One of the bright spots of living in an apartment community is the ability to really connect with the community and gather, laugh and bond. Given the recent 'Shelter In Place' orders, being within 6 feet of people or having more than 10 people together isn't allowed for the health and safety of the public. This hinders onsite staff's ability to bring people together - no movie nights, no happy hours, not even high fives in the breezeways.
We've curated some ideas to help build your community, bond and ultimately curve some of the boredom that most of your residents are experiencing. Here are some ideas to get your residents involved and have a little fun.
- Shelter In Place Scavenger Hunt - create a scavenger hunt for residents to participate in on social media. Create a list of normal households items, off-the-wall items, or even go with decade themed items in their home (scrunchies, boomboxes, CDs, etc.). Post up a flyer with points for each item and then give away a gift card to a Food Delivery service, music or tv streaming service for the most points! And for a little extra help, here is a sample Scavenger Hunt flyer to use!
- Creative Cooking! We all know that the groceries stores are a little sparse to say the least. With that, people might have to get resourceful with their recipes - have people post recipes and pictures with a rating of the entrée.
- Virtual Yoga Classes - Know a Yoga instructor that lives at your property? Ask them to lead a virtual yoga class on the properties Facebook Live and send out the day and time to residents for people to join. If you have balconies, suggest people join on their balcony. Take some pictures and share!
- Social Media Spirit Week - take it back to high school and get a little spirit going! Have a theme every day and have people submit pictures in their best get up - you could post an album for each day and have people vote for their favorite costume on social media. Some more extra help, here is a sample Spirit Week flyer to use!
Check with your vendors and explore options for virtual events. This pandemic is having a profound effect on a vast majority of vendors that specialize in community events. Many food trucks are waiving their set up and minimum fees and are offering a pre-order, prepay option for residents. Many local breweries are taking online orders and scheduling deliveries directly to resident’s doors. Call your loyal vendors and see what they are doing to help properties and keep business going during this difficult time.
Platforms such as ZOOM can provide an opportunity for residents to play games and interact with each other virtually from their own homes. Schedule a Virtual Trivia Event with a link to join a ZOOM meeting and enjoy playing games virtually with your neighbors from your own home. This platform can be used for cooking and craft classes as well.
Don’t forget about contests! Challenge your residents to get creative by holding photo contests and posting on social media with a tag shout out to the property. Contests like pet costumes, favorite feature in your home, a new recipe or hobby during this lock down, etc. Offer prizes that include gift cards to local businesses that can be used when this order is lifted.
Hope you find some of these helpful or at least lets your creative juices start to flow!
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