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Make June your Month of Community
Author: Tracey Robbins, head of UK delivery at Eden Project Communities
This June, the third annual Month of Community will occur across the UK. We came together with a group of partners to start the initiative in 2021, recognising so many wonderful campaigns taking place around the same time of year. This includes The Big Lunch, our annual get-together for neighbours bringing communities across the UK together for friendship, food and fun on the first weekend in June.
NALC has been supporting The Big Lunch since it started in 2009, and this year, the Coronation Big Lunch united communities with street parties and events earlier than usual over the Early May Bank Holiday. Now there’s a second opportunity to get involved by holding an event any time to suit your town or parish during the Month of Community.
It’s a month-long celebration of everything that makes our communities great. We were blown away by the success of the first two years, with millions taking part - to cheer volunteers, connect with neighbours, welcome refugees, support carers, raise awareness of loneliness, or say thank you.
How can local councils get involved?
There are 13 Month of Community partners this year, organising a wide range of initiatives and events throughout June and providing lots of ways for councils and communities to take part. The activities fall under four key themes, so see what resonates most with you and the current needs of your area.
There’s also a Pawprint Challenge Pack with over 30 activity ideas to get kids involved in community life, so be sure to share that with schools and families too.
- Making connections and celebrating community
Use June as an opportunity to embrace inclusivity by connecting people from different backgrounds and walks of life. That could mean connecting carers and care homes to the wider community, tackling isolation and loneliness, welcoming refugees, recruiting for your local Neighbourhood Watch or marking Windrush Day:
Neighbourhood Watch Week — 3 - 9 June
Carers Week — 5-11 June
Loneliness Awareness Week —12-18 June
Refugee Week — 19-25 June
Care Home Open Week — 26 June – 2 July
Windrush Day — 22 June
The Great Get Together (23-25 June) and The Big Lunch both offer tools and resources to help plan an event that could support any of these initiatives, so use either to connect your community this June.
- Growing connections and celebrating community
With the longer days and some sunshine finally, here, June is a great time to celebrate nature and all its beauty – or, indeed, to turn your attention to places that need more care in your local environment or play your part in tackling the global climate emergency.
Have a Grow Day (3-4 June) has passed, but you can still invite new people to get green-fingered with you in June. Or join this year’s Great Big Green Week (10-18 June) - the UK’s biggest-ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. From festivals to football matches, litter picks to letter writing – there's something for everyone to do during Great Big Green Week.
- Saying thanks and celebrating community
The Month of Community gives you a fantastic chance to thank those that make a difference to your residents and area. Celebrate local volunteers, recognise the invaluable contribution that small charities make or use the third annual Thank You Day to show appreciation for anyone you’d like to. You could organise a Big Lunch with any of these campaigns. What better way to say thank you than with food?
Volunteers Week — 1 – 7 June
Small Charity Week — 19 – 22 June
The Big Lunch — anytime in June
Thank You Day — 2 July
Show your appreciation this June
- Getting together and celebrating community
If you’re looking for ways to bring people together, everyone is invited to unite their communities with Great Get Together or Big Lunch events that unite people from different backgrounds around a common cause - from showing support for refugees, looking after your local park, or getting to know each other through crafting or gardening.
The Great Get Together — 23-25 June
The Big Lunch — anytime in June
With so many ways to celebrate your community, we hope to see many local councils getting involved. Share details of your Month of Community activities with Kate Groves, Marketing Manager: .
The following blog post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional or legal advice. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Association of Local Councils. Any links to external sources included in this blog post are provided for convenience and do not constitute endorsement or approval of those websites' content, products, services, or policies. Therefore, readers should use discretion and judgment when applying the information to their circumstances. Finally, this blog post may be updated or revised without notice.