You Should Support Your Local Community

The world seems to be on fire. 

Whether it’s another war breaking out across the world, or employees at AI companies warning about the imminent destruction of humanity, there’s a constant media focus on the negative developments that grow day by day. Headlines always seem to be telling us that the end of the world is near; that there isn’t anything you or I can do about it.

And there doesn’t seem to be a clear solution, or an “easy” way to fix any of it. 

The national issues can seem unmanageable and hopeless, but actual change can happen through community involvement at the ground level. I recommend grounding yourself by investing your energy into your local community. 

 Local government affairs often get overlooked in favor of bigger, more shocking national news and developments, but local laws and ordinances can have a lot more impact on our daily lives than we’d imagine. For example, here in Tampa, the Rays are building a new stadium off of Dale Mabry Highway, right on Hillsborough Community College (HCC) property.The buildings for the college will be razed, and traffic in the already busy area (Raymond James Stadium and Steinbrenner Field are both in the nearby vicinity) will probably increase. A lot of people are going to be affected; how many people, students of HCC especially, even know about the development plans?

So how exactly can we support our local communities and stay tapped into local events? I’ve got a few ideas. And although these may be focused specifically on Tampa and the surrounding areas, they can definitely apply to other cities and counties!

Get involved

The first step in getting involved is to think about your own goals for helping others. If you’re interested in local politics and government, look at the meeting schedules for the city council (Tampa City Council here) or county (Hillsborough County Commission here). Most boards have publicly available meeting agendas, and most stream their meetings live as well. You can read about what will be discussed, listen in on meetings, or even sign up to speak during a public comments section. If you’re interested in supporting community connections, see what your local library is offering. Hillsborough County Libraries offer a ton of free events, from book clubs to movie nights to speaker events to professional workshops. If you’re interested in journalism, volunteer at a local radio station. Stations like WUSF and WMNF Tampa can be great places to dive into what stories are unfolding in the Tampa area. 

stay involved

This might be the hardest step because most of us people are too busy to be active in all sectors of the local community. However, it’s completely okay to casually follow what’s happening around you. But real change happens over time. If you have a goal you’re passionate about, then you should commit to working on it, even if the work is thankless at first. Keep going to events that interest you and keep meeting new people! New connections can provide opportunities to become more involved and allow you to contribute to the community in greater ways.

Help others get involved

Lastly, we can help others support and sustain our goals. Reach out to others, whether that’s asking friends to go to events with you or posting on social media . It can go a long way. I’ve found that people often don’t know what’s happening locally, or how to start attending events and making connections. You can be the bridge for those people. Once we’ve reached a place where we can rest, we should turn around and pull others up to meet us there. 

This semester I’ve been participating in an internship at a local news station. I’ve stopped worrying so much about what’s happening nationally, and started focusing on sharing with my family and friends what’s happening locally. I want to be consistent with keeping myself and others informed about any important developments. My voice might be drowned out by the 330 million others throughout the country, but in my much smaller town, my voice has the chance to resound. 

In conclusion, there ‘s still hope to be had! The opportunities are there for you to get involved in your community, if you’re willing to devote time to them.

• activism
• hcusf
• libraries
• local community
• tampa bay