Everyone has a gift to contribute.
Whether it's a learned skill, natural talent, or passion for community. Here's some examples of how you can take the next step:
- Community Health - Our community health is tied to our personal behavior, surrounding environment, relationships with neighbors, and our income. As neighbors, we have the power to influence these things. Giving to a community food bank, community fitness groups, organizing and contributing to school supply and toy drives, finance and investment tutoring, befriending the disabled and lonely, and checking on the well-being of the elderly are all ways of doing for ourselves what the healthcare system cannot.
- Neighborhood Security - Studies demonstrate there are two primary factors in determining our security as neighborhoods - how many of our neighbors we know by name and how often we're engaged in social events outside our homes. Becoming a block leader, participating in a neighborhood watch, staying engaged with city organizations to create street improvements, organizing and participating in block parties, and knowing your neighbors all offer very little breathing room for violence and crime.
- Stewarding Ecology - When we are good stewards of the earth, we are looking out for the future of our community health. A beautiful Phoebus is one we can all take pride in. It's also tied to our property values and impacts our financial well-being. Community cleanups and beautification projects are a couple ways we can help volunteer our time to improve Phoebus. We also have the natural resources to reduce energy reliance on outside sources. Wind, solar, and water can all be utilized better than they are currently and as ordinary citizens we can make the largest impact by our actions. Therefore, community innovation must be given free range to succeed.
- Supporting Local Economy - The Phoebus community has a long and fascinating history as an entrepreneurial epicenter, largely inpenetrable to outside corporations. We must maintain our strong relationship with existing local business and provide assistance to new ones that are constantly emerging from within the community. Citizens with experience in small business ownership, tax laws, production efficiency, grant writing, and other specializations provide boundless ways to contribute to our community's economic success. You can also help spread the word - remind others outside our community that our business district is constantly growing.
- Promoting Local Food Production - Community well-being begins in our backyards and community gardens. Supporting local food production promotes self-sufficiency and when sold by local producers, circulates money in our local economy. It also leaves little-to-no carbon footprint and provides us with food that's free of impurities. Citizens with the tools and knowledge to help their neighbors plant their own gardens, build rain collectors, and grow strong, healthy crops are essential players in the community. And of course, as those of you who grow your own produce already know...it tastes much better!
- Caring for Youth - "It takes a village" is an old saying we've all heard and believe in, but in today's society our children are too often raised by systems - Youtube, social media, schools, daycares, fast food. This causes some to say there's a "youth problem" when in reality it is a "village problem". Adults need to reconnect with other neighbors to share their abundant life knowledge with our children. We need to make our homes the place where our children are served healthy food to eat, water to drink, and where active games are played. Outside of our homes, youth programs like reading to children, talent shows, mentoring and afterschool programs, sports tournaments, community gardening and street cleanups, and art classes are all impactful ways adults in the community can positively change the future of today's youth.
- Show You Care - This is the easiest step for many of us to take: simply showing others that you care. Care cannot be bought, nor can it be offered by outside groups or institutions. Care is a freely given commitment from the heart. It's these connections we make in opening up to our neighbors that help build up a strong community.
Are you ready to make a difference?
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