Mutual Engagement

Voluntary associations are a critical component of a civic community. Rather than garnering all means of production by acquiring vertical competitors, horizontal networks consist of individuals bringing together similar skills and relevant ideas to form an association that meets mutually beneficial needs. Mutual aid is a voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit. Mutual aid projects can be a form of political participation in which people take responsibility for caring for one another and changing political conditions. Mutual aid has been used to provide people with food, medical care, and supplies, as well as provide relief from disasters, such as natural disasters and pandemics. I’ve been involved in volunteer associations in Watauga County, not mutual aid or civic associations. I was involved with the Watauga Arts Council. I set up artists to potentially sell over 10,000$ from their works, either online or in-store in order to keep the unique crafts alive in the county. Although this was only a volunteer association that did not have anything to do with civics or civic engagement, I definitely learned that volunteering can involve community engagement, although our organization lacked technical experts, funding, and legitimization from the public. Our lack of full-time staff limited the volume of work that could be completed. We were recognized and received grants from the government. Unfortunately, I got really burned on on volunteering for the Watauga County Arts Council. I wasn’t getting paid and I was working a lot on random projects that were assigned to me by the Executive Director. A social hierarchy did develop that was contradictory to the principles of mutual aid. Considering how mutual aid networks form on social media, there are plenty of ways that they spontaneously self-organize over time. Examples local to North Carolina include Greater Charlotte Area Mutual Aid, where a hashtag was created #GoLocalCLT that told the stories of business owners impacted by COVID policies disrupting local economies. The mutual aid group developed a resource library for Charlotte business owners compiling a wide variety of resources. They  encouraged small businesses to use this document as a tool to find opportunities for support and to learn more about financial planning, recruiting, and more best practices for operating a business in the pandemic.​ Simply put, Greater Charlotte Area Mutual Aid launched the #GoLocalCLT campaign, a multi-modal approach created not only to encourage community members to shop at local businesses but also provide meaningful support and resources to small business owners.