Act Local Challenge!
Can you act locally to build a more Complete Community?
Complete Communities are great places to live, learn, work, and play at all stages of life.
Complete Communities are mixed-use places with housing options for all, nature nearby, and access to safe, convenient, affordable transportation options. They direct growth in ways that preserve livability, tackle climate change, and ensure all people have the opportunity to thrive, while we protect the environment around us. They are vibrant neighborhoods that are great places to live, learn, work, and play at all stages of life.
There are many ways to contribute to your community as an individual, with a group, or through local government. There are larger commitments, as well as simple actions, formal and informal, and all of it adds up to a more Complete Communities in this place we call home.
So, how might you act locally? Here are concrete ideas:
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Support local businesses, and prioritize purchasing locally-grown food or locally made items while you’re there
Frequent local BIPOC, LGBTQIAS2+, and women-owned businesses
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To reduce your food waste / landfill contribution, designate an “Eat First” shelf in your fridge
Organize a spring clean-up
Volunteer in the Bend Beautification Program
Start a community garden
If you own property: plant native, water-wise plants
If you own property: plant a tree
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Advocate for renter protections
Volunteer at a shelter
Voice support for more housing types in all neighborhoods
Advocate to preserve existing affordable housing and for the production of new affordable housing
If you own property: build an ADU and rent it out to local residents
If you own a short-term rental: consider switching to a longer term lease
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Make a list of destinations you could walk to in 15 minutes and 30 minutes
Explore the active and public transportation options near you
Bike one of your community’s bike paths
Walk, bike, or roll to dinner or drinks with friends
Run an errand via transit
Encourage your workplace to install a bike rack if it doesn’t have one
Attend a City Open House and complete a survey
Organize a “bike bus” to school or work
Initiate a street or intersection painting project
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Meet your neighbors
Check out the events happening at your local library
Attend a cultural event
Plan a dinner party for your block
Initiate or join a local social/interest group
Take a tour of Bend’s Water Filtration Facility or Water Reclamation Facility
Take a tour of Knott Landfill
Organize a neighborhood block party or yard sale
Learn to speak your community’s 2nd or 3rd most commonly spoken language
Offer your work’s public-facing materials in multiple languages
Donate to local non-profit organizations
Join your Neighborhood District
Initiate a mural project
Join one of the City’s committees, boards, or commissions
Volunteer at a local non-profit organization
Get involved to build community!
Here are some local orgs to volunteer with and donate to:
Arts & Culture
Basic Needs
Education, Family & Children
Public Health, Environment & Community Development
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