Quick reminder: in case you forgot, you have a chance – today – to help build your and your kids’ sense of community.

I write this on the first Tuesday of August – National Night Out. National Night Out was the brainchild of Matt Peskin, a town watch member in a community just outside of Philadelphia, who wanted to foster a stronger partnership between local law enforcement and his community.  In 1984, Matt initiated what he thought of as a crime prevention program, encouraging local residents to take back their neighborhoods by setting aside one summer night each year to turn on their porch lights and sit out in front of their homes. 

Since then, National Night Out has evolved into as much a community building campaign as anything else. It is celebrated annually by thousands of cities and neighborhoods and municipalities across the country, bringing  millions of neighbors together on the first Tuesday of every August. It has expanded significantly beyond front porches to include everything from block parties and cookouts to community-wide parades and festivals. 

Many Municipalities Host Annual Community Events.

In my township, which is a different suburban community just outside of Philadelphia, National Night Out is celebrated at a local Target parking lot, with food and a petting zoo, pony rides and moon bounces. The police department is there with their K-9 unit and the fire department performs a mock vehicle rescue. Bad news is that sever weather rolling in later this afternoon means the event can’t happen tonight. Good news is that it’s being postponed, not cancelled, so if you live in my area at least, you still have a chance to put it on your calendar.

The reason I mention it is that we’re in an epidemic of loneliness in this country. (I don’t think I’m spoiling the surprise when I spill that one.) My particular concern is what that sense of disconnectedness is doing to young moms and what that means for our next generation. Knowing how much my network of moms helped me – peer moms, younger moms, and especially older moms – my little contribution to the world is to encourage as much interconnectedness as possible among moms of every age.

Check Out Your Community’s Social Media, Find Out What they are, and Put them on Your Calendar. Then, if You can, GO.

But it can be really hard, right? Once you’re a mom, you’re in a new place – literally or figuratively. Maybe you’re the only one among your friends who has an infant or a toddler or a tween and you find you have a whole new set of limitations and interests and concerns and you just need . . . other moms. Or maybe you’re swimming in a sea of moms, but everyone’s so busy, buried in their cell phones and their schedules. It’s hard to make eye contact, let alone coffee dates.

So here I remind you of a ready-made, no risk, all reward opportunity to meet other women in your community in real life. Get onto your community’s email or newsletter or Facebook group – most have one – and check out what they have to offer. Not just for tonight. In general. Fall festivals. Fourth of July parades. First Friday events. Neighborhood concerts. Then put them on your calendar and – if at all possible – go.

And Find a way to Connect with Somebody.

If you have some friends in the area, invite them to grab their fams and go with you. Watch your kids bang into each other in the bouncy pit and drip ice cream on their shirts and nuzzle ponies. Take more notice than photos. If you happen to see that intrepid mom standing by herself next to an empty wagon staring at her kids in the moon bounce, give her a warm smile. Maybe even walk over and say hello. 

It doesn’t take much to take the first step. At a bare minimum, next year you’ll be the woman with the warm smile from last year.

BAM! Community building 101.