How to Build Community, at a Social Distance
Three community-building leaders give insight
Many of us have experienced a radical shift in the way that we connect with loved ones and our extended communities. Our work and kids’ schools are now happening from home. Soccer practice, music concerts, graduations, and school trips have all been canceled. Our usual go-to places to connect with our community and tribe is now on hiatus or moved online.
And yet there are also wonderful new expressions of human connection happening in real-time, every day, albeit 6 feet apart. Neighborhood cocktail hour with each neighbor attending from their own driveway. Another friend’s social media post about an impromptu concert on the family front lawn, with folding chairs, spaced 6 feet apart to help keep everyone safe. And weekly virtual family reunions have brought us together with greater frequency than pre-pandemic days.
Curious how we might navigate social distancing and yet also fulfill our need for social connection, I asked three community-building experts to weigh in on how we might connect at a distance.
Jefferson Coombs was CEO and Executive Director of the Cal Alumni Association. He has held board positions for numerous nonprofits and educational institutions including Regent of the University of California, Board…
