The power of community is unmatched. One of the things I love most about living life as a Clarendon Hills resident IS the community. But with life sometimes moving at a fast pace, we miss out on running into the neighbor down the street at the Standard Market or stopping to chat with fellow parents at school pick-up. So, we get creative.
In March 2019, I dreamed of a way that the men of Clarendon Hills could meaningfully connect within the busyness of their lives. There was already a “Clarendon Hills Mom’s List” group on Facebook that proved to be valuable for the women in our community, including my wife. I thought, “Why can’t the dads have that, too?!”
I created “Clarendon Hills Dad’s List” (no affiliation to the mom’s list) and began to build a space for men (whether they’re a dad or not) who live in Clarendon Hills to gather and enjoy fellowship in a time and place that was convenient to them.
Our credo is simple:
This group is made for men in our community to connect and converse on our own terms. Our goal is to support one another, keep each other informed and connect to the Clarendon Hills community, and maybe even make long-lasting friendships. Fathers, grandfathers, husbands, brothers, nephews, sons…all Clarendon Hills men are welcome!
Since its inception, the dad’s list has grown to nearly 500 men who live in Clarendon Hills. It’s within this private group that members share local information, have respectful-but-lively debates, offer up household items to neighbors who may need them, chat about local business or restaurant recommendations, or simply arrange a game of touch football at the park for their kids…or themselves!
What I love the most about what we’ve created, is that it is a private space exclusively for Clarendon Hills men (yes, we enforce that rule!) where we can feel the closeness of our community even when we’re not out-and-about. Men have tried and loved new local food. Men have hired local craftsmen at the recommendation of a group member. Men have had electricity during an outage because a fellow group member had an extra generator.
This community – and I mean both online and out-on-the-town—is something special.
If you meet the criteria to join this wonderful community on Facebook, I personally invite you to do so!