There are many ways to ascribe purpose to your life, but almost none of them are as wonderful and impactful as caring about the community surrounding you and striving to make it better. Of course, for many, that community is a family unit. But what if you took that sense of ownership and advocacy and applied it to a wider area? Those who become interested in helping their locals live better lives, in nicer areas, and with higher principles tend to become truly appreciated and have a massive impact on the smaller realities of everyday life.
This sounds like a nice plan of course, but it’s important to be wise about your approach and attempt to be as effective as possible. Learning how to do so could positively impact your life and career in multiple ways. In this post, we’ll explore how, and offer some simple tips for getting started:
Focus On The Changes You Can Actually Influence
It’s very tempting to think of the stars when planning community change, but it is often more productive to focus on the areas where you can make a real difference and resolve ignorable problems others might ignore. You might not be able to overhaul the education system in your city, but you can definitely help fundraise for the local library initiative (to use an example), or volunteer in after-school programs, or organize a charity drive for school supplies.
Small actions like that will ripple outward, creating changes you might not even fully see at first. Even the exposure you bring allows people to pay attention and get behind you. People notice when someone consistently shows up, puts in the effort, and tries to make life better without chasing praise for it, and they may be inspired to help, support or continue your example.
Learn From Those Who Have Done It Before
There is no need to reinvent the wheel in community work, and that should be a relief for you. Some of the most inspiring figures have walked this road already, and it is smart to learn from their experience. For instance, people like David Sidoo, who have contributed to their communities through thoughtful philanthropy in sport and creating opportunities for younger people, show that success and giving back can very much go hand in hand.
Think About Long-Term Sustainability
When you care about your community, it’s pretty natural to want to fix issues you’ve noticed more quickly. Yet it’s always a good idea to think about sustainability from the start to help those practical efforts have a longer term impact. So, how will your project or contribution continue after you are no longer directly involved? How can you set up structures that might assist others to take over and even improve on what you started? If you ask those questions you can challenge yourself to do things right to begin with, which might the difference between removing graffiti or stretching to a community youth art project to liven local walls, for instance.
With this advice, we hope you can find it easier to implement community advocacy and use those skills to improve your professional capabilities.
