The meaning of community in a rapidly changing world

Please note: this post is 105 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

North London Cares is a community network. It's a group of friends who live and work in the same areas in Camden and Islington, brought together by proximity but bound by so much more: shared time, laughter, new experiences and friendship.

Some of the participants in our network are older neighbours – people in their 70s, 80s and 90s who have deep roots in the community, but often few connections. 67% live alone; most want to keep in touch with the rapidly changing city around them. Other participants are young professionals – graduates recently arrived in London, trying to make their way.

In this context I'm always struck by how North London Cares is three social networks all at once. Older neighbours and young professionals hang out and help one another, building strong relationships over time. That's the core of why we do what we do – to bring people together to tackle isolation and improve wellbeing and connection. But also, of course, older neighbours and other older neighbours – people who have often lived side by side for decades but rarely found cause to interact in this bustling city – create strong friendships too.

And our volunteers – people in their twenties and thirties with busy jobs and busy social lives – create really strong bonds with other younger neighbours too. Over time and interaction through social clubs, they get to know one another. They forge friendships. They have friends in common – not just other young professionals, but people three generations removed, with all the charisma and personality of a life well lived.

Although it's those relationships across traditional social and generational divides that most motivate us at North London Cares, part of why people love being part of the community network is that they get to expand their group of friends within their cohort too. Through our regular socials, Christmas get-togethers, and especially through community fundraising activities like our recent pub quiz (see pics above and below) and our upcoming 50k London 2 Cambridge walk (click to be part of it!), volunteers are able to forge really close bonds.

Take Matt and Jen. Both have been volunteering at our Tuesday night social clubs for a couple of years. Along with Lizzie, Jess and other regulars, they've become mainstays of the club, and of other socials too. So when Matt was on holiday in Australia recently, he made sure to spend time in Sydney with Jen, who'd been travelling for a while after finishing her university degree last year.

Wonderfully, Matt and Jen wanted to stay in touch with their older neighbours too, so sent a video from sunny Sydney to say hi to their friends back in wintry Islington:

Of course, Fred, Joan, Barbara and Lil wanted to say hi back - so they recorded their own video messages. The gist: "don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

A month or so later, on Matt's last day in Sydney and ahead of some beers and more travelling in Thailand, he and Jen shared another long-distance message to check in with their friends and neighbours back home:

We're so happy that this community network is maturing, with new friendships like these blossoming all the time. Although we live in a city that can sometimes feel anonymous and isolating, we've seen that when people like Matt, Jen, Fred and Lil spend time together, they can build lasting bonds.

And through technology and opportunities for shared time and laughter we can help to make sure that our ever-changing city is a home for everyone from different generations and backgrounds, and that no-one is left behind.