Making the Words Mean Something

We have hired our first Community Animator? What the heck is that? First of all, the job title is borrowed from Centre for Social Innovation. The idea is that for the space to be alive, and live into the ideals we have created for it, there needs to be a person whose specific job it is to make sure that happens. I, of course, try to live that idea with everything I do, but for this organization to grow and thrive, we need to enlarge that impact. We are so fortunate to have hired an amazing young Public Ally for this position! Public Allies partners locally with AmeriCorps, a national program similar to the PeaceCorps, to grow leaders. Our Community Animator is Kayla Williams, a recent graduate in Political Science from the University of Toledo. We’ll be introducing her more in further posts as she and we create this position together.

Kayla Williams, Community Animator for The Commons @ Community Happens Here

So what does it mean to “animate” the community? And what community are we talking about? Firstly, we must keep in mind that we work from the sidewalk first. That means our greatest mission is to connect with people as they are on the sidewalk, and help them connect with each other. Inside the building, we create community within “The Commons: Coworking” to make this an amazing place to have one’s business and get great things done. This spans everything from the obvious to the subtle; from lunchtime get-togethers to knowing our members so well that we can connect them in useful ways with each other, from being there to make a cup of espresso and greet members as they arrive, to making sure their LinkedIn bio is updated. 

The exciting part is that we are creating all of this for the first time, with our own way of doing things, without the weight of history and prior expectations. We look forward to making the words “community,” “hospitality,” and “welcome” really mean something. Something that helps entrepreneurs thrive and neighbors connect.