Guest post by Janene Amick, Chief Executive Officer of the Manatee Performing Arts Center
We hear the words “shop local” all the time, and I certainly believe in them. But I think being local—and truly being part of a community—goes much further than where we spend our money.
Shop local. Support local. Serve local.
Growing up, I watched people serve. I watched people step forward to meet the needs of my own family. Many of those people received absolutely nothing in return. They simply had a passion for helping someone else.
Those experiences stay with you.
Today, after many years of working with volunteers and community members, I have seen firsthand what can happen when someone simply decides to get involved.
My assistant, Mary Smith, is a volunteer and has been by my side for 17 years. Mary raised a family while her husband served in the military and eventually retired from a career that included working at the Pentagon. To say she has administrative skills would be an understatement!
In retirement, she chose to share those skills with us. Mary sends donation letters, keeps track of the handwritten notes I need to write, updates donor information in our software, helps with mass mailings, hand-addresses envelopes, and even keeps up with my Christmas list of donors and friends of the theatre.
She took what she knew how to do and used it to serve.
Then there is Jeff Evans. Jeff didn't walk through our doors intending to become deeply involved in an organization. He was a dad whose youngest daughter was performing onstage. He happened to be backstage one day. Someone asked if he would help crew, and he said yes.
Like so many people, he got the bug.
Stage dad became backstage volunteer. Volunteer became board member. Board member became Treasurer. Today, Jeff is our Controller.
You never know where saying yes once might lead.
Being Local Means Paying Attention
Supporting your community doesn't require joining a board or volunteering for 17 years.
Start by knowing your neighbors.
Introduce yourself to the new person who moves in. Send a Christmas card. Invite a neighbor to an old-fashioned backyard barbecue (I kid you not!). Smile and say hello when you're outside.
It also means understanding what is happening beyond your own front door.
What are students in our schools facing? What issues are before the School Board, City Council, or County Commission?
Most of us cannot attend every public meeting, nor do we need to. Read the minutes. Find trusted local resources that help you stay informed. I find that even reading information from organizations such as the League of Women Voters helps me better understand what is happening around me.
You can't be connected to the needs of a community if you don't know what those needs are.
Rediscover Where You Live
Please don't tell me there is nothing to do around here!
Sometimes those of us who live here forget to enjoy the very place other people choose for their vacation.
Create your own staycation. Invite out-of-town friends and rediscover the area with them.
Visit one of our free historical sites. Walk the Riverwalk. Spend a day at the beach. Explore Myakka River State Park on foot or by bicycle. Fish from a pier (just remember to check the fishing-license requirements).
Kayak through the mangroves at Robinson Preserve. Explore the history of Cortez, Bradenton, Palmetto, and Ellenton. Visit a museum. Look at what's happening at your local library.
There are places and experiences throughout our community that many of us have driven past for years without ever stopping.
And when you find something wonderful, share it.
That's part of supporting local, too.
Pass It Along
Perhaps most important to me is teaching the next generation what community means.
If children never see their parents and grandparents serve, how will they learn the importance of serving?
Join a civic organization that believes in service and take your family along when you can. Mentor a child. Read to VPK students. Volunteer for an organization whose mission means something to you. Find something you enjoy doing and ask where that skill might be useful.
When generations serve together, stories and memories are created. Connections are made that aren't easily forgotten.
Shop local because the impact of a local purchase goes far beyond the transaction. You may be supporting the passion of an artisan, creator, entrepreneur, or family who chose to build something right here.
Support local because all ships rise with the tide. There is a ripple effect when people work alongside one another. Something you do today may spark a difference you never learn about—but perhaps one day you will feel its effect.
Serve local because it keeps you connected: connected to the needs, connected to the wants, and connected to what is possible.
So where do you begin?
I'd start very close to home.
Take a walk around your own neighborhood. Be seen. Smile. Say hello. Bring a bag and pick up a little litter along your own curb as you go.
If the weather in Florida makes that sound like a terrible idea, I understand! Instead, visit one of our historical sites or parks. Learn one thing you didn't know about the place you call home. Better yet, invite a child, grandchild, friend, or neighbor to go with you.
Supporting local doesn't always require money. Serving local doesn't have to begin with a major commitment.
Sometimes building a stronger community begins with something as simple as walking out your front door.
