Community building

- Educational Program Participation - Q - I want to build my community. How do I get residents involved and get them to show up to programs and bond?…

Building Community This article addresses the personal concerns of being a Resident Assistant and some concrete ways of developing a more…

My first year as an RA was spent trying to get my residents to take individual responsibility for things getting broken on the floor. This year I…

Making LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered) Students Feel Welcome Making LGBT Students Feel Welcome by: M. M. Malamud While serving on the…

Q . As RAs, what are some of the things that you beleive are successful in promoting unity on your floor? A . monthly birthday parties...…

Greetings from the University of Louisville! I am a senior and third-year Resident Assistant. I have worked in many different residence hall…

Description : A fun way to build community while working on your bulletin board is to create a message board, but I was told that other RA's were…

This is a great way to promote community in your hall, especially early in the year. It is a bulletin board with all of your residents' pictures…

Teambuilders | Affirmative Fold-Ups AFFIRMATIVE FOLD-UPS: Have group comfortably sit in a circle.Give each participant a sheet of paper and ask them…

Teambuilders | Back-to-Back BACK TO BACK: Every group member must find a partner of approximately equal height and weight, if possible.The partners…

Teambuilders | Chalkboard Sentences CHALKBOARD SENTENCES: This exercise asks the participants, working in teams, to race against one another to…

Teambuilders | Clipboards CLIPBOARDS: This activity can be done in two ways.The first is to do the activity at the beginning of a groups’…

Teambuilders | Human Knot HUMAN KNOT: The group starts out in one or two tight circles.Everyone in the group reaches across the circle with their…

Teambuilders | Keep It Up KEEP IT UP: The players form two or more teams with 10-12 players on a team.Each team gets into a circle.Each teams is…

Teambuilders | Lap Sit LAP SIT: The group will start in a circle.Every group member will turn placing their left leg towards the inside of the…

Teambuilders | Levitation LEVITATION: One person will lie on the ground on his/her back, with eyes closed (if they feel comfortable).The rest of the…

Teambuilders | Machine Game MACHINE GAME: The object of this game is to create a machine out of a group of people (i.e. ceiling fan, hot air balloon…

Teambuilders | Masks MASKS: Participants are given a piece of paper (preferably poster board).They are asked to cut out a face shape (that is fairly…

Teambuilders | Penny for Your Thoughts PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS: All participants are given a bag with pennies (each participant should have one penny…

Teambuilders | People Pass PEOPLE PASS: Have the group split into two smaller groups, if necessary.Have the groups lie down on their backs, in a…

Teambuilders | Piece of the Puzzle PIECE OF THE PUZZLE: Facilitator should cut a puzzle out of poster paper ahead of time.(There should be one piece…

Teambuilders | Possitive Bombardment POSITIVE BOMBARDMENT: One member is selected to be the recipient of positive feedback from the rest of the…

Teambuilders | Progressive Story PROGRESSIVE STORY: For this exercise, a group of people must know one another and feel comfortable discussing…

Teambuilders | PRUI PRUI: The purpose of this game is to integrate group members and build trust and communication.Have each player take a blindfold…

Teambuilders | Sing Down SING DOWN: Teams are created of anywhere from three to ten in a group.The leader will give the groups a word (i.e. love…

Teambuilders | Taffy Pull TAFFY PULL: Begin by asking group members to remove any sharp jewelry or belt buckles.Then, divide group into two teams…

Teambuilders | Team vs. The Wall TEAM VS. THE WALL: Divide the group into two teams.Two members of the team hold the rope at about four to five feet…

Team Builders AFFIRMATIVE FOLD-UPS BACK TO BACK CHALKBOARD SENTENCES CLIPBOARDS HUMAN KNOT KEEP IT UP LAP SIT LEVITATION LIFELINES MACHINE GAME MASKS…

Teambuilders | Three Person Trust Fall THREE PERSON TRUST FALL**: This trust activity should not be done with out doing a “two person trust fall”…

Teambuilders | Tinker Toy Competition TINKER TOY COMPETITION: The group leader should bring a box of tinker toys and divide the pieces in two (or…

Teambuilders | Touchstones TOUCHSTONES: This activity is best done at the end of a group experience.All participants are asked to chose a touchstone…

Teambuilders | Trust Walk TRUST WALK: This is an incredible trust activity!Every group member is either blind-folded, not blind-folded, but promises…

Teambuilders | Two-Person Trust Fall TWO PERSON TRUST FALL**: Every group member needs to find a partner of approximately equal height and weight.One…

Teambuilders | Values Discussion VALUES DISCUSSION: Have participants find two people who are wearing the same color as them.Have them find a spot…

Teambuilders | What You Don't Know WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW: Tape a blank piece of paper (poster board - kind of like a billboard over the person’s head)…

Teambuilders | Willow in the Wind WILLOW IN THE WIND: Should follow after a “two or three person trust fall” has been completed.This activity can be…

August & September Ideas and Resources August and September (depending on the date your school starts) are crucial months for developing community…

- August & September Residence Life Calendar - August and September (Depending on the date your school starts) are crucial months for developing…

You can now read this newsletter online…

See this newsletter online at /archive/newsletter/ca-sept2004.htm September 2004 Residence Life Newsletter EXCITING NEWS FROM CAMPUS ADVANTAGE! We…

Hello [firstname], I hope you're enjoying your semester! Before we get into the important content in this month's newsletter, I want to remind you of…

New House 5 During my three years as an RA at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, I learned that a fast start is what makes or breaks community. It's…

Team Builders, Ice Breakers, Songs, Name Games and other fun games The main ResidentAssistant.com gaimes, ice breakers, team builders and training…

<% BOARD HEADER %> Advice Ask the Experts Bookstore Bulletin Boards Calendar Page Career Center Games Grad School Info Humor for RAs Icebreakers Job…

Word document, 40 KB. Download the original DOC file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. Program…

Publisher file, 104 KB. Download the original PUB file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. A Cardinal…

I did a program that was solely all about chocolate. I had interesting information printed on posters about chocolate as well as myths that you may…

This program is similar to the penny wars, however each RA has a jar in the staff office with their picture on it. For a week the jars are on display…

Just like a real babyshower. Full of games and prizes, and food! Donate the gifts to a woman's shelter or person who is in need of the items.…

It's mainly for stress relief. One of the RA's in my building did it last year. It's good for around finals week and midterms. You get together stuff…

Programming | Passive Bathroom Vandalism turned GOOD Description : An idea that was discussed with a group of new RA's here at Drexel ended up as a…

Color your life and the lives of others! This is our canned food scavenger hunt. Everyone had a lot of fun and I think the people that we met going…

Our building was given $75.00 dollars from our hall council to go out and buy paper, colored pencils, markers, glitter, crayons, and stickers. We…

Description : Ask a local band to play in your Residence Hall. Often times these bands will ask for money, if so ask your Hall Council to defer the…

I took a group of residents to the hospital to carol to the people who were stuck in the hospital during the holiday season. We sang for about an…

For this program, the residents will color pictures that will be used as door decorations for an area nursing home. Instructions/Things Needed…

PDF, 192 KB. Download the original PDF file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. Community 1 Community 4…

Word document, 99 KB. Download the original DOC file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. Activities and…

During our first wing meeting of the year, I wanted to stress the importance of building community in our wing. I explained to my residents that…

- COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMMING - Adopt-A-Family Program Arrest An RA Babyshower Bakesale Cards for Kids With Cancer Celebrating the Holidays by…

Each floor puts a large jar in the main lobby (in a closely monitored area), then you set a date for the wars to end. During the wars, residents put…

You can team up with another RA to do this program, or, depending on the school, the RLs on your floor. Basically, you buy different types of…

Lee Jeans sponsors a day in October to raise money for breast cancer research. The idea is for employees to donate money to wear jeans to work, but…

DUCK RACE You have anyone who wishes to enter purchase his own duck or have some available for purchase, or provide them. Have everyone who wishes to…

PowerPoint, 399 KB. Download the original PPT file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. The Eight…

Description : This program works great, my floor really liked it. I put up signs a few weeks in advance that I would be collecting…

PDF, 220 KB. Download the original PDF file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. Trick or or Treat… for…

I made the first bulletin board of the semester by putting up a map and marking the cities where people were from with pins. Then I made notecards…

This is an ice-breaker type program that uses UNO cards! It's designed to start conversations about things people have in common and to tell people…

Description : The purpose of this program was to collect the extra school supplies that residents had so that they could be donated to a downtown…

Bakesale with the money going to building supplies for a Family Shelter. Instructions/Things Needed: Ask a couple of roommates as coordinators. They…

Publisher file, 95 KB. Download the original PUB file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. ShamROCK and…

I am working with the local chapter of habitat for humanity to get residents involved in the community. Instructions/Things Needed: Some hand tools…

Programming | Premade Boards | Bulletinboards Habitat for Humanity Two Description : We contacted our local Habitat for Humanity and scheduled a day…

All of the RAs in Dobson Hall collected items from their residents that they were willing to sell. For a little over a month, students could drop off…

We had "Kentucky Down Under" come to our hall. They brought Australian animals and Aboriginal artifacts. We invited a group of children from a…

I found that a lot of ladies in me resident hall were getting a bit catty with each other over simple things, and I felt that it was time for the…

This is a fantastic way to bring your residents closer together while, at the very same time, contributing to a worthwhile cause. The idea is to…

Make cards for different holidays. Send the cards to the local children's hospital. Instructions/Things Needed: Construction Paper Markers Glitter…

This runs like your normal NCAA Basketball tournament pool with one exception. To enter, each person must donate a non-perishable food item. All…

I had my residents turn in a "sack-lunch" form into our dining hall (our dining hall will provide sacks of lunch to those who fill out a form and…

I have been doing a community service program in conjunction with Sodexho Marriott, our campus' food service provider. How our meal plans are set up…

Microwave Meal: brunch, dinner and dessert (This could be used as a bulletinboard) Description : The programs goal is to teach residents that they…

This program was really good and helped out a worthwhile charity. I sponsored a month long pop tab collection competition between my residence hall…

Description : Get Residents to bid for an RA to to things for them. Like, 1) clean their room 2) do their laundry 3) give them a massage 4) make them…

Race for the Cure Walk/Run - I'm pretty sure this is a nationwide thing. It raises funds for breast cancer research. There's a 5K and also a one…

Our hall is doing a raffle for prizes. Every raffle ticket costs $1.00. For every month we have a prize package picked out. All the money collected…

The program is very simple really. All it consist of is raking leaves and having a dinner together. Here at my school each freshman dorm/floor has a…

To make residents aware of the importance of recycling for the environment. Make Easter baskets from old cardboard boxes and used color paper and…

Word document, 1038 KB. Download the original DOC file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. Residence…

I've always been a fan of TV, espically old TV shows that are now no longer on Tv. I've attached the flyer so you can take a look. click on picture…

A fun social program to bring members of your floor together. One of my girls made this suggestion to me and it was a huge success! It was a good way…

To have an interesting program about homesickness and how to fight it, I had residents come to a "scrapbooking" program. I advertised that they…

Towards the middle of the Spring Semester, have a clothes exchange in the lounge. Put signs up urging the girls to clean out their closets and bring…

This program is meant to celebrate the spirit of St. Patrick's Day with music by having a ShamROCK and ROLL session. A Guitar Hero 2 Tournament was…

A week before midterms or finals when people are stressed out, tell the residents that for one week they can donate non-perishable food items and…

I called a local nusing home and got their approval to come and visit. The guys on my hall had a blast and we plan on going back about every month.…

This program is designed for Freshman on Campus to get involved in their new community! Bring in represenitives from all over campus and the…

This is kind of like five girls and five guys but with a spin. Another RA and I took pictures of random rooms in the freshman halls. We then had the…

We got a few wheelchairs and set up a race course using traffic cones. We then had a representative from the special olympics speak about…

Racism, Sexism, & Homophobia as Explored by Dave Chappelle Racism, Sexism, & Homophobia as Explored by Dave Chappelle (Word ) Description : Students…

Community Service Program Year Round Adopt-A-Family Program About three years ago we sponsored an Adopt-A-Family for the Holiday Season from our…

Around the holiday and winter seasons resident assistants struggle to find ideas that incorporate community service and the holiday spirit. Here is a…

Word document, 23 KB. Download the original DOC file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. Sample First…

Word document, 19 KB. Download the original DOC file . The text below was extracted from it, so tables, images and layout may differ. Mandatory Floor…