Over time, our communities shift and evolve. For those of us with long-established roots in our local area, watching these changes sometimes feels as though our sense of community is fading away.

What does community mean to you? The Covid-19 pandemic has redefined what community means to many of us. From people who have felt isolated over the past year to those who have been helping support those people and their communities, many of us have developed a newfound passion for community initiatives. How can you pursue this throughout 2021 and beyond?

Has the Covid-19 pandemic made you reassess your priorities? Perhaps redundancy has forced you into making a change of job. For many, the last 12 months has seen being involved in the community become an important part of their lives, with many people deciding to look for jobs that allow them to work locally.

Support groups have many benefits. As Dr Amanda Hu from the University of British Colombia writes, beyond sharing common experiences, they can provide strength to members, raise public awareness, fundraise, educate friends/family, and give emotional and moral support. If you’d like to be involved in providing support, there are several ways to get started.

The NHS has declared COVID-19 to be the single most significant public health emergency in its history. We've seen people support each other with little acts of neighbourly kindness, such as fetching shopping to participation in national schemes. Now, the health service needs support with a range of tasks at vaccination sites.

While 2021 hasn't perhaps been as stressful as 2020, it has still been harder to feel connected with the people around us.  Still, between rumoured lockdowns, shielding, and the potential for more disruption, pockets of community spirit continue to appear across the country. As we enter 2022, we’ve rounded up ways to make a difference where you live, so that we can be happier in our communities whatever the Covid-19 restrictions.

With the evenings getting darker and shop shelves looking festive, it seems Christmas is just around the corner again. Christmas in 2020 will look a bit different, but there's still a lot to look forward to. For those wanting to help out in their community this Christmas, there are many ways you can get involved from a safe distance.

After a year of unknowns, lockdowns, staycations and quarantines, we’re all ready for a celebration. Diwali, a festival of light and love, is just the thing we all need to shine some positivity into our lives.