Start a Village

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Starting a village in your community is both exciting and daunting. It requires time and effort and is not a one person job. While villages have similar goals, each community chooses the character of its village based on its interests, abilities and needs. Village activities are mostly volunteer run. 

Silver Spring Village members enjoy a brunch                                          East County Village Seniors at a business meeting

•  A resident may hear about this idea from friends, neighbors, the media or work.
•  They talk about it with neighbors who share their interest. Some Villages began when two neighbors, walking their dogs a struck up a conversation about aging in place and villages. Sometimes the idea comes up in a community meeting, neighborhood association meeting or in someone's living room.
• Once a few community members express an interest in the concept and are able to dedicate time to plan the village, they then form an exploratory (or planning) committee
• The committee may use a survey to learn about the community's needs and interests and recruits more people to build the foundation for the village.
•  The committee develops the organizational structure of their village. There can be many ways to form an organization and plenty of  resources to support this task. ​
• The village is "launched," usually after 18 to 24 months.

There are local and national  resources available should you wish to develop a village. Your first stop can be the   Village Coordinator.