The Story That Helped Shape The Community Pledge
Sometimes the reason people choose to support a community organisation is deeply personal.
One conversation from the early days of developing The Community Pledge has stayed with me ever since because it captured something deeply human about why this work matters.
A Family Experience That Stayed With Me
I was speaking with a business owner whose mother had lived with dementia. He told me about a local group they eventually found where there was music, singing and moments of joy that brought her alive again in ways he had not seen for some time.
He described watching her face light up in that space and how much that experience meant to both of them as a family.
After she passed away, he chose to continue supporting that organisation using his professional skills because he understood firsthand the difference that group had made during a difficult chapter of their lives.
Businesses Are Made Up Of People Too
What stayed with me was the reminder that businesses are made up of people carrying their own experiences, losses, hopes and reasons for wanting to contribute.
Many businesses genuinely want to support their communities, but they are also balancing limited time, financial pressure and the realities of trying to keep a business running.
Why The Community Pledge Was Created
That conversation became part of what helped shape The Community Pledge – a way for businesses to contribute in a practical and sustainable way while also helping charities and community organisations remain visible and easier for people to find.
Because often, support only helps people once they know it exists.
If this resonates, I’ve explored it more deeply here:
https://thecommunitypledge.com/the_businesses_that_helped_us_get_here/
#CommunitySupport #HumanConnection #CommunityVisibility #SmallBusiness
A note on how this article was created
This article has been created and shaped by Jaki King, Founder and CEO of If Everyone Cares CIC – the organisation behind aDoddle.org and TheCommunityPledge.com.
It reflects more than 25 years of experience working in and alongside communities and over a decade of exploring community mapping, visibility and connection.
The content has also been shaped through listening to hundreds of real stories, insights and experiences shared by people, organisations and communities over time.
As part of the process, Jaki used AI as an accessibility and thinking tool to support how she works as someone who is dyslexic, autistic and has ADHD. This included helping her to structure ideas, refine wording and maintain clarity, while ensuring that the final content reflected her voice, her values and what matters in the work she does.
The article has been developed iteratively, going backwards and forwards to ensure it feels true to that.
(Time invested on the main article: approximately 5 hours from first draft to final version.)