Better Together is a book and website (bettertogether.org) by Robert Putnam and Lewis Feldstein. Putnam is an author that influenced us a great deal when researching for our book Raising the Village.
Better Together is about building social capital - which we have blogged about before. It is defined as the collective value of all the social connections that people have and the desire from these groups to do things for each other. The authors write that, "social capital is built through hundreds of little and big actions we take everyday." From their list of 150 things that people can do to build social capital, we wanted to share our top ten picks of the little actions. Those little things that if done regularly and/or if done by more people, DO add up to make a difference.
Top 10 Little Actions
- donate blood
- avoid gossip
- ask to see a friend's family photos
- see if your neighbour needs anything when you run to the store
- hang out at the town dump...and chat with neighbours as you sort your trash for recycling
- say hi to people in the elevator
- buy a BIG hot tub (ok the price tag isn't so little, but it sounds fun!)
- sit on your front step
- pick it up -- even if you didn't drop it
- log off and go to the park
Village Raising Question
What little thing have you done lately that contributes to social capital?
Shovelled my neighbor's driveway with my kids (not too recent but something little) BW
ReplyDeleteSmile and say hello to a stranger, so simply and goes such a long way. JR :)
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