — Celebrate everyone whose birthday falls that month.
Do a random act of collective kindness — Pick something big enough that it takes a group to accomplish it.
Invite someone who usually gets left out — Make inclusion an intentional part of every gathering.
Create your own community tradition — Do something so much fun that people want to do it again next year.

Things to Know

Nextdoor.com is a great app to recruit your neighbors. (It is also a place where people feel entitled to air their grievances over petty and not-so-petty things.)

Music, food, drinks, and anything kid friendly usually gets people to stop by.

Holidays are especially great times to connect. Christmas time brunch, 4th of July picnics, New Year's Eve parties, etc... Pick one and own it. (It often takes numerous tries to figure out how to do any event successfully.)

Be the person who talks about the great things happening in your community.

🌎 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Help the Environment

Pick up litter on your street, in a park, or along a trail.
Plant a tree.
Plant native flowers for bees and butterflies.
Start a small vegetable garden.
Skip the plastic bag and bring your own.
Carry a reusable water bottle.
Use a reusable coffee cup.
Say no to plastic straws when you don't need one.
Bring reusable shopping bags.
Buy less stuff. Borrow, share, repair, or reuse what you already have.
Shop secondhand before buying new.
Donate things you no longer use instead of throwing them away.
Repair something instead of replacing it.
Borrow tools rather than buying something you'll use once.
Start a neighborhood tool library.
Have a clothing swap.
Buy locally grown food when you can.
Eat one more plant-based meal each week.
Grow herbs on your windowsill.
Compost your food scraps.
Use food before it goes bad.
Freeze leftovers instead of throwing them away.
Take shorter showers.
Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth.
Fix a dripping faucet.
Turn off lights when you leave a room.
Unplug electronics you aren't using.
Use natural light instead of turning on lights.
Wash clothes in cold water.
Air-dry your clothes or use your dryer at night.
Walk somewhere you would normally drive.
Ride your bike for a short trip.
Carpool with a friend or coworker.
Combine errands into one trip.
Take public transportation when it's practical.
Plant something for pollinators.
Leave some leaves in your yard for insects and wildlife.
Put out a bird feeder or birdbath.
Keep cats indoors to protect wildlife.
Use less lawn fertilizer and pesticides.
Pick up after your dog.
Join a local creek, river, beach, or park cleanup.
Start a community garden.
Organize a neighborhood “green day.”
Share things with your neighbors instead of everyone buying their own.
Recycle correctly rather than putting everything recyclable-looking in the bin.
Learn where your local hazardous waste goes and dispose of it properly.
Buy products with less packaging.
Teach a child one thing about nature.
Invite someone else to join you.

BONUS

51. Make it social.

Take any of the other 50 and turn it into something you do together. Walk instead of drive with someone. Plant trees with your neighbors. Pick up litter with your kids. Cook leftovers with a friend. Start a garden with your community.

Because there's a second benefit hiding inside almost every environmental action:

You can take care of the planet while taking care of each other.