Reach Out connects people by showing simple, everyday ways to reach out to others to create a more caring, inclusive community.
How Can You Make a Difference?
First, learn what defines your community. It’s not just the family next door. It’s your neighbourhood,
your friends, your schools, your stores, your employer, your government, your police – and you.
Then, look around. Be aware of all of the people that make up this community. Look beyond age,
culture and circumstances. How can you reach out to others in simple, everyday ways?
By connecting with others you remove the barriers that separate people. By being inclusive of
others you can nurture a sense of belonging and responsibility in your community. Building a strong,
caring community is one of our most effective crime prevention tools.
Here are 101 Ways to REACH OUT:
- Get to know others, say “hi”.
- Offer to help. Hold the door, pick up garbage, do something considerate.
- Participate in community events.
- Give up your seat on the bus.
- Let another vehicle into your lane of traffic.
- Volunteer, by yourself, as a family or with friends.
- Be inclusive of others.
- Host a barbeque or pot-luck with your neighbours.
- Write thank-you notes, even for the little things.
- Get to know local politicians.
- Cook together and eat together.
- Enjoy the outdoors.
- Choose to build people up, not knock them down.
- Re-connect with an old friend or family member. Be the first to call.
- Speak out about your values, priorities, and issues that concern you.
- Smile often.
- Put a special note in your child or spouse’s lunch.
- Spend time as a family – play, read, clean, cook.
- Recognize that relationships take work – nurture them.
- Read to others.
- Teach children how to settle conflict peacefully.
- Be reasonable with your expectations of others.
- Nurture, love, care.
- Listen quietly and praise loudly.
- Share your thoughts and feelings with your friends.
- Say ‘yes’ more often than ‘no’.
101 WAYS TO - Place emphasis on lifelong learning.
- Shovel your neighbour’s snow.
- Hold the elevator for someone.
- Help children discover new ways to deal with a problem.
- Hold a neighbourhood garage sale. Encourage all ages to participate.
- Take a first aid course, so if someone needs help you’re ready.
- Help carry something heavy for someone.
- Offer to babysit a neighbour’s children.
- Offer your driveway to your neighbours for overnight parking.
- Create an emergency neighbourhood contact list.
- Tell your neighbours you are there for them if they have an emergency.
- Join Neighbourhood Watch or be a Block Parent.
- Introduce yourself / your family to someone new to the neighbourhood.
- Check in on your neighbours.
- Don’t judge your neighbours by the length of their grass.
- Garden together, share perennials.
- Support your neighbourhood association.
- Bake an extra batch of cookies and share.
- Chat with the people you see every day but don’t usually talk to.
- Take a risk and perform a random act of kindness.
- Be friendly. Stay positive.
- Speak out about injustice.
- Strive to understand before expecting to be understood.
- Resist labeling people by where they live, who they are, or what they
wear. - Know that everyone is different – avoid comparing people to each other.
- Learn from your mistakes, and let others do the same.
- Don’t judge your neighbour by the length of their hair.
- Admit when you don’t know the answer or solution; offer to help find one.
- Spend time with people of all ages: neighbours, friends and family.
- Be respectful of differences in language and culture. Appreciate them.
- Walk in someone else’s shoes.
- Listen to the people around you – and learn from them.
- Get to know your neighbours, respect their boundaries.
- Don’t judge people – Look Deeper.
- Keep in mind that when we share power, we all gain.
- Encourage the best in people.
- Read the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.
101 WAYS TO - Watch films with subtitles.
- Spend time with people who look, act, think and talk in different ways.
- Learn peoples’ names and greet them by name.
- Learn how to say simple things (like ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’) in a different language.
- Have a pen pal or e-mail pal from another country.
- Trade dishes of food, and never return a dish empty.
- Remember that laughter is the same in all languages.
- Listen to music you don’t understand.
- Look at similarities, and celebrate what people have in common.
- Realize that we all look up at the same stars at night.
- Realize that many others share your dreams.
- Play fair – share, take turns, be a good sport.
- Be a good role model. Teach values by living them.
- Give meaningful compliments.
- Be patient with children as they learn new things.
- Realize that tone of voice matters more than what is actually said.
- Recognize that respect is a basic human right.
- Think before you speak or act. Ask “Could my actions or words hurt someone?”
- Set reasonable boundaries. Know and communicate them.
- Make sure home is a safe place for everyone who lives there.
- Be proud of others’ strengths. Be supportive of their weaknesses.
- Prioritize a healthy relationship over the need to be right.
- Take responsibility for your actions.
- Give people your undivided attention.
- Avoid using the phrase “you should have…”
- Value kids and their ideas, remember things about them, and praise them often.
- Understand that love does not involve control or ownership.
- Know that good parenting means being active in children’s lives.
- Do not express feelings with fists – anger is a feeling, violence is an action.
- Teach effective ways of expressing frustration, anger and sadness
- When in doubt, err on the side of caring.
- Thank people for doing kind things, even if it doesn’t benefit you directly.
- Ask people about their dreams for the future.
- Reward effort as often as you reward accomplishments.
- Remember that everyone is someone’s child.
- Honour other cultures.
- Be generous with praise. Be cautious with criticism.
- Think of no one as “them”.