For Seattle's public space manager, children's playtime is serious business

Pioneered by Be Strong Families, Parent Cafes offer safe spaces for parents and caregivers to discuss the highs and lows of raising children. The cafes offer guidance and a sense of community, as parenting can feel lonely and isolating. Parent cafes have reached thousands of people since emerging in 2007, and 96% of participants say the cafes feel like safe places where they can learn.

Community organizations in Milwaukee's Metcalfe Park neighborhood are tackling the city's homeownership crisis through lease-to-own programs that convert foreclosed properties into affordable homes for long-term renters. Metcalfe Park Community Bridges' Reclaim and Restore initiative purchases foreclosed homes from the city, rehabs them using donor and foundation funding, and transfers ownership to neighborhood residents through an equity-based lottery system with monthly payments as low as $901.

Cycling Without Age addresses social isolation among elderly people through a volunteer-run program using electric three-wheeled bicycles with two front seats, so elders can enjoy a ride without the physical toll. Founded in Copenhagen in 2012, the program has expanded to 3,600+ chapters across 41 countries with 50,000 volunteers.

Fab Youth Philly’s Play Captains program hires teens in the summer to lead play groups on multiple streets throughout the city, leading games and activities like science experiments and storytime. Since 2017, the group has supported over 500 teens, providing many of them with their first jobs. Data shows that participating in the program leads to more on-time high school graduations, better work habits, reduced summer slide and improved employability and family finances.

Faced with inadequate internet service that was driving away businesses, the remote West Texas town of Monahans launched a community-driven initiative to build its own fiber optic broadband network. The town cobbled together $3.2 million from a variety of sources, including federal CARES Act funds and venture capital, to create an underground fiber network that serves about 2,000 homes and businesses, with plans to expand.

The Heurich House Museum in Washington, D.C., has created two targeted initiatives—the Urban Manufacturing Incubator and the DC Makers' Guild—to support local small-scale artisan businesses facing barriers to growth such as high rent fees and limited visibility. These programs provide mentorship, business coaching, market entry opportunities, like various mini markets throughout the year, and advocacy support to improve market conditions for these small businesses.

Multiple organizations in Philadelphia are joining forces, such as The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the new Office of Clean and Green, to transform the city’s several thousand vacant lots into green spaces. Even Temple University has executed a new "Verdant Temple" master plan, creating specific green spaces for the public. A University of Pennsylvania study found a 29% reduction in gun violence in neighborhoods where vacant lots were cleaned and restored, and the city is investing nearly $20 million annually in these efforts.

In response to an influx of Haitian immigrants in the area, several Indianapolis community groups joined forces to support them. These groups connect them to English language services, job opportunities, advocacy support, and assistance in registering their children for school or getting a driver’s license, all while fostering a sense of community and connection.

Indigenous communities confronting poverty, loss of traditional land, and marginalization in Malaysia are finding support through PACOS Trust, a faith-based group focused on community organizing. By providing structured leadership training, advocacy skills, and livelihood development initiatives, PACOS empowers young Indigenous leaders to address pressing issues in the community, advocate for land rights, and preserve their cultural practices.

Community members, in collaboration with the non-profit Save the Children and the United States Agency for International Development, installed a solar-powered borehole earlier this year, making clean water more accessible to the village. Community members regularly clean the water taps and perform system maintenance to ensure the water supply isn’t disrupted, as the solar-powered solution has become their primary source of clean water.