The Month of Community Can Start a Year of Togetherness
It’s the first of June and with that comes the Month of Community – a time to reflect on what makes our communities great. A month where we focus on many wonderful initiatives that shape our communities making them better places to live and work. During this month our communities celebrate and support each other – by volunteering, connecting, raising awareness and being thankful for our neighbourhoods and each other.
Some of the key events that our communities engage with are listed below.
1. The Big Lunch (June 1-2): Bring your neighbours together for a communal meal and foster stronger community bonds.
2. Neighbourhood Watch Week (June 1-7): Support Neighbourhood Watch and become more active in your community.
3. Have a Grow (June 1-9): Celebrate community gardening and sustainable practices.
4. Volunteers’ Week (June 3-9): Express gratitude to amazing volunteers across the UK.
5. The Big Help Out (June 7-9): Lend a hand in your community by volunteering.
6. Great Big Green Week (June 8-16): Celebrate community action to tackle climate change and protect nature.
7. Loneliness Awareness Week (June 10-14): Raise awareness about loneliness and encourage conversations.
8. Carers Week (June 10-16): Recognize the contribution of unpaid carers to communities.
9. Refugee Week (June 17-23): Celebrate the contributions, creativity, and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
10. Windrush Day (June 20): Recognise and thank those who arrived on Windrush Day.
11. The Great Get Together (June 21-23): Inspired by the late Jo Cox, this initiative aims to bring people together.
12. Small Charity Week (June 24-28): Support small charities that make a difference to vulnerable populations.
13. Care Home Open Week (June 24-30): Discover care homes in your area and learn more about them.
14. Thank You Day (July 7): Strictly in July, but too good not to include. An opportunity to express gratitude to everyone and everything that contributes to our communities.
But don’t worry if the Month of Community is not something you are familiar with or has snuck up on you. You have not missed the boat – there are plenty of ways that you can celebrate and strengthen your communities throughout the calendar year.
Here are just a few suggestions for you to think about:
July: Why not organise a community picnic – take your own packed lunch, picnic blankets and meet at a local park, outdoor games optional! Alternatively, take a stroll along a local canal or river.
August: Schools out and hopefully suns out! How about hosting an ice cream stand and toppings station. With a couple of ice cream flavours, creative toppings and some old-fashioned syrup – a fun, sweet treat for every age (do please consider alternatives for those with food intolerances and allergies). Alternatively, host a Lego event or sticker swap event for younger members of your community!
September: It’s harvest time, so come together to share food with others, host a community meal, support a foodbank in your local area or raise money, as well as community spirit, by hosting a Macmillan coffee morning.
October: Great British Bake Off is in full swing, so why not organise a Community Bake Off and invite your local baker to be the judge. Autumn leaves are at their best this month, so wrap up warm and take part in a community wellbeing walk.
November: Light up your local neighbourhood by organising a lantern parade through your local streets. It’s also a time of remembrance, so why not host a local history exhibition or create a community memory box, full of news and memorabilia from your communities past – you could partner with a local museum or library!
December: Why not organise a trip to a local show – perhaps support a local amateur pantomime. Make or donate presents to a local charity or offer to help at a school event.
January: New Year is a good time for a clear out – so why not start with a community clean up. Bring some joy into those winter nights by hosting a games night or write letters of thanks to those in your community who make a difference.
February: Love is in the air, select your favourite romcom and host a community movie night, gather, and share popcorn. Organise a group visit to a local nursing or residential home to host singing, craft or a game of bingo!
March: The height of planting season, bring a splash of colour to your community, by organising some community gardening. How about hosting an Afternoon Tea?
April: Plan a community Treasure Hunt, where people get to know each other and their neighbourhood, stopping off at local points of interest in the community. Plan an art project to display throughout the summer, such as yarn bombing!
May: It’s bluebell time, so head of for some nature bathing and perhaps take some paper and pens to have a go at sketching, or your camera and phones for some photography – and maybe a prize for the best pic! Host a Street or Garden Party – don’t forget to make the bunting!
June….Back to the key events above!
So, whether it’s planting flowers, chatting to your neighbours at a coffee morning, organising a wellbeing walk or supporting a local charity, let the Month of Community encourage us all to actively engage and celebrate the strength of our communities – ALL YEAR ROUND!
Don’t forget that one simple way to do this is to host a free, weekly community coffee morning or drop in through the Places of Welcome network www.placesofwelcome.org.uk Places of Welcome - Diocese of Lichfield (anglican.org)