It’s being frequently stated that a lack of communities has been ripping apart the fabric of American society.

I’m curious to know what kind of communities y’all belong to, and whether you felt they are having a positive impact on your neighbors.

38 comments

  1. In the past I’ve been involved with: a mentor program for high school students, park and greenway cleanups, a running club that raised money for local charities, Toys for Tots, Habitat for Humanity, etc. Is that what you had in mind by asking about “communities”?

  2. I help coach high school sports, and I used to be involved with a couple of local non-profits.

    Unfortunately my last job pulled me away from a lot of that because I was working weird shifts during the pandemic.

  5. Church, work, family, and a community service organization I volunteer with.

    I also tend to be the opposite of misanthropic as soon as I start interacting with anyone in person, so I can feel like part of a community just about anywhere.

  6. I’ve mostly been involved with my church and a local community band as well as occasionally playing soccer with a group

  7. My town is its own community. We take care of one another without any specific community offshoots other than town.

    If someone runs out of dog food, someone else covers them. Out of milk? I got you. Can’t quite afford your electric bill? We will rally and get it done. 4am and you rolled your truck and can’t get emergency services to your location? Ol Boy with a winch will be there as soon as he rolls out of bed and throws on his boots. These are all true stories. Ol Boy with the winch is my uncle. He does it all the time.

    We all volunteer to help set out the pantry at the local Methodist church every so often. Whether we need to use it that week, next week, or never.

    See a loose dog? Check him for tags or see if someone knows who he belongs to if you don’t recognize him. Chances are he will be back home within an hour.

    I could go on. Town pop is under 2k. We just do what we have to do to make sure we are all okay.

    So my community is my community.

  8. My wife and I mingle among crafters in our area. Her parents are active in their local Catholic circles. My parents (or really my mom) is active with their Lutheran church.

  9. Active in a local Warhammer club in DC

    Occasionally go to VT alumni events

    Recently joined a community sailing club to get back on the water!

  10. I’m involved with my local yoga community and the community at an animal shelter where I volunteer.

  11. It’s kind of hard to live in a community when everything is so sparsely integrated. Needing to drive for at least 30 minutes to even HAVE a community is going to necessarily stop a lot of people.

  12. Not sure if this counts and I haven’t been there for awhile, but I was a bit active in my local Super Smash bros scene. I would try and go to the weekly tournaments and it was just overall a fun time competing against other smashers. We all love the game and are passionate about getting better and having some friendly rivalry.

  13. Church, family and watch NASCAR/baseball with my neighbors. I was in the Boy Scouts when I was in grade school

  14. I am not super active in the social aspects. But I am part of my neighborhood P-Patch. It is an allotment gardening program in Seattle. The land belongs to the parks department. And individual gardeners can have their own gardening plots for a sliding scale fee. There is a ‘community service’ requirement to maintain your plot access. Volunteer to work on the general upkeep of common areas of the garden, do work in the “giving gardens” dedicated to the food bank, or donate food from your personal garden plot to the food bank.

    pre-covid I volunteered at an event organized by a different P-patch. P-patches are allover the city. They put together a pumpkin carving night at a community center. Each family got two free pumpkins. It was so nice seeing newly immigrant families trying their hand at this long running American tradition. I hope the event returns but I do think it was mostly organized by one dude.

  16. Sons of Italy. Not Italian but a 2 dollar beer is a 2 dollar beer. Plus being the only bar open on holidays is a bonus

  17. Church, Walk to Emmaus, Kiwanis. But I live in a small town so you get to know people quickly.

  18. Several.

    I volunteer in the recovery community, my church, my kid’s school, a couple online groups, professional group, our local neighborhood does a lot of nice community events.

  19. A writer’s club and book club. I think it’s important to have hobbies and friends outside of work.

  20. I’m a member of a study group at a local community college. It’s streets ahead.

  22. Not very involved at the moment, though I organize a monthly barbecue for a number of former coworkers who I’m still friendly with.

    In the past, I served on the board of a local non-profit, coached youth soccer, and was involved as an officer of the soccer club that my kids played for.

    I hope to get involved in something or other in the near future, as retirement leaves me with too much time on my hands.

  23. not really a joiner but i sing in a choir. not a church choir. we do events and sing backup with soloists and stuff.

    my therapist and i want me to join more nerdy activity groups (bar trivia, tabletop games groups) but i have crippling social anxiety.

    i used to be active in online writers’ groups but modern social media has destroyed online community for writers

  24. My small church and my Jiu Jitsu gym are the main places and people I spend my time outside of work and my wife.

  26. I’m part of my parish community. I was a an alter server and eucharistic minister, then a sacristan for a while.

    I’d love to get back into the theater soon. In highschool I spent more time in the theater building sets than anywhere else in that building.

    I don’t know of any places around that do tabletop games, but that sounds interesting to me.

  27. I like mushroom hunting and amateur mycology. Im a member of the Bluegrass Mycological Society, the Missouri Mycological Society, and the Cumberland Mycological Society. I love hooking up and learning from the old timers. Bring my
    Dog and go for a nice hike and meet nice people and see what I can find.

  28. I am in the Nerd community. Loved the D & D movie, you should go see it.

    Things are pretty chill at the comic book store. Join us.

  29. My immediate neighborhood, my synagogue, my kids’ school, a local conservation group, and my work community.

  30. Culturally-african American

    Fraternities or clubs-none

    Local society building or community outreach-none

    Religious-christian

    Political-moderate

    Any of said groups helping out? probably not we’re just too divided to actually do anything worth a damn sadly.

  33. I’m a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, I was active in Scouting for my youth and then for about 5 years after I turned 18 too. That’s about it.

    I feel like the FOE is a good place to make friends and find fellowship. It also regularly runs fundraisers.

    Scouting is a major benefit for all involved and the community at large.

    Edit: I suppose I’m also involved on the scene at my Local Game Store.

  34. Bowling league once a week.

    County board that oversees lakes and wetland conservation in my area.

  36. Jiu jitsu. My academy belongs to an association that spans the entire state I live in so I’m able to go to open mats at just about any of the main academies in my community at no extra charge. We are all a pretty tight knit community.

  38. like a tangible community? none. i moved to a different state alone and it sucks. im hoping to move back home and reintegrate with my community there

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