How We’re Building Community Remotely—And Why It’s So Important

Across the world, more people than ever before are using Zoom, Facetime, and other digital tools to stay connected with their school, family, friends, and coworkers. 

These connections aren’t just necessary for continuing our education, maintaining our workflow, or keeping tabs on family gossip. They’re also immensely important for overall wellbeing. 

Whether during regular life or in the middle of a pandemic, community is essential. Here’s a closer look at why social connections matter—plus how Zealous is working to build community on campus and beyond. 


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Why Community Connections Matter

History tells us that humans are naturally social beings. We evolved in groups that traveled, hunted, gathered, and lived together. These groups provided us with a certain level of protection and a set of norms, and they taught us how to effectively cooperate with others. 

So it might not come as a surprise that research repeatedly suggests socially connected communities and the individuals living within them are more likely to thrive. 

People—students, parents, and everyone else—who feel a sense of belonging within their community are more likely to be healthy. That’s partly because socially connected people are more likely to take actions that improve their health and the health of other people.

In fact, one older study found that a lack of social connection has a more negative impact on overall health than smoking, obesity, or high blood pressure. On the other hand, strong social connections can strengthen our immune systems and help us recover faster from disease. 

Physical wellbeing isn’t the only aspect of our health that’s bolstered by social connection. Strong community ties can also improve our mental wellbeing by:

  • Lowering stress

  • Improving our confidence and self-worth

  • Increasing feelings of happiness

  • Strengthening our capacities to empathize with other people

  • Providing us with a sense of belonging and purpose

On the other hand, people who are socially isolated are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. 

All told, social ties have a massive impact on our physical and mental health. This explains why a review of 148 studies (totaling more than 308,000 participants) found that people with stronger relationships are more likely to live longer. 


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How We’re Building Community at Zealous—On Campus and Beyond

Strong connections are essential for maintaining our students’ mental and physical wellbeing. That’s why Zealous places a big emphasis on building and strengthening community both on campus and beyond. 

Before Covid-19 struck, much of our community building happened at our physical campus. Our small class sizes and full-school activities (such as Morning Activities, crafting our Community Contract, Wednesday All-School Meetings, and Fridays in the Field) provide opportunities for students to get to know each other and appreciate each other’s contributions to the school. 

Meanwhile, our Open Campus programming creates opportunities for engagement with our community beyond the school. We invite other children and adults into Zealous for a variety of programs, including Girls Who Code, Chess Club, Chinese Club, creative writing, and more. 

Since physical distancing became necessary for managing the spread of Covid-19, we’ve sustained our commitment to building community—albeit a little differently. To date, we’ve created a variety of opportunities for our students and broader community to sustain social connections, such as: 

  • Collaborative, all-school Friday projects including a student talent show, a lively debate, a storytelling competition, and more

  • Virtual LEGO challenges, for which we drop off sanitized LEGOs at people’s homes so they can share their creations on weekly Zoom calls

  • Book drop-offs at students’ houses so they can read the same books and participate in group discussions

  • A Graduation/End-of-Year Bike Ride for which Zealous Coaches biked to the homes of all of our Eagle- and Gypsum-based students to wish them a socially distanced “congratulations”

  • A virtual Passion EXPO where kids created short videos to explain their passions.

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These activities take extra effort on the part of our coaches and staff, but we know those efforts are well worth it. Whether in person or remotely, we’ll continue to prioritize social connection for our students, families, and broader community—because we know these connections are imperative for mental and physical wellbeing. 

We’d love to hear from you! How is your family maintaining social connections during this period of physical distancing?

Geoff Grimmer