1- Volunteer for a group that does work you admire. Every nonprofit or community organization in your area is probably in need of volunteers. Donating your time is an excellent way to have a positive effect on your community, and to strengthen your relationships with your fellow community members, too. Find a group doing work that interests you and give them a call; chances are, they'll have a list of ways you can start helping out right away. Just be aware that becoming a volunteer is a serious commitment. It costs organizations a lot of time and money to train volunteers, so make sure that you will be available and willing to help out on a long-term basis. Here are a few examples of volunteer opportunities available in most communities:

• Helping out at park, river or beach clean-up days
• Answering phones at phone-a-thons to raise money
• Serving meals at the soup kitchen or homeless shelter
• Working at a crisis hotline
• Being a counselor at a camp for kids

2- Attend community events. It's likely that other people and organizations in your community are also taking steps to help improve it. They probably hold festivals, cleanups and meetings in an effort to make the neighborhood a better place. How often do you show up to community events? Start going to as many as you can. Just showing up is a way to help people in your community because it lets them know that you care. When you feel comfortable enough, you can even start volunteering to help out at these events.

• For example, if someone you know is trying to hold a "Bike to Work or School Day" on Monday mornings, and you've got a bike, why not give it a try? Bring a friend along, too. Show people in your community that biking is fun.
• Participate in fundraising walks and runs. Many nonprofits hold community walks and runs to raise money. Paying the entry fee directly benefits the nonprofit, and participating in the event helps spread awareness about the cause.
• Go to concerts, festivals and other events put on by local businesses or organizations. If no one shows up to these types of events, they might stop happening altogether.

3- Get civically active. A great way to help your community is to participate in community decision-making. Stay up to date on activities that impact your community, and form educated opinions on important matters. For example, if your city is deciding whether to cut down a few acres of forest to allow a supermarket to move in, read up on the subject and decide what you think. Would it be better to keep the forest there, or does your community really need a new supermarket? Having an informed perspective and making your voice heard can have an effect on what direction your community takes. Encourage others to engage as well because civic engagement is crucial for a healthy democracy.

• Voting is an important way to influence your community. Read up on the candidates and issues and vote in all local elections.
• Contact your representative about issues that matter to you. If you don't want that patch of forest to be cut down, or you think it a new supermarket could really help the community, call your representative or write a letter stating what you want to happen and why.
• Show up for community meetings at which decisions are being made. Take the opportunity to speak up about what matters to you. Would your community benefit from having more crosswalks on busier streets? Are there too many potholes on your block? Do you have an opinion on how the city should handle increasing levels of crime? Say so.

4- Beautify your public spaces. If you look around and see trash in the street and graffiti on the windows in your neighborhood, you know where to start helping out. Making the spaces in your community feel brighter and cleaner will bring people out and result in better quality of life for everyone. The work you do will depend on the specific needs in your community.

• You can help to make your neighborhood more beautiful right away by picking up trash on your own. When you walk down the street, pick up trash you see and throw it away or recycle it. If there's too much for you to tackle on your own, get some friends involved to help you.
• Scrape off or paint over graffiti to freshen up buildings and fences. If you're good at painting, you could eve create a mural on a public wall for everyone to see. You might have to get permission from the building owner or city first.
• Do landscaping in areas that are overgrown with weeds. Mow them down or pull weeds by hand. Plant flowers or trees wherever you can. Adding more natural elements to urban spaces can help make them look and feel safe and inviting.
• Create a community garden, where everyone can have a plot on which to grow vegetables, herbs or flowers. Ask people to pitch in to help break ground and lend their tools for the project.
• Always make sure to check with the owner of a piece of property before you do anything to it.