Community

Volunteering, coaching, serving and showing up. The town is only as good as the people who run it.

GuideJosh Halloran23 Sept 20266 min

What to Do When Your Neighbor's Year Goes Sideways

Casseroles pile up in week one and vanish by week five. The help that actually lands is specific, scheduled, and doesn't require a thank-you note.

How to Use Your Three Minutes at the Town Council Mic

Most people waste their public comment on venting. Do these six things instead and you'll be the person the council actually listens to.

GuideMarcus Vale23 Sept 20266 min

What Actually Happens After the Jury Summons Arrives

The waiting, the pay, the questions they ask you, and the reason the chair exists at all.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideSam Ortiz23 Sept 20266 min

Run a Cleanup Day Your Neighbors Actually Show Up For

Two hours, a pile of contractor bags, and one phone call you have to make before you pick a date.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

5 min read

How to Shop Local Without Making It a Personality

Pick three categories, switch them, and quit pretending the price is the same. A working system for keeping your money on your own street.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

How to Check Where Your Charity Money Actually Goes

Fifteen minutes with a Form 990 tells you more about a charity than any brochure, any gala, and any commercial with sad music.

GuideJosh Halloran23 Sept 20265 min

The Food Bank Doesn't Need Your Cans. It Needs You on Tuesday.

What actually happens on a volunteer shift, the mistakes new people make, and how to still be showing up in February.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

GuideSam Ortiz23 Sept 20265 min

Learn Six Neighbors' Names in Thirty Days

A practical plan for meeting the people who live forty feet from you, from the first awkward wave to the group text that actually matters.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideSam Ortiz23 Sept 20266 min

How to Pick a Volunteer Job You'll Still Be Doing in a Year

Most people quit volunteering because they picked the wrong slot, not because they stopped caring. Fix the fit first.

GuideSam Ortiz23 Sept 20265 min

So You Said Yes to Coaching the Team

A first-time youth coach's field manual: the 75-minute practice card, the parent meeting that prevents a season of texts, and what to do in week six.

Ask BRO

What should I wear to this?

Ask it

GuideJosh Halloran23 Sept 20266 min

How to Start Visiting the Elderly and Actually Keep Showing Up

Call the activities director, ask one question, and be prepared for the paperwork. The rest is just sitting down and staying twenty minutes.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

GuideMarcus Vale23 Sept 20266 min

What Jury Duty Is Actually Like, and Why You Should Go

The summons, the waiting room, the questions they ask, and the twenty minutes in the deliberation room that make the whole thing worth it.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideNina Castellan23 Sept 20266 min

How to Stop Being the New Guy in Town

You get about ninety days after a move before your habits harden. Spend them on purpose and you'll have real friends by spring.

GuideRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

Pick Three Local Businesses and Give Them Your Regular Money

The December splurge at the gift shop doesn't keep anybody's doors open. Predictable monthly spending does, and so do four other things most customers never think to do.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

PartnerNames.com

GuideMarcus Vale23 Sept 20265 min

How to Make Your Three Minutes at Town Hall Count

The agenda is public, the microphone is open, and almost nobody uses either one well. Do it right and you'll be the most useful person in the room.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

5 min

Volunteer Work for Teenagers That Isn't Resume Padding

6 min

Stop Saying Let Me Know If You Need Anything

Ask BRO

Pressure-test my business idea

Ask it

GuideMarcus Vale23 Sept 20266 min

How to Run for School Board or City Council and Actually Win

The filing deadline is earlier than you think, the voter file costs less than a night out, and the whole thing comes down to doors.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

6 min read

How to Throw a Block Party Your Street Actually Shows Up To

Permits, potluck math, the six-hour window, and the one mistake that turns a block party into four families eating alone in a driveway.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

Older articles

Community

What to Do When Your Neighbor's Year Goes Sideways

The Tuesday Afternoon Visit Nobody Else Is Making

Volunteer Work That's Actually Worth a Teenager's Saturday

How to Volunteer With Small Kids Without Wrecking the Shift

How to Become a Scout Leader and Actually Stay One

How to Build a Life in a Town Where You Know Nobody

How to Use Your Three Minutes at the Town Council Mic

What Actually Happens After the Jury Summons Arrives

Run a Cleanup Day Your Neighbors Actually Show Up For

How to Shop Local Without Making It a Personality

How to Check Where Your Charity Money Actually Goes

The Food Bank Doesn't Need Your Cans. It Needs You on Tuesday.

Learn Six Neighbors' Names in Thirty Days

How to Pick a Volunteer Job You'll Still Be Doing in a Year

So You Said Yes to Coaching the Team

How to Start Visiting the Elderly and Actually Keep Showing Up

What Jury Duty Is Actually Like, and Why You Should Go

How to Stop Being the New Guy in Town

Pick Three Local Businesses and Give Them Your Regular Money

How to Make Your Three Minutes at Town Hall Count

Volunteer Work for Teenagers That Isn't Resume Padding

Stop Saying Let Me Know If You Need Anything

How to Run for School Board or City Council and Actually Win

How to Throw a Block Party Your Street Actually Shows Up To