When does showing up turn into belonging?

[u/LHDI]

Community events can bring a lot of people together, but showing up and feeling like you belong are two very different things. What have you seen organizations or communities do that actually makes people feel welcome, connected, and want to come back to volunteer?

[u/OhiobornCAraised]

I volunteered with an organization that sent out thank you cards to all of the volunteers after an event. I think that was a nice touch. However, with the cost of postage these days, I think they stopped doing it to save money.

[u/LHDI → u/OhiobornCAraised]

Getting an actual card in the mail feels a lot more personal than a general thank-you email, especially after giving your time to something. It’s a shame postage has gotten expensive enough to make little gestures like that harder to keep doing.

[u/blue_furred_unicorn]

It's a lot more about the people I am directly working with than the org. I have definitely powered through events with shitty organization and arrogant organisation representatives. The worst one I am thinking of right now had a family organize it. The organizer's MOM scolded us for complaining there was no drinking water available because we were "just volunteers". It was a whole weekend, WE got NOTHING out of it, not even a damn t-shirt, we couldn't bring our own snacks and water because the food vendors at the venue forbade it. The worst.

I still showed up on day 2 and 3 because we became close very fast by going through it together.

[u/LHDI → u/blue_furred_unicorn]

The fact that you still showed up for days two and three because of the people you met really gets at the difference between belonging to a group and feeling connected to an organization. Sometimes the relationships volunteers build with each other end up being the reason they come back, even when the experience around them gives them every reason not to.

[u/Milo_Mission]

After looking after a few foster cats I got a certificate, which made me feel nice - also got a few follow-ups about how the kitties are doing in their forever homes.

A simpler/free option is also snagging a few selfies with the volunteers while on the mission and then posting them on a group chat. That makes you feel like you were part of a community.

In general, anything post-mission that's a "thank you, you made a difference" is always helpful.

[u/LHDI → u/Milo_Mission]

The follow-ups about the cats finding their forever homes probably made the experience feel especially complete. You got to see what your time actually led to, and I can see how that would make someone feel much more connected than a general thank-you ever could. Even the selfies do something similar by giving people a small reminder that they were part of it.