There was a general thought in the business community that after the pandemic things would shift back to the way they were pre-pandemic. Though some may disagree with the idea that we’re “past the pandemic,” I firmly believe a majority of people would admit, though it lingers, that we are, in fact, in a post-pandemic time. Yet, the predictive shift back to normal has not been realized.
There are a number of factors for not “getting back to normal,” and primary among them is that we aren’t going back to how it was — we have shifted into something new. In future columns, I’ll go into why I say that what it means for our workforce and how our organization’s Chamber Works 2030 workforce program is working to help businesses with this new reality that some businesses haven’t prepared for. However, this week, I want to bring to light a very specific, underreported aspect of getting back to normal, which I do think has a possibility of coming back: community engagement.
When I use community engagement, I mainly mean individuals and families being part of community activities, projects and events. This could mean engagements through volunteerism or could also mean engagements through attendance — but mostly, it’s deciding to show up.
The shift to more remote work, curbside to-go, online ordering (with free shipping) and fewer people coming to the office daily, helped those with COVID concerns and/or mobility issues plug into the world and get their needs fulfilled without leaving home or with very limited interactions. A concern I have is that the pandemic was long enough to allow us to form patterns, even if those patterns are subconscious. Basically, there are fewer in-person interactions happening now, and that’s our norm now.
Make no mistake, I’m not against remote work for individuals who need to utilize that due to barriers in their life. I think it helped tap into an entire community of workers who otherwise may struggle to get into a brick-and-mortar workplaces daily due to childcare, transportation, senior caregiving or personal health concerns. Yet, it’s undeniable that it’s led to fewer in-person interactions.
I’ve seen it in my own family. Currently, my wife works from home remotely for a global, online-based company. That works for us because our budget can only afford two to three days of childcare per week, and she watches our 15-month-old the other days while she works. She hates going grocery shopping and running errands (though not Target runs). Some weeks, she may actually drive somewhere as little as once or twice a week (and that’s usually to pick up food). Our son and I are her primary human interactions, besides our Sunday dinners with friends and families that we typically host. I bet we all know someone who this is a typical week for.
We’ve gotten used to nonengagement, and that needs to change. These next few years will be trying times for workforce, for schools and for communities as a whole. With more baby boomers retiring, more people replacing those leaving and everyone trying to figure out how to adapt, we’ll be pushed to our limits. There will be a tendency for business leaders to constrict their engagements, only focus on what their needs are and worry about themselves and not the community. That’s the wrong way. What we need to do is the opposite — begin expanding our outreach in the community and figure out how to tackle these problems as a community, because we’re all facing the same issues.
One of the best ways to expand our outreach is to begin volunteering again and attending interactive community events. When I say interactive events, I’m referring to events where you walk around and talk to a variety of people. We had some huge attendance numbers at some outdoor concert series this summer, but those are not very interactive. Most people grab their chairs, find a spot intentionally away from other groups and watch the performance. We need more of interactive events.
A few of the best ones are coming up later this year, and selfishly, the one I’ll focus on today is the 4th Annual Midcoast Tree Festival that our chamber has put on annually along with Spectrum Generations and All Saints Parish. I’m incredibly excited for the festival this year as businesses and sponsors have begun signing up and discussing their tree spaces.
For those that don’t know, the festival is a six-day event held at St. John’s Community Center at 37 Pleasant St. in Brunswick, where we have 35-55 tree spaces with a minimum of $500 worth of gifts in each being raffled off with 50-cent raffle tickets. Beyond the tree raffle, we have wreaths, entertainment, arts and crafts, special presenters, daily 50/50, holiday concessions, and more.
The only way this event can happen is if we get 35-55 organizations who want to donate items for tree spaces, and we have enough volunteers to cover 25-40 volunteer shifts per day (or approximately 170 shifts over the six days). This is a great opportunity for volunteers to help with children’s crafts, be a greeter, sell 50/50 or tree raffle tickets, help with set up of decorations, or clean up after the event. You’ll see hundreds of families daily to interact with, and many of our volunteers have said that helping at the festival is a tremendous way to get into the holiday spirit.
So, have I convinced you to volunteer, sponsor or sign up for a tree space? If so, check out our dedicated event website at midcoasttreefestival.com, which has all of the event details. The festival happens the weekends before and after Thanksgiving, so Nov. 18-20 and Nov. 25-27 this year. On the closing day, we raffle off the winners and 35-55 families get a tree and at least $500 worth of gifts a month before the holidays. It really is something wonderful to be a part of.
Cory King is the executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber.
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