Tips for Building Community and Staying Connected

Okay, you’ve started to build your community…now what? How do you maintain relationships? How do you stay involved? How do you prevent burnout?

Let’s chat about all that and more!

How to maintain relationships

Get out!

First, a reminder from part one, you have to get out of your house. I know, I’m a big-time homebody. But our community is outside the 4 walls that we call home. We have to get out and go, so just go! Rip off the bandage and just do it. If you’re nervous about trying a new hobby, do it nervous. If you’re not feeling 100%, go with a battery at 70%.

I often find that going to swing dancing can help boost my mood and make me feel better if I attend while I’m a little tired, sad, or not feeling too hot. Of course, this does not mean you have to push yourself to the brink. But just push yourself a tad bit outside of your comfort zone.

And, once you build that community, you can start to have cozy at-home hangouts ;)

Find something you like to do and do it regularly

It’s great if you try a new thing every day, but consistency is what really helps with maintaining relationships and building connections. So do something regularly.

It could be a weekly pottery class, a regular volunteer event, helping your local Food Not Bombs chapter, a dance class, or anything that you enjoy. The more you do it, the more often you’ll see the same friendly faces, and the easier it is to get to know these people. Perhaps you even find overlapping interests that you can pursue when you’re not at this event!

Exchange contact info with the community members

Now that you’re seeing the same folks regularly, stay in touch outside of this event or class. Maybe it’s phone numbers or group chat information, or social media handles. Maybe you find it fun to Snapchat each other pictures of your pets. Whatever works for you and the other person.

For example, I’m in a Facebook group chat with my swing dancing friends where we make plans to go out dancing outside of class. That way, we can meet up throughout the week!

Be intentional

You know what goes a really long way? Remembering seemingly small details about someone. Ask for someone’s name and really try to commit it to memory. Find out when their birthday is and get them a birthday card. Next time you see them, ask how their job is going or what they did over the weekend, and truly listen and care to hear what they have to say.

I’m sure you’ve been on the receiving end of this. Someone remembers a tiny detail you mentioned, such as you getting a new tattoo, having a dental procedure, going to visit your family, or what have you. I can only speak for myself here, but when someone remembers to ask me about that event, it means a lot that they cared to remember this small thing that happened in my life, and they want to hear how it went. Do the same for others!

Offer help before being asked

Yes, it’s great to offer a ride when someone asks, but it can feel so much more meaningful to offer that help before they even ask. If a friend mentions an upcoming trip, offer to give them a ride to the airport instead of them having to ask. This benefits you because now you know longer in advance. But this is great for whoever needs help, too. It may alleviate some of the guilt they may have when asking for help and help them feel seen and cared for.

Just hang out with your community

Especially in activist spaces, it can be easy to be all work and no fun. Of course, what activists do is serious, but everyone needs to unwind every now and then. Everything you do together doesn’t have to be serious, activism-related, volunteering, etc. Sometimes, simply just have a coffee, go dancing, lounge on the beach, or whatever you all like to do.

Yes, topics of activism, volunteering, and work may come up in these settings, too, but that doesn’t have to be the focus of these hangouts. Do something together that is unrelated and just unwind!

Get together often

I find that the more often I hang out with people, the closer we get. I think this is just natural for humans. This allows for more opportunities to get to know one another, be there for one another, and build lasting friendships.

For example, I feel I have a much closer relationship to my swing dancing community because we hang out outside of class, too, than I do with my student activism community. We only see each other at our activism meetings, which I feel doesn’t offer the same space to build relationships as meeting more often and doing things unrelated to activism.

Perhaps this is something I can lead next semester to build our relationships!

Make it accessible & inclusive

I don’t know about you, but I appreciate it SO much when someone accommodates me without making a fuss and without me having to ask. When someone remembers to make a dish vegan so that I can eat it or remembers to omit the perfume so that it doesn’t give me a migraine, I feel so seen and appreciated.

Do the same for others! If you’re hosting a cookout, be mindful of allergies and dietary restrictions. If you’re hosting a meeting, be aware of using an accessible meeting space. If you’re teaching a class, use gender-inclusive language. These are just a few examples.

Not only does this mean a lot to be on the receiving end of accommodations, but people are also more likely to come and come regularly if they are included in these spaces.

How to stay involved in making change

Maybe you’re new to activist communities. how can you stay involved? You’ve been to one protest and feel energized, now what?

Go to town halls/city council meetings

Add your local meeting to your calendar every single week. Yes, I mean it. If it works out, great, go sit in! If it doesn’t work out that week, no harm. But, at least it was on your calendar for you to consider if you had the time to spare.

Why go?

This allows you to see what your city/town is up to in regards to social justice, climate change, using your tax dollars, etc. This allows you to see what your fellow townspeople are praising or complaining about, which can guide you to join the efforts and band together to make change. You can even give your own public comments!

This is one of the easiest ways to stay involved regularly locally. Speaking of…

Pay attention to local news as much as you do national/global news

Yes, the national news is scary, and we can make change nationally (we had a huge win for public lands in early July 2025 by working together nationally), but it’s also great to make change locally, too. Local news may lend a hand when you attend town hall meetings!

Check out local petitions to sign, local fundraisers, local volunteer opportunities, and so forth. Let’s work to build the local communities we need and work our way up.

Go to club/political meetings

Join a local club or political party and attend their meetings! This is a great way to make friends as well as stay involved. This could be how you find out about rallies, marches, protests, teach-ins, or volunteer opportunities. This can be a great place to get started for local campaigns to make change instead of just hoping something falls in your lap.

Just like above, when it comes to being intentional about friendships, we also need to be intentional about activism. We sure can just sit by and wait for something to pop up on our radar, or we can seek out opportunities. I encourage the latter. Here are some ways to make that happen…

Volunteer regularly

Pick your cause and make it a habit to go regularly. Maybe you like clean-ups, find a recurring one to help out with. Perhaps you’re more into feeding your neighbors, so find a food bank with regular opportunities. Pick what works for you and do your best to go regularly.

When I volunteer, I often find out about other local happenings such as other events, festivals, and so forth. It’s a great way to network!

Join group chats or social media groups

Another way I avoid just waiting for things to fall into my lap is by joining group chats and social media groups. Join your town’s Reddit or Facebook group, join a local Signal channel for activists in your town, or start your own group if there’s not one already in existence.

Truly, these channels are how I find out about any and all activism happenings in my town, from protests to town halls or letters to sign to our city council to mutual aid to fundraisers and everything in between.

Share stuff on social media

And, on the flip side, be sure you share what you see, too! Maybe you find out about a protest in a Signal chat and share the details with your other friends who may want to come. Opportunities won’t fall into their laps by chance either, so spread the word!

How to prevent burnout

I love seeing more and more people get involved to eco-fy their homes, towns, and countries as well as partaking in other forms of social justice (because eco living is political after all), but we must remember to avoid burnout as much as we can. So, here are my tips:

You don’t have to say yes to everything

A perk to having a community full of many people as opposed to just one or two is that it’s okay if you say no. Your friend will have someone else to fall back on. Take on as much as you personally want, but please don’t say yes to 100% of things. You don’t have to do it all. Allow others the chance to help, and don’t pack your schedule.

Let your community take care of you, too

You can’t be providing for your community 100% of the time, in the same way you shouldn’t take from your community 100% of the time. You need to find a balance between providing and taking. Not to mention, we are all in a community to be there for others. If you never let your community help YOU, that may give people a bad taste or feel bad.

Let them give you gifts and pet sit for you, and offer you rides and company. Of course, again, don’t take advantage of this and exploit your community.

Have intentional alone time to recharge

Maybe this is just me, but I NEED alone time. I need time with a book every night before bed, or a chance to be alone, watering my balcony garden, or playing a little bit of a video game. Community is amazing, but it’s nice to be alone and recharge your social battery, too. Indulge in your solo hobbies as much as you need to to recharge.

Of course, bringing it back to the top of this post, you DO have to leave your house to be part of the community. It can be hard to find a balance of being a homebody vs a community participant, but practice makes it easier!

Self-care is radical!

Please take care of yourself and rest. Self-care is radical when in conjunction with other forms of activism. You can’t just put on a facemask and call that a revolution. But if you go to a protest in the morning and spend the evening with a book and a candle lit, that’s what I’m talking about.

Remember to eat good food, get good sleep, enjoy your hobbies, laugh with a friend, pet your cat, eat a sweet treat, or what have you. Don’t forget the joy in your life, despite how sad the world becomes.

Be mindful of your limitations

Yes, earlier I said to JUST GO! But that may not work 100% of the time.

For example, I have chronic migraines. As much as I hate missing a night of swing dancing, I don’t want to be in more pain. I know when I need to sit out a week. I also have arthritis, which can be limiting in how often I do manual labor. If I volunteer to remove invasive species today, I may have to sit out if asked to help again the next day.

You get the idea. We all have different limitations, from having children to being disabled to having a heavy work schedule and everything in between. You don’t have to do it all.

Remember that it’s okay if not everyone likes you, and you don’t like everyone

You don’t have to be the best of friends with everyone in your community. It can be exhausting to put on a mask to ensure that every single person likes you 100% of the time. It’s okay to volunteer with someone and be cordial toward them without committing to being their best friend. It’s okay to host someone at your house who needs a couch to sleep on without being best friends.

Of course, as I said, be cordial, be nice. But, you don’t have to strive to be best buddies with every single person, and it’s okay if they won’t wanna be best pals with you, too.

Just be you! You will attract who you are meant to be by just being you without putting on a mask.

Those are my tips for now, I’m sure there is more to come! Let us know below how YOU build and maintain community in this age of loneliness.

Thanks for reading. As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)

Emma