Toronto is a huge, beautiful city, but it can feel distant at times. With the all the busy people running around living their lives like a fast-forward video, it sometimes can feel pretty hard to connect with the city itself.

It’s important to be active in your community, not only because it’ll make you feel better about where you live, but it will also give you an appreciation for where you live and connection is super important these days, no matter which Toronto neighbourhood you live in!

Here are some ways to feel great about living in Toronto, and you’ll likely even meet a bunch of great new friends:

Volunteer

What better way to make a difference in your community and for Toronto as a whole than to volunteer your services for various programs in Toronto? Volunteer Toronto is a service that collects every volunteer duty you could imagine doing and gives you an easy way to find something you might be interested in. Not only will joining a volunteer project give you great vibes and really help you attach yourself to Toronto, it will also look great on resumes (especially if you volunteer for something related to the work you’re interested in!). At the end of the day, you’ll also feel great for helping people.

Donate to various organizations

Whether it’s somewhere as mainstream as The Salvation Army or something a little more focused like New Circles, donating is a great way to feel good about giving back to your community. Not only that, there’s a charity for everything you might want to give away. By giving away all the things you don’t need anymore, you’re guaranteeing someone less fortunate will be able to utilize your offerings. Of course, being able to lighten your own load gives you some much needed apartment space and peace of mind!

Clean up around town

The idea of going around and picking up garbage around the city appeals to basically no one, but when you do it as a big group, it can really change the dynamic. Welcome to Clean Toronto Together, a day that encourages people to group up and clean spots around town to make them more inviting for everyone! It’s one thing being forced to clean up trash, but it’s another thing entirely to be involved in beautifying your local community. Not only will you feel better about making your area much nicer to live in, but you’re guaranteed to meet people who also just want Toronto to look great!