Strong communities don’t get that way by accident. They are built, over time, through thousands of actions that generate trust, and belonging, and occasions for joy.
The Community Builders’ Hub, a new nonprofit in the North Country, is doing all of those things.
The Hub hired three “community stewards” — all with deep local connections and a singular genius for the work. Mandy Bernd was a longtime bartender, Tara Giles a former newspaper reporter, Britni Haley held various roles in the hospitality industry.
Their first task: asking people what they wanted in their communities. “If the neighbors don’t ask for it,” the philosophy goes, “we don’t do it.”
The stewards’ work is to be super-connectors, generators of ripple effects, reminders of what is possible, purveyors of hope.
In Colebrook, that looks like people working together to revitalize a community wellness center. In Milan, it’s sixth-graders putting on a community dinner for elders. In Stratford, it’s a coffee-and muffins social before town meeting, where people spent some time on common ground before debating community issues. In Littleton, a night of bachata and merengue dancing — for everyone from babies to grandparents. In Berlin, a “PorchFest” where porches are turned into concert venues and the city comes out to listen. And much more.
“When we do these things together, then we can work on the hard things together,” Britni said. In Whitefield, people asked for a skating rink. The rink had been a fixture on the oval that surrounds the town bandstand for generations. Its absence in recent years was keenly felt.
Tara went to the selectboard and offered to take responsibility for the rink.
A week later, on a January night when temperatures dipped to -20, people with more in common than they had realized were out on the town common with hoses, making something good for everyone.
A few weeks later, five-year-old Leroy Kenison suggested a school vacation skating party, and the community heard his voice. The skating party — with music and hot chocolate and milk crates and laughter — ensued on the common.
One skater stopped, and spread his arms, and said “We’re really not that divided. Look at this.”
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