Join a TimeBank. Where we build a better community that shares each other's time. TimeBanking is a unique way of building community through trust, where members depend on one another. You can earn credits by giving your time to help someone and then spending those earned credits receiving help in return. Everyone is valued equally and one hour you give = one credit earned.

Groups of 5 to 10 people who walk together at least once a week to points of interest throughout the community.

Community savings groups are associations where people agree to save a certain amount periodically and deposit their savings into a shared account. Some groups offer small loans, too.

They’re popular all over the world, from West African Sou-sous to Mexican Tandas to Vietnamese Huis.

No matter where they are, community savings groups benefit people from all walks of life. They help you cultivate financial and economic security with people you trust, increase your savings, and borrow money without high-interest rates.

Creating a pocket park on each block provides a place for people to interact and get physical exercise.

Hosting a clothing swap is not only a creative and affordable way to remake your closet but also a means for fostering community with like-minded women in your area. A place to share garments, gather with purpose, and share in the rewards and challenges of conscious living, clothing swaps are one of our favorite places to make new friends while simultaneously updating our wardrobe. Try hosting your own this season!

A Skillshare is an event where people gather to share their skills. This event can be focused on one specific topic, with a plan, organized contributors, a schedule, activities, supplies, and more; or it can be an open gathering of people who simply want to share what they know “how to do” with each other. Skillshares can be hosted online, through local businesses, at libraries, in churches, schools, private homes, public parks, and many other places.

Start a community fridge. In Miami, this initiative has supported thousands of people in under-represented communities with free, healthy food. Each fridge is painted by a local artist, changing the look and feel of a traditional social service. Simultaneously, these fridges help to combat excess food waste, collecting food that would otherwise go bad via our partnerships with Food Rescue US, Farm Share, and Good Samaritan Meals.

Create art in the community to beautify it while waiting on infrastructure developments.
The neighborhood cares deeply about the infrastructure of the community… but those projects will take a while. Putting in community art will help to enhance the appearance of the neighborhood in the meantime.

Recruit more boots-on-the-ground for neighborhood work!
It’s hard for the older neighbors in Charles Page to get neighborhood work done due to their physical ability. Recruit a solid team of volunteers that VNP can call upon to help out with neighborhood projects - and perhaps for other neighborhoods too.

Engage the youth and retain the youth in the neighborhood for projects.
Many of the people who get involved in the Charles Page neighborhood lean especially older - youth bring more creative ideas and energy into the process. The existence of three schools in close proximity and the Common Good shows there is much untapped potential.