We are in wonderful place as a community. With the primaries over, the battlefield of record signage in number and scale has subsided and our neighborhoods' front lawns are beginning to once again look like, well, front lawns.
It is during this quiet period before the fall election machine ramps up again that we can begin to notice other things in our community that we may have overlooked in the past few months. And as we identify them, we begin to wonder what it will take to fix them.
But as fast as these thoughts pop into our heads, they often move on.
I have found these thoughts of community often return when I'm lounging along Lake Michigan's shoreline, and especially as I eye the winding down of summer's last days.
Just like New Year's Eve, many of use this down time to embark upon another period of resolutions. After all, the first set, usually created under pressure to "fix thyself," has long since given way to our comfortable old patterns.
Our summer resolutions are not born of champagne and buttery (and artery-clogging) appetizers, but are birthed in the warm glow of the sun with only the sound of the surf crashing upon the shore.
An odd thing happens with summer resolutions as we often start to think about how we as an individual can make a difference. The shoreline sounds like an orchestra of time almost demanding that we dream bigger.
So as you look over the last days of summer and begin to think of ways to make a difference, might I suggest you add volunteering at one of the many neighborhood associations that populate Grand Rapids.
These are great places to make a connection and often implement projects at a much faster rate than other sectors.
By volunteering at a neighborhood association, you are more than a bumper sticker cliché, but become the change you want to see in a community that is growing more and more with each passing year.
While I recognize that there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in other organizations all over our county, the neighborhood associations really are the pulse of the community.
As one who has served on so many neighborhood association projects over the past 20 years, I can attest to the beauty of knowing what you create in your community lives on long after you have moved on. The people are the city.
Find your
Neighborhood Here, and if you are looking to make GR your home, then revisit our city guides
* to see which fits the bill.
The Future Needs All of Us (to jump in!)
Tommy Allen, Lifestyle Editor
Email:
[email protected]Twitter Feed: @TommyGSync
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