LAST MEETING OVERVIEW
March 20, 2026 | Building Connections
On March 20, our community gathered at the 101 Tea Company for an inspiring session led by Nicole Derr. The focus of the meeting was simple yet profound: how do we strengthen the invisible threads that hold our neighborhoods together?
Understanding Our "Social Capital"
Nicole opened the meeting by introducing the concept of Social Capital, the heartbeat of a healthy community. Social Capital refers to the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively. In short, it’s the value we get from knowing, trusting, and helping one another.
From Brainstorming to Action
Attendees pitched a wide variety of ideas. To make sense of all the ideas, we organized these suggestions into distinct categories:
Infrastructure - physical improvements to our shared spaces.
Helping Neighbors - direct support and aid for those in our community.
Sharing Food/Meals - Connecting through the universal language of eating.
Clubs - Niche groups for shared hobbies and interests.
Information - Better ways to stay informed and communicate.
Activities & Events - One-time or recurring local gatherings.
Wild + Crazy - Out-of-the-box ideas to spark joy and surprise!
People’s Choice
After a vibrant discussion, everyone was allowed to vote for their top three priorities. While every category had merit, two clear winners emerged as our community’s current focus: Infrastructure and Helping Neighbors.
Next Steps: The Action Plan
To wrap up the session, the group divided into two breakout teams. Each team focused on one of the winning categories to begin drafting a concrete action plan. These plans will serve as our roadmap for turning these ideas into reality over the coming months.
Infrastructure - Building Bike Racks:
First, get in contact with the city, trade schools, and other organizations to see what resources, equipment, and additional volunteers are available.
Second, picking locations that have high business density so we can serve the largest number with the least resources.
Finally, building and installing bike racks with permission.
Helping neighbors - Creating a Volunteer Network to Directly Aid Neighbors:
First, create an email list and a webpage.
Second, flyers in key locations.
Third, create a Google Form for finding people in need and volunteers.
Fourth, provide a clear guideline on which services volunteers can provide.
Finally, coordinate people in need and volunteers.
Moving forward
Remember, if people are unwilling to volunteer, these are wishlists that may never come to fruition. We need YOU. If you are interested to be involved in either of these subcommittees, please sign up emailing mfdcivicsociety@gmail.com and let me know what you would like to do. We can do subcommittee meetings either in person or remotely.
Thank you for your time, thoughts, and patience as we are in the beginning stages of this group.
Thank you to Braxton at The 101 Tea Company for staying open late and letting us use his space. During the meeting, Braxton mentioned if YOU want to start a club or group and need a space, you should talk to him. He is not interested in running more things himself (get to know him, he’s doing so many cool things in Mansfield), but he wants his company to be a resource to connect others.
I apologize for not making it to Hamilton’s on Main. I thought everyone had gone their own direction and my son was melting down. I will do better next time and make it a more formal get together.
If you know someone who would be a good person to talk to the group, please email me and share.
Best,
Kelsey Cunning
Mansfield Civic Society
Did you know other cities have achieved similar goals?
Sarah at the leader of Strong Towns Poway/Rancho Bernardo in California discussed in a short podcast about building bike racks in her city with limited tools and resources.
There are even tools such as Neighbor Link to help connect people who can help with people who need help that people in other cities are using now.