Building Communities

Americans organize together in a variety of community, local, and nationwide associations whose most important contributions include creating an opportunity for connection among neighbors. These organizations can seem inconspicuous because they are so close to people’s daily lives. Their history is the story of countless individuals throughout the nation taking the time to grow and sustain forums for meeting the basic human need for neighborly connection, often while fostering local businesses and skills of good citizenship, and shaping the social and cultural forces that influence their children.