What makes communities work?  What makes them desirable places to live?  What brings out the best in individuals and communities?  The answer to all three questions is the same - people.  People who care about and for one another, who go the extra mile to help others, and want to make their communities even better.

The following article appeared in the January/February issue of Common Ground.  I am reprinting it here because I thought it spoke to what is best about communities.  Congratulations and thanks to Sharon Gregory, Jim Keen, and all the members of the Paseo del Sol Homeowners Association for remembering what community is all about and in particular remembering those who stand into harms way on our behalf.

HOLIDAY SENDOFF

When a group of Marines asked to rent their clubhouse for a Thanksgiving dinner, members of the Paseo del Sol Homeowners Association quickly waived the rental fee.  But the community in Temecula, Calif., didn’t stop at that. They soon had donations from 35 Southern California businesses and individuals to host a feast for 25 Marines and their families.

Many of the Marines were scheduled to be deployed to the Middle East in January. They are members of the 9th Communications Battalion stationed at Camp Pendleton. “I told a couple of friends and they said ‘what can we do?’ The next thing we knew, we were up to 65 people,” says Sharon Gregory, a Paseo del Sol board member who helped organize the event.  “People just wanted to help. They wanted to do whatever it took.”

Some of the Marines were thousands of miles from home and couldn’t be with their families. Others brought their spouses and children. “They couldn’t get home for Thanksgiving. One couple just got married two weeks before,” Gregory says. Dinner included turkey, ham and stuffing. There was a piñata for the kids. A 72-inch television was installed temporarily—courtesy of a local electronics store—so the Marines could watch football games. A welcome banner was signed by all the volunteers, and the Marines planned to take it with them to display at their new camp.

The dinner helped build community spirit, says the volunteers.  “It helped people get to know each other better,” says Jim Keen, another organizer. “When you volunteer and do a good deed, you feel good yourself.”

Had a similar experience in your community - just click on the comments link and tell us about it.