Page 4 - CEEM Shopping Mag November 2019

Community Giving is Community Living

By Charleco Scipio Jr.

I was shocked and I was ashamed. I had just nished watching one of the latest Hershey's chocolate
commercials that voice the tag line, "Give a little bit." However, this commercial started with a
shocking statistic: "Only 31% of Americans know their neighbors". I am shocked because I would
think that everyone knows their neighbors. I am ashamed because I am not in the 31% that do.

What I truly love about the Hershey's commercial is that they went door to door, asking each home
which neighbors they knew on their street. Some named a few of their neighbors; others stated they
did not know who lived in particular houses, or even the one next door. This made me ponder on
how impactful it would be if we went door to door in our communities and introduced ourselves.
Personally, if my neighbors came over and introduced themselves, I would feel less uncertainty about
my surroundings. Instead of just waving hi and bye, we can alternatively call each other by name.
The song goes, "Give a little bit…". Giving a little bit is an introduction; it's giving more substance to
the common “Hello” greeting.

Across the country there are numerous communities. These communities hold a broad spectrum
of people, individuals, and families alike. Yet as the numbers would show, these communities are
not all connected. Whether it is due to the hectic hustle and bustle of our daily lives, or both petty
and signi cant di erences, there is a disconnect. This raises the question of what can we, as
individuals, contribute to our community?

A great approach before getting involved, is to rst get to know your community. In getting to
know your community, you might be surprised at the history and culture represented there.
You may even be surprised by how many great people make up your community. While there is a
lot of hatred and violence in the news, the reality is that it does not have to be the reality of the
everyday world we live in. Oftentimes only violence and hatred make the headlines, and the good
deeds and beautiful things that everyday people do in their communities are not shown in the
media like they should be.

After all, what makes a community is not just the shared space and environment, but also the people
who live in it. As with all things in life, you get from it what you put into it. If you put nothing in,
you get nothing out. We hear it all the time: "Get involved with your community." Yet what is not
often said, is that getting involved does not have to mean the demands of community politics or
attending all of the council meetings. It can be as simple as sharing s'mores with your neighbors,
as shown in the Hershey's commercial. That one event probably did more for that community than
several city council meetings. Those people in that community now have an enjoyable shared
experience together, and one that looked so warm and united that I'm sure they wanted to gather
together again. Community Living is Community Giving - Page 1/2