If you’re among the one in eight Canadians that lives in a condo, how often do you shuffle quickly through the lobby, into the elevator and into your suite with your eyes down, probably looking at your smart phone, hoping no one actually stops to talk?

Belonging: Why Your Condo’s Social Committee is KeyMore and more of us are living closer to our neighbours than ever before, yet we use the shields of busy-ness and our social media friends, likes and shares to buffer against actually having to shake hands with new neighbours standing in the same room.

Condo or strata social committees and the events they organize provide the building blocks for the emotional, psychological and human connections that tell people they belong. They bring people together and help them feel part of something bigger.

When I am with a group of human beings committed to hanging in there through both the agony and the joy of community, I have a dim sense that I am participating in a phenomenon for which there is only one word...."glory." -M. Scott Peck

The agony for the social committee at the River Green condo complex in Richmond, B.C., just outside Vancouver, is the challenge of attracting volunteers willing to roll up their sleeves. The joy is that pretty much every event the committee puts together draws crowds.

Chinese new year“At our Chinese New Year event, we had 225 people show up,” says Barbara Wagner, who volunteers on the River Green social committee. “We charged people $5 each as a way to confirm attendance in advance so we could order the right amount of food, and then we donated that money to charity. Next is our summer BBQ.”

The developers of River Green and the current strata council have both demonstrated their belief in the value of community in their condominium complex with both financial and operational support.

“The developer organized a social event the first year. They donated a couple of staff and a bunch of wine, and they really pushed on the notion of community. Without that it might not have happened,” Wagner explains. “The [strata] council followed by setting up an annual social committee budget, so we know what we’re working with each year.”

River Green is a very large complex and its example is encouraging. Maybe your condo doesn’t have a social committee, or maybe there’s an informal one that has not yet been endorsed by your condo board or strata council. In either case, here are some tips to get started:

CommitteeOnce you have a committee, even a small one, in place:

Back at River Green, the focus is simply to create a new community for the domestic and international buyers who bring with them diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The social committee is actively gauging the interest of its residents in activities like walking, biking, running, cooking lessons, language classes, yoga, poker or games nights.  Listening to what residents want, and want to do, is key to building a sense of belonging.

Does your condominium community have a good story to tell? A social committee success, or challenge, or tips to share? We’d love to hear from you!