Dream for Community

In a year when campaign signs dot neighborhood lawns and heated discussions echo through dinner tables, young August sees her community through a simpler, more hopeful lens. While adults debate policies and platforms, this kindergartener has been quietly bringing people together in ways that only a child can imagine.

“Everyone should share their cookies,” August declares, unwittingly offering a metaphor for community connection that resonates beyond her years. Her solution to community division started in her school’s playground, where she instituted a “friendship bench” where children who feel lonely can sit and find new friends.

August mother, Brittany, watched as her daughter’s simple idea spread beyond the schoolyard. During Sunday services at Church, August suggested that families could swap dishes after service – an idea that blossomed into monthly potluck dinners bringing together families from different political backgrounds, careers, and beliefs.

The local community peer network took notice and created a “Community Story Time” program inspired by August’s enthusiasm for bringing people together. Now, parents who might never have crossed paths are sitting side by side while their children learn about kindness and acceptance through beloved books.

“She doesn’t see red or blue,” explains August’s grandmother, Gwen. “She just sees neighbors who could be friends.” In a time when adults struggle to bridge their differences, perhaps it takes a child’s wisdom to remind us that community bonds are built through simple acts of kindness and the willingness to share our cookies with someone new.