How to Find Opportunities to Be Involved in Your Community 

“At the end it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. 
It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back. “

Denzel Washington 

Halloween is a month away, followed by Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, and a long list of events in virtually every community. NOW is the time to crank up the volume on what you’re doing to be involved in your community.  

You need to get your name out there by being involved in your community, especially with nonprofits. Mom has more time since the kids returned to school, and she’s online more frequently. The timing is perfect for you to be more active in supporting nonprofits in your area and using social media to help spread the word. 

I know I’ve written about this before, but people like buying products and services from companies they perceive as giving back to the community. That means you need to be out there and as involved as much as you can possibly be. 

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. 

George Bernard Shaw 

Just in case you’re wrestling with ideas on how to get more involved: 

• Get involved with a local fund-raiser. Whether it involves your camera or not doesn’t matter. You need to be involved, and your community needs to know you’re not just another retailer or service provider but an active supporter. 

• Look for local events: For example, what’s coming up in your community that’s a fund-raising event?   

• Get to know the president of the PTA for any of the schools. How about portraits instead of a bake sale to raise money this year? What events are they sponsoring that might need to be documented? 

• Every high school sports team, band, yearbook, and chorus is looking for new ways to raise money, and you’ve got the gear and the know-how.  How about working with them to create a new idea for fund-raising beyond hot dog sales at the games? And when it comes to the yearbook and school newsletter, help the student photographers to become better artists. 

• Not every show of support needs to involve photography. Even if you’re just helping the Boosters Club at a refreshment stand selling hotdogs, the key is to be out there in the community. 

• Visit your local Chamber of Commerce and find out what’s happening in the community. There’s always a United Way Campaign in the fall, but what other events occur as we head into the winter months? 

• Sometimes, helping to raise money directly is about using your skill set as a photojournalist to boost awareness. Document various events in the community, and then provide the management of those events, the local paper, and websites with your images. Remember, nobody can do it better than you! 

• Use your social media role to help raise awareness for various nonprofit events. As I’ve written in the past, share images you capture at the events. It’s great content and helps to demonstrate your commitment. Whether you blog or, for example, post on a Facebook page, by sharing information about various nonprofits, you’re becoming an ambassador for that organization. 

• Publish an event calendar. This is an easy way for you to become a community clearinghouse for nonprofits in the area. Plus, it shows your commitment. 

None of this is new for me to be sharing. You’re looking for the community to be good to you, so you’ve got to be good to your community! Best of all, no act of support is too small—the key is being involved and giving back.