The Valentine’s Day Bandit of Portland: Unveiling the Power of Anonymous Acts in Community Building
Portland, OR, is covered with cloudy skies for almost 50% of the year, but that doesn’t stop the Valentine’s Day Bandit from lifting the spirits of the city by secretly planting hundreds of red hearts all over on Valentine’s Day. For four decades, the bandit remained anonymous. However, his identity was revealed as Kevin Fahrman […]
Every Community Needs Traditions; Here’s How To Make A Successful Tradition
Do you know what’s odder than a boat carrying a giant herring? When that boat with the giant herring is carried through the streets of a town; it’s called the “Herring March” of Spakenburg in the Netherlands. The herring is a symbol of the town’s fishing heritage, and the parade is a celebration of community […]
Stop Trying to Engage Your Entire Community With The Same Type of Activities
It was a sad situation, knowing that the group spent thousands of dollars and no one showed up to the event. I was working with a university in Georgia that was hosting an outdoor adventure day for their campus. Ironically, it was raining that day, so they had to move the adventure indoors. The entire […]
Make Sure Your New Members Feel Welcomed Within Your Community
I felt like I was back at a Jr. High School dance where each group of friends circled up to form an impenetrable wall to block outsiders from getting in. But I wasn’t in Jr. High anymore; I was an adult at a parent mixer with my wife for our daughter’s school. We had just […]
Engagement Is A Process, Don’t Push It
I never thought knowledge about plastic recycling would be the reason to get more engaged. Those who know me now may find it hard to believe that I hardly participated in any school-sponsored events before college. I was the student who ignored or declined pretty much every extracurricular activity. I thought that was something “those” […]
Increase Engagement By Changing The Environment
I couldn’t believe I was standing in front of a 50-foot, 250-pound giant red ball. My daily morning routine to get coffee at the local cafe in Chicago before heading to work was drastically interrupted when I crossed paths with a giant red ball squeezed between two buildings. By giant, I mean 50 feet tall […]
What’s An Engagement Pyramid?
Marcus sat in the front row of a nearly empty 500 person auditorium with his head cupped between his hands. He was in disbelief that almost no one showed up after spending countless hours promoting his event. “How is that possible?!?” He silently screamed to himself. He remembered standing outside the Student Union building handing […]
And the Winning 2022 #FreeHugs Postcard Is…
Thank you to everyone who has participated by submitting wonderful designs and voting for our 2022 #FreeHugs postcard! We are so grateful to Jonny Division Martinez for such creative contributions. She designed 3 wonderful postcards for us and through your votes, one was chosen! Jonny is an Early Childhood Education (PreK – 4) major with […]
Top 5 Fall Activities For Your Team
Fall is a perfect time for team building. A team could consist of people you work with, your friends, family, anyone really. A few weeks ago my friends and I went on a cabin trip. We needed some time away from life and to have a little fun. While on this trip, we decided we […]
It’s Giving Tuesday!
What is a better way to spend your day than giving back to your community? There is none! Every year for the past decade I have been participating in GivingTuesday. For those of you who don’t know, back in 2012 GivingTuesday was created as an idea: “a day that encourages people to do good”. Ever […]