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A weekly resource on how to weave our communities and restore social trust. |
Comedian Victor Borge, who said the famous line: “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” Photo credit: Dupont66 / Wikimedia Commons |
This April Fools', use comedy to bring your neighbors together
When folks think about weaving, they usually picture community gardens, potlucks, or serious volunteer efforts. But what if one of the most effective ways to connect with our neighbors is simply to get silly together?
Research shows that laughter is a powerful tool to build trust, as it helps overcome the social anxiety that often keeps us isolated. In Detroit, a field study involving hundreds of middle and high school students found that participating in a 10-week improv comedy program led to substantial decreases in social anxiety and a higher tolerance for uncertainty.
Baltimore Weaver Awardee and comedian Fred Watkins knows this first-hand. He started an organization called Lil’ Laughs that uses comedy to help children and teens navigate serious issues – from bullying to substance abuse – at their school. Facilitators guide students through hard conversations and help them find their own leadership in tackling these issues.
“For example, when we talk about bullying, we sometimes do skits to explore who feels safe coming to school,” says Watkins. Kids realize, he explains, that the students who are on “attack-mode” are often the same kids who don’t feel safe. They are acting out to feel protected.
Laughter is the key to unlock tough talks and insights. Sessions might start with an improv skit, a talent show, or a dance off. ”There is a lot of relatability in comedy. You laugh at things that you understand, and really laugh at things that you may have been through before,” says Watkins. “We find some solace in the fact that people relate to us.”
As kids learn to be vulnerable together, they build trust and stronger relationships. “Their relatability is powerful,” says Watkins. “Once they develop confidence, others gravitate to them. They become powerful forces in their community.” They become weavers.
Lil’ Laughs works with kids and teens from kindergarten to high school, but focuses on 5th to 10th graders. Watkins says those students are going through many changes and developing the maturity to understand nuanced issues. They also have the idealism and drive to become leaders who help diffuse conflicts and stop bullying.
“They really take pride in being leaders and not in a way where they're boastful or trying to emphasize the fact that they stand out,” he says, “but really wanting to be the best example. We’ve seen kids who used to get in fights or were bullies turning things around and helping others instead.”
It’s not only young folks who benefit from improv. Dan Miller, the external relations director for the Washington Improv Theater (WIT), an organization that trains hundreds of DC residents every year through an eight-session program and a free program called “ Improv for All,” says that he has seen neighbors build relationships with one another even after a single session.
"One thing that's wild about improv classes and workshops is no one asks you what you do for a living," says Miller. "You are just there as your truest self and you are reacting and learning how to be outside of your normal environment and to new situations."
This dynamic requires participants to come in with good faith, putting themselves in what Miller calls a "vulnerable state, but an authentic state." The shared vulnerability brings strangers together across generational and social divides.
And the connection lasts well beyond the stage. "I think a lot of the deepest community building happens after shows when you're getting a drink or hanging out with folks," Miller says.
Are you doing any community building activities this April Fools'? We’d love to hear about it in the Weaving Us community. |
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*Weave invests in 25 Community Host organizations across the country to bring microgrants, resources, and support to weavers in their area. Learn more here.
In Fresno, Calif., the Central Valley Community Foundation is proving that regional investment is strongest when it is deeply tied to the community. Through their Fresno DRIVE initiative, the foundation acts as a catalyst for social and economic upward mobility, supporting 14 different efforts centered around people, place, and prosperity. Recently, they have placed a strong emphasis on their Civic Infrastructure
initiative, where local nonprofits organize residents right down to their elementary school neighborhoods to build social connectivity and civic participation.
Now, as one of Weave's new Community Hosts, the Central Valley Community Foundation is thrilled to bring the Weaver Awards to their region as a way to foster trust, tackle divisiveness, and deepen neighborhood connectivity. “One of the things I’m most excited about is that we’ll get access to 24 other Community Hosts that really care about their communities and are working with very different needs and populations. We can learn from each other and try new ideas,” says Kate Zamora, Program Manager at the Central Valley Community Foundation. |
Reimagining Volunteerism: A Narrative Shift Towards Connected ServiceThis interactive session will explore how shifting the narrative of volunteerism can create opportunities for organizations to design, implement, and measure service experiences. Participants will move from understanding narrative as a concept to applying a connected service framework that centers relationships, trust, and reciprocity as core outcomes. It happens April 7, 2026 at 1pm ET / 11 am PT. |
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Why We Weave: Fixing What’s BrokenWe’ve all been there: that moment you realize something in your community isn't right. Whether it’s fractured trust, a system that’s failing, or a vital need going unmet, it’s often hard to know what to do. In this edition of Weave’s storytelling series, “Why We Weave”, you’ll hear from two incredible neighbors, Jaime Encinas and Vivian Best, as they share their personal journeys of seeing a problem and choosing to step in. They’ll pull back the curtain on how they named the challenge, navigated the resistance, and began the work of making a difference, one step at a time. Join us on Monday, April 13, 2026 at 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT. |
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Explore how to create more meaningful volunteering opportunities
Join us for a Weave Community Circle — a welcoming space to share stories, listen deeply, and build meaningful connections with fellow weavers. In this session, “Weaving Through Connected Service”, we will share stories of prioritizing building meaningful relationships and mutual belonging in volunteer spaces. It happens April 15, 2026 at 1pm ET / 11am PT.
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Get support to scale your organization
The Aspen Policy Academy has opened applications for their Building Nonprofit Advocacy Capacity short course. This free, part-time, virtual course happening May 11 to May 15, 2026, is designed to help US-based organizations working in the public interest – such as nonprofits, direct services providers, or university and research centers – to scale their impact and reach new stakeholders.
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Get up to $35k to foster a more connected community
The US Venture/ Schmidt Family Foundation is supporting nonprofits with up to $35,000 grants that strengthen social cohesion and empower disadvantaged communities.
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Get up to $100K to get kids excited about nutritious foods
The Food Justice for Kids Prize, a collaboration between several organizations including Newman Own’s Foundation, is awarding grants up to $100,000, over 2 years, to as many as 14 nonprofits, Tribes, schools, and school districts in the United States and its territories working to ensure all children can access, learn about, and engage with nutritious, culturally-relevant food at school and in communities.
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| You might have noticed we are hosting several events about Connected Service. We are working with partners in the volunteering space to figure out how to move traditional service to one where folks build a deeper sense of belonging and connection to their community. As Susan Sherman, our Managing Director, put it on a LinkedIn post: “Imagine if we could address our communities' needs – like housing, food insecurity, etc. –while also alleviating the epidemic of loneliness and social mistrust we are experiencing.” Until next week! |
| Gabriel Plata, Newsletter Editor |
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Weave: The Social Fabric Project
tackles the problem of broken social trust that has left Americans divided, lonely, and in social gridlock. Weave connects, supports, and invests in local leaders stepping up to weave a stronger social fabric where they live. The project was founded by New York Times columnist and author David Brooks at the Aspen Institute. |
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