Community |kəˈmyoōnitē|
noun ( pl. -ties): The intentional coming together of a group of people who have learned how to communicate honestly with each other, have committed to supporting each other’s struggle, and celebrate each other’s happiness.
One of the most important aspects of organizing is community/relationship building. For the most part, people like to feel included, a part of something. Often we feel stronger when we know we’re not alone.
A great way to get the community involved is to organize or find social gatherings where the whole community can be included and educated on an issue while eating and having a good time. There are also several ways to people stay connected, continue learning together, engage more people and share resources. Here are just a few things we wanted to share:
Community Block Party or Cook Out: A block party or cook out is a great way to engage the community in a fun way. Plan, outreach and host your own community block party or cook out! This is a good way to connect with community folk and get your message out there.
Community Concert/Art Show: Know any singers, performers, dancers and artists? Is there an issue you want others to know about or to organize around? Would you like to find a way to bring people together to learn through art or music? Combining art with activism to educate is a great way to bring in new people and communicate with people in a variety of ways.
Film Screening: Often movies will convey the message you are communicating. You might consider finding a film to show and having a discussion afterwards. This is something that could be done at a local community center or in your living room. If there is an educational film that you don’t know how to find, try your local community organizations to see if they have a copy or look online. Some films are even uploaded onto YouTube. Additionally, purchasing hard to find films can be costly but if people or organizations pool their money together the film can then become a community resource.
Community Libraries: Identify what kinds of books you want your library to have. Many community organizations, historical societies, and places of worship offer small libraries of special-interest materials for their members.
Begin by asking members of your organization to donate books and other media on your subject of interest. You may wind up with some items that are outdated or in poor condition, but you will most likely get some generous donations, as well. You can also ask for monetary donations to buy new materials; if you do, ask the group for recommendations on the best books and DVD’s on the subject. Once you have enough materials to start a library, decide how you want to organize them, how you want to let people know what’s available, and how to manage the circulation.
Circulation: Getting the Books in Readers’ Hands
To manage the circulation (keep track of what’s checked out), you may either choose to set hours of operation and have volunteers staff the library, or you may design a self-checkout system that allows people to access the library at any time. If you choose the latter, it’s unlikely that you will be able to collect any fines, but you should still decide on and post guidelines for how long an item may be checked out so that no one has to wait too long for a popular book or DVD. If you choose a self-checkout system, you might also consider holding orientation sessions (especially when the library is new) to let people know what’s available and how to check it out.
Maintaining the Library
If you expect your library to grow beyond the original collection, you should also consider how you will handle donations and/or budget to buy new books, as well as how you will hold library users responsible if they do not return an item. (Will you expect them to pay to replace it with an identical item, ask them to donate a similar item, or just tell them to keep it and enjoy it?) Think, too, about what you will do if the library grows too big: will you weed out old books or find more storage space?
Each lending library has different needs, and each librarian or library committee (which may be just you) will have different ways of meeting those needs. Whatever decisions you make about how to operate your organization’s library, you will find that a little work and a small budget can create a valuable resource for everyone in your organization.
Some Tips!
The Ten Rules of Community Organizing
1. Nobody’s going to come to the meeting unless they’ve got a reason to come to the meeting.
2. Nobody’s going to come to a meeting unless they know about it.
3. If an organization doesn’t grow, it will die.
4. Anyone can be a leader.
5. The most important victory is the group itself.
6. Sometimes winning is losing.
7. Sometimes winning is winning.
8. If you’re not fighting for what you want, you don’t want enough.
9. Celebrate!
10. Have fun!
