Neighbourhood initiative creates happiness and brings people together
Bonava offers a sponsorship that helps fund local activities to bring neighbours together and shows that Bonava work to enable a happier neighbourhood through activities as well.
With the initiative ‘Creators of neighbourliness’, Bonava in Latvia wants to encourage and highlight people who have or want to start an activity in their neighbourhood to bring people closer together.
“Our vision is to create happy homes and neighbourhoods for everyone. One of the most crucial components of a happy neighbourhood is the social aspect – the opportunity to do things together with others. That’s why people who organise neighbourhood initiatives are so important, and we want to support both them and their activities, in the hope that they will inspire others”, says Elīna Valaine, Marketing Specialist at Bonava.
Bonava promotes neighbourhood initiatives
By highlighting these people, Bonava in Latvia hopes to encourage others to take the next step and start their own neighbourhood initiatives. They help promote happy neighbourhood activities by providing financial support, which neighbours of Bonava homes can receive not in cash, but in the form of inventory, equipment and goods to help start the activities.
“After the initiative is accepted, we contact the person responsible for the project and together we discuss the next steps. In addition to the financial support, we also provide advice about choosing the best equipment or adjusting the initiative to support the needs of the people who live in the particular neighbourhood”, Elīna explains.
The sponsorship helps create happy neighbourhoods
According to Elīna, the neighbourhood sponsorship fulfils several functions. It brings neighbours together and makes it easier for them get to know each other and find like-minded people; it makes everyday life more exciting; residents find more hobbies and improve their health; and it creates a sense of satisfaction at participating in something and helping others.
Being able to help your neighbours in different ways makes you a happier person. According to the Happy Neighbourhood report, we know that people who feel their neighbours are willing to help each other in need are 23% happier with life in general, and 40% happier in their neighbourhood. The study also shows that a quite large portion of people are willing to share both spaces and things with their neighbours. Estonians are most open to share outdoor spaces, with almost 37 percent compared to 18 percent in Sweden and Norway and 8 percent in Germany.
“A happy neighbour is a person who understands that home doesn’t end at the walls of an apartment or a building. Home is created by the space we are in, as well as our feelings, emotions, and activities. A happy neighbour is friendly, helpful, enthusiastic about making their neighbourhood better for themselves and those around them, and is ready to get involved”, says Elīna.
Several successful initiatives in Latvia so far
During the summer of 2022, Bonava Latvia has finished the second call for participants in the neighbour sponsorship initiative. Three ideas have been picked: helping to organise an outdoor film night and buying both outdoor sports equipment and novuss game equipment.
“The opportunities for neighbours in Bonava neighbourhoods to meet and engage in joint activities are quite varied. So far, we have supported several neighbourhood initiatives. For example, in our Dreilinga mājas complex, neighbours have already been organising outdoor fitness training for several years, so it was only natural for them to ask us for help. And the neighbours of Pagalms 2.0 are great table tennis enthusiasts, so we happily supported them by buying prizes and other equipment for the final competition of the table tennis season”, says Elīna.
Find out what makes people happier where they live in Bonava’s Happy Neighbourhood report.
