C.H. Booth Library sponsored a Global Community Engagement Day on Saturday, January 25.

The event, which took place from 1 to 4 pm at the library, drew together several organizations that offer volunteer opportunities to individuals who wish to support the growth and development of Newtown and beyond.

Participating organizations included Ability Beyond The Court, AGORA Leadership Development Program, Alliance Francaise du Northwest Connecticut, American Legion Post 202, American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion, Danbury Student and Business Connection, Friends of the C.H. Booth Library, Friends of Newtown Seniors, and The Garden Club of Newtown.

Also, Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Newtown Allies For Change, Newtown Choral Society, Newtown Forest Association, Newtown Historical Society, Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, Newtown Lions Club, Newtown Woman’s Club, The Rotary Club of Newtown, Town and Country Garden Club, The Victory Garden at Fairfield Hills, and World Heritage Cultural Center.

Originally planned to be presented in the Gathering Room of the library, the large number of responding organizations allowed the event to expand into the foyer and adjacent Antiques Room of 25 Main Street.

The event was well attended with dozens of guests learning about the mission and related volunteer opportunities for each organization.

Global Community Engagement Day was the second event in January meant to raise awareness of decreasing volunteer numbers and social isolation.

Global Community Engagement Day followed the “Join or Die” event the library co-hosted with Newtown Congregational Church two weeks earlier. A screening of the Join or Die film, a documentary reflecting the groundbreaking work of Harvard social scientist and researcher Robert Putnam, was presented January 11.

Join or Die illustrates the dramatic reduction in “social capital” due to the ever-increasing isolation of Americans. Putnam’s work has documented the dramatic decline in participation in churches, synagogues, and mosques, service organizations such as the Rotary Club, the Shriners, and the Lions Club, participation in the NAACP, on PTOs and PTAs, membership in the Masons, participation in bowling leagues, service on community boards, and even neighborhood social events such as dinner parties, group picnics, and block parties.

Putnam’s premise is that if this trend of failing to join clubs and organizations continues it will erode this country’s democracy. The trend of an increasing disconnect with family, friends, formal and informal organizations, and neighbors is found in every state in the country.

Audience members said they found the research to be “highly troubling,” “fascinating but unnerving,” “reflective of today’s social norms,” and “a clarion call to action.”