Community Groups

My gran goes to a club with other old people.

My baby sister and my mum go to playgroup.

My brother goes to scouts.

My dad and I grow vegies in a community garden.

My mum does paintings at her art club.

What are community groups?

When a number of people in a community share the same interest and activity, they are a community group. There can be many groups in a community.

Some community groups are people who came to live in this community from the same country. They get together to help and support each other and to be able to talk in the language they spoke when they were children. This is called someone’s first language. For many people, English is not their first language, but the language they learned when they came to Australia to live. They gather to dance and sing the music of their homeland, and teach the children about the country their family came from.

For some, the group is an age group. Playgroups are gatherings of parents with very small children. The babies play together and the parents can share difficulties and help each other solve problems. Old people get together in Senior Citizens Centres. They play cards, talk or go on outings together. They play bowls, listen to music or dance.

Some groups are part of larger groups. Scouts and Guides are groups in the community but are also part of Scouts and Guides all over the world. Both groups run activities that are fun and that teach children skills and help them become confident and good leaders. They do indoor activities as well as outdoor hikes and camps. Guides are girls from 6 years old. Scouts used to be just for boys but now include girls. Children 6-8 years old can become scouts called joeys.

Some groups share music, singing or acting. They may put on concerts or shows in community halls or perhaps in a town square or park. 

Some groups are art and craft groups and members of the groups get together to paint pictures or to make things out of clay, metal, wool, fabric or other things.

Some community groups look after the environment. They clear rubbish and weeds from the sides of creeks and plant trees.

Other community groups may start community gardens where members of the community can grow vegetables or flowers.

What community groups are there in your community?

Do you belong to a community group?