How do you give back to your community?

[WomenHour]

I sometimes feed the local geese.

School governor

I help run and work at a monthly event for the elderly in the village - I know lots of the retirees in our locale think us young’uns don’t do enough to keep the village going but when you’ve a job, kids etc it’s not quite so easy....

I invent medicines.

School governor.

I run post natal support groups. My areas poor and has no funding, I got pissed off and started my own 7 years ago and it's thriving
I help out at events for the local community centre.litter picking

My community gives back to me. It's a massive council estate most are very poor, fsm is high but the community thrives here.
Help for the elderly\housebound, Fun days for the children, school uniform swaps,free community fridge, holiday meals for family's who need it, Christmas to drops, litter picks, walking groups ect.
If feel lost without my community to be honest.

Not as much as I'd like, but in this season of my life I'm long-term unwell with a one - year old and a newborn. I did far more in the past and hope to again.

But at the moment I:
-visit a few elderly folk (phone calls and letters atm)
-litter pick
-help (volunteer) to run a baby and toddler group
-support local shops and businesses
-give to the local food bank
-give away things instead of selling them

Hope to donate breast milk once the baby is six weeks old. It can be frustrating feeling unable to make much difference, but I really think there are some phases of life when you just have to take a back seat.

School governor, PTA, volunteer at local church cafe, shop for elderly neighbours, support community events, donate to food bank.

Support local food bank and shelter. Donate to women's refuge.
Donate cakes, man stalls etc at local school fete, support fair etc.
Give careers talks and workshops at local schools.
I also send DH and DC to help with the regular litter pick.
Hand down clothes, books, toys to neighbours and the school.
Raise money for local causes.

I avoid getting involved in any school or community committees so I probably look a little lazy to some locally. But my day job already helps people, and most of my volunteering is on a national scale and specialist, where I figure the support I provide gives more value than me going nuts trying to run the PTA or something.

I help at the local Sunday school and help any church fayres etc. I'm on the committee for a local charity that provides a huge yearly fun day for all the local children and I also run the toddler group for the local community centre with help from the other mums and some older ladies that like to be involved.

School Governor

Breastfeeding Facebook group main admin (busy group)

Church Facebook page admin

Facebook group admin for a specific health diagnosis (less busy group)

Visit elderly church members (pre/post Covid) more for coffee/company but sometimes run errands if required

Foodbank donations

Occasionally coordinate items to drop off to a city charity supporting migrants in the area (eg shoes, baby equipment / items)

Pass on clothes / toys to friends of friends when required.

Know 2 foster parents so they come to me when they get a baby/child at short notice and require items, as I might not have them, but might know someone who does (resulting in dropping stuff off at 11.45pm one night as little toddler turned up in just clothes he was wearing )

Up to 2018, ran a baby and toddler group every week, but got too much as was working full time over 4 days and did it on my day off, tried to get a rota so it wasn’t a weekly commitment but was impossible to find people to help.

I don't do anything, really, and feel ashamed of that. I try to be a good neighbour on my street.

I help out at my children's school fayre, am on the Church Sunday School rota. I also do charity shoe boxes and Christmas toy appeals.

I volunteer, litter pick and give to charity on a monthly basis.

I helped set up a food bank many ears ago before that many were about.
worked as a volunteer cook in a community kitchen that gives out free hot lunch.
Arranged flowers in church for Festivals
Wasn’t on PTA but helped at school discos and fetes
Give and buy clothes at local hospice charity shop
Helped sons football teams with their carnival float every year and supervised the day

Clothes drop at church and local charity shop

I shop locally too, and spend money in our town

I volunteered for a much in demand project for a local charity for ages and am now employed to run that project, so going back to volunteering for the Cinnamon Trust 🐕

There's also huge food bank drives here, especially in winter - I always give a big bag of food.

I am on the committee for our local village hall.
On the PTA.
Try to support local independent businesses where possible.
Try to help otters out as much as possible with shopping, pharmacy runs etc.

Geese are cunts.

My whole life is giving to the community. For decades of volunteering, and working in housing, and putting up young mums in my house etc. But I won't fed geese cunts.

I do find a lot of these answers really disheartening.

We really struggle to get people to help us with the hall management, it really doesn't take a huge amount of you have enough people involved, I am a single parent and manage my own business too so time is tight, but it helps the local community and especially the small village school so we can't let it go.

Sadly the people who would be most vocal if we had to close the facility are the ones who are least likely to step up and help in any way,

I volunteer my time to the tenants union

Pay council tax (robbing bastards!!) and say hello to my next door neighbour.

I think that's enough community spirit.

I don’t do as much as I’d like right now, but pre children and our current situation I:
Was a school governor for The primary school which was scraping itself out of special measures
Volunteered with St. John ambulance, usually about 1000 hours a year, as a community trainer and first aider
Organised a collection point for food bank items at our local church
Did flowers for the church for special occasions (including funerals)

For those that say they haven’t the time - I did this while working a full time job (admittedly no kids for most of it). It’s possible to find the time.
I also think that no act is truely altruistic - working with St. John was demanding both in terms of time and the nature of what we did (I was london région so pretty full on) but I also got huge please from it - from helping people, from knowing I had a good skill set, plus I got to watch a decent amount of concerts and premiership football for free.

Council tax, food bank donations and money for a charity that do packs for new mums.

I've looked at volunteering in the past but it's either lone working or they want someone to immediately be a leader/organiser, both of which put me off.

@OhSweetNuthin

You feed the geese? 😂 Way to go OP, your philanthropy knows no bounds.

😂😂😂