10 Ways to Share the Love in Your Community this Valentine’s Day

It’s that time of year again, Valentine’s Day.

Saint Valentine clearly touched many lives, so why do we think of this day as a time to celebrate the love of one person? Why not make Valentine’s Day a great excuse to highlight what we love about our communities?  Remember-elementary school, when we had to bring in valentines for the entire class. Why not extend our sharing of kindness and appreciation to our entire communities? Showing your community that you love and care can build a stronger sense of pride and respect in your town.

Here are some ideas for bringing bring Valentine’s Day to your community:

1. Think like a kid

• Get Valentine’s Day cards from a local store and bring the past to the present. Give a card to everyone you work with just like you did back in elementary school. Better yet, make homemade cards.

2. Host a Red Ball

• Have a get together at a local venue and invite the community to celebrate Valentine’s Day dressed all in red.

 3. The food we love

• A community potluck isn’t just a fun summer event. Have people in the community sit down for a delicious meal in the winter. Bonus points if all the dishes are prepared in the shape of a heart.

 4. Guess again

• Fill a jar with candy conversation hearts. Put the jar in a local community gathering place and ask community members to guess the number of hearts. The closest person to guess the correct amount, without going over, wins the jar.

5. Let’s play games

• Hide heart-shaped candies around town and have community members go on a scavenger hunt to find them. This would be a fun event for all ages.

 6. A service of love

• Bake a cake or cookies and bring it to the local fire and/or police station. It is easy to forget that people are always watching out for you and protecting you. Bake some goodies and show those hardworking people that you care.

7. What do you love?

• Make a giant paper heart and put it downtown. Have community members each write down what they love about the community. Put the heart on display for everyone to see after it is finished.

 8. Some puppy love

• Go to the local humane society and help take care of the dogs. Take them for walks and give them love. Who knows? Maybe you will end up with a new member of the family.

 9. Racing with love

• Start a Valentine’s Day run in your town. It will be fun for people of all ages to come out and support their loved ones and community members as they run. It’s heart healthy too!

10. Wine in the Library

• Cocoa Beach, Florida does a Valentine’s Day wine tasting in their downtown library. This is a fun way of getting the community engaged while also introducing new people to the local library.

Does your community do something fun for Valentine’s Day? Share it with us on social media. And don’t forget to follow Community Heart & Soul on Twitter and Instagram @communityheartandsoul and Facebook @CommunityHeartandSoul. Also, use the hashtag #CommunityHeartandSoul.