Two handwritten sticky notes reading "it's such a big problem that it feels very hard to move the needle" and "unsure of where to start."

Too big to fix? You need this method to find the right first step

ByBecky McCray

Exactly how to “Idea Friendly” your big challenge

The Greater Salina Community Foundation invited me to a presentation of their community-wide needs assessment survey. 

I shared the Idea Friendly Method and told the story of how a store owner named Willow started a downtown cleanup movement by sweeping her own sidewalk in Pullman, Washington.

After my talk, small groups worked together on the top three challenges from the survey. One of the ideas they shared was such a perfect representation of the Idea Friendly Method in action that I had to share it with you. 

The group was tackling access to mental health and addiction treatment services. That’s a really big topic so they said they looked for their own “sweep our own sidewalks” idea. 

They suggested that everyone in the room talk to two people in their community or neighborhood this week. Give those people a few minutes of your time to make them feel seen and heard.

Here’s why this is such a great approach.

  • It’s immediately and easily doable by anyone.
  • It meaningfully helps the person receiving and the person doing it. 
  • It builds momentum and awareness, helping people see themselves as active community members and inspiring others to join in. 
  • It’s easy to support, celebrate and spread. 

Anyone can support the movement by coming up with a few tips for better conversations or resources in the community to share. Make it easy for people to share their success or challenges with a hashtag, an email address or a number people can text. 

The tips can go on table tents at the convenience store or cafe, postcards, posters, newsletters, on the radio, on anyone’s social channels, or anywhere else. The same with the successes: “218 conversations happened last week!” 

Caring flows like water in your community. Each action spreads ripples.

The most common mistake is to make the first small step too big. The same group also noted that access to nature is good for mental health in the community. They suggested more people should plant a tree. 

But that’s not nearly as good for a first step. It’s not immediate, not easy, not everyone can join (you have to own property and have money and ability to plant a tree). It’s hard to add more resources to make it work better (signage near the trees with mental health tips?), and it’s harder to promote. (Table tents with “you should plant a tree” aren’t nearly as good as table tents with “talk to someone in your community today, here are 3 tips to make it easy.”)

Once the movement kicks off with community conversations, then it’s easier to attract people (Gather Your Crowd) who also know about plants, gardening and growing things. Then together you can come up with ideas to find the “sweep your own sidewalk” version of adding more nature to the community. 

It’s hard to find these “sweep our own sidewalks” ideas on your own. So right now, text a friend to get together over coffee. Then bounce ideas around and see if you can find your small step together.