This summer was very busy, but a couple of events I was heavily involved in stood out as truly embodying the work we are doing in community building. After several months of planning with local partners, we pulled together a very successful Splash Pad Social at the...
Hub Happenings in the Canaan / Colebrook / Stratford Region
Previous Events
Strengthening Our Communities – Stratford Rising
Stratford is definitely on a positive up-swing, and the community is making that happen together. As a Community Steward I meet a lot of people and hear about a wide range of needs and goals in the area I serve. The challenge is to find and prioritize common threads...
Summer Picnic & Play Series!
We are teaming up with the Family Resource Center to host a series of three “Picnic & Play” meet-ups on Fridays at parks in the North Country this summer. After listening to what families we were looking for, we came up with fun offerings at three different...
Stewartstown Student Showcase
The classroom showcase will be from 5:00 to 5:30 pm. Pizza will be available from 5 to 5:45 pm The concert will begin at 6:00 pm We are excited to be partnering with the Stewartstown Community School on an event on May 30th, starting at 5 p.m. at the school. As a way...
Stratford Community Pre-Town Meeting Social
On the morning of March 16th, residents of the Stratford area are invited to the Fuller Town Hall, located at 1956 US Route 3 to visit prior to the town meeting. The Community Builders Hub is providing free coffee, and the Stratford Grange 238 will be offering...
Sunday Funday at “The Tilly”
Families are invited to come play board games at the Tillotson Center for the Arts in Colebrook, from 3-5 p.m. on January 21 and 28. We will have tables set up for families to sit down and choose a board game to play together for the afternoon, as well as...
CBH December Happenings – up North!
In Canaan, VT we have been working closely with the organization, Canaan Naturally Connected, as their activities align well with our community building efforts. We were glad to help empower and connect a new member of the group to lead the planning of a new series...
Halloween Window Painting Project in Colebrook
The week prior to Halloween 2023, five of Colebrook’s Main Street businesses were adorned with colorful window paintings depicting Halloween and fall scenes. This is a project that used to happen in Colebrook many years ago, which the Community Builders Hub helped to...
Children’s Playgroup in Stratford
All are welcome to join this fun, free program! Friday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., we created a new children’s playgroup at the Stratford Public Library on Main Street in Stratford. In talking to community members at events, parents and caregivers often...
Community Building Recap – Building Relationships & Aligning Goals
Community building activities and events from this past fall and winter in northern Coos and northeastern Essex County have truly served to strengthen community ties and align goals. Energy is building around common issues of importance, and community members are showing interest in working together on them for the greater good of our local region.
On September 25, 2024, we hosted “Connecting the North Country” at Mohawk Falls, bringing together 86 people from 24 local towns to discuss 11 key topics that were bubbling up as common issues of importance for our area. People were so thankful to have the opportunity to meet new faces, have discussions in a lighthearted neutral atmosphere, brainstorm solutions and strengthen connections. This was a free evening event with a meal, made possible by the help of partnering sponsors: Mohawk Falls, LaPerle’s IGA and Canaan Naturally Connected.
In October, we helped to promote and participate in a new trunk or treat held at the Stratford Public School, which resulted in a wonderful turnout and positive experience for the community. In November, by organizing a youth winter clothing drive, we were able to outfit 20 individuals with winter gear donated by community members, and provide further backup supply to local schools to make sure children had what they needed to be warm and dry this winter. Our local grocery stores were valuable partners in this effort, providing collection bins, and the Colebrook PTO offered us a free vendor space at their craft fair to distribute the items. Best of all, it cost hardly anything other than coordination time to pull this off, and resulted in a huge positive impact. When you get a hug and happy tears for giving someone a much-needed free winter coat that was generously donated by another community member, it warms the soul.
More heartwarming efforts included partnering with the Pittsburg Key Club to produce a Thanksgiving meal for seniors living at Echo Valley Village in Pittsburg. Full bellies and social time for isolated individuals is so valuable. The kids came up with the idea and it met the needs of the seniors. Now that the connection has been made, a partnership is forming for future community engagement efforts between the Key Club and the senior living community.
Sometimes it’s the little things… offering refreshments to celebrate the opening of a new basketball court in Colebrook or hot chocolate at the North Country Chamber of Commerce’s Holiday Shop & Stroll, it all counts! When we help to bring people together around positive experiences to enjoy their place, value each person, organize mindfully and highlight the great things about where we live, it creates joyful moments that hold so much promise for our future. Christmas magic brought the Stratford community together when Santa arrived by train this past December, and I couldn’t have been happier to witness the togetherness this event created for my hometown. When community members work together on efforts, anything is possible.
Possibilities continued as we moved forward with community feedback to take action on collective priorities at the Connecting the North Country & NEK Winter Workgroup Gathering held on the snowy evening of January 9th, 2025 at the Canaan School in Canaan, VT. We were able to gather 50 community members to discuss top issues of interest in their communities, with another 30 interested but deterred by weather and illness. We were mindful to reduce barriers to participation by offering childcare if needed (thanks to the Key Club), a free meal provided by community partners, and moving it around the region to another location. The topics of conversation were: Youth Opportunities, Gathering Places, Wellness Support and Communication/Event Planning, and also The Wellness Center development in Colebrook was highlighted, as it involves these topics.
A follow-up free public gathering was held on Feb. 13th in Colebrook to discuss ways the community can come together around the Wellness Center project, which seemingly aligns community goals. (See more info here.) A Wellness Center 2.0- Revitalization Brainstorm is also being planned for March 22.
Even in the current polarizing political environment, these efforts we are undertaking are building relationships and trust with neighbors, and real progress is forming around the priorities community members are raising up. I can’t wait to see what we can all do together!
For a recap of what I’ve been working on over the past year for community building efforts, check out this Community Building Recap presentation, which was shown at the 1/9/25 event.