About Join Philly

We Don’t Need More Content.
We Need More Places to Belong.

In a city as alive as Philadelphia, finding your people shouldn't be hard. But for too many of us, it is.

Young adults face record levels of loneliness. The pathways to participation aren't clear. Clubs stay siloed.

That’s why we built Join Philly: to spark a culture of showing up, together.

Philly Slow Girls Run Club

We’re designing the infrastructure of belonging.

Join Philly helps Philadelphians discover clubs, gatherings, and cultural touchpoints that make real-life connection possible.

We don’t just surface what exists. We make joining visible and easier to act on. This initiative encompasses...

A searchable directory of clubs and grassroots communities
A printed Joiners’ Almanac with stories and spotlights (Winter 2025)
The annual Activities Fair, a citywide celebration of joining
Starter kits for new organizers
Ongoing storytelling about Philly's culture of joining

Jazz Attack

Connection is a public good.

This isn’t about social calendars. It’s about public health, civic trust, and neighborhood resilience.

Connection reduces anxiety and isolation
Belonging improves mental and physical health
Participation strengthens democracy

It starts with showing up: at a crafting club, walking group, mutual aid event, poetry night, or planning meeting.

Circle Jawn Singers

We’re not reviving the past.
We’re designing what comes next.

Philadelphia has always been a city of joiners, from Franklin’s Junto to block captains to community choirs.

But our social tools haven’t kept up. Join Philly builds the connective tissue our neighborhoods need: locally rooted, digitally accessible, and designed to grow.

Philly Bike Action

You don’t need permission to belong.

But an invitation helps.

If you’ve been feeling disconnected, this is your invitation.

Browse the directory. Pick up the Almanac. Come to the Activities Fair. Or follow along and see what sparks.

We’re here to make joining easier for you and for the city.

Volunteering Untapped PHL

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

We want more people talking about connection like it matters, because it does. Here’s how you can champion the work:

Tell someone that joining a group is civic action
Start a club or bring an old one back to life
Use the directory to find your people, then pass it on
Follow us on Instagram and share stories that resonate
Reach out with ideas, partnerships, or local heroes worth spotlighting

This isn’t charity work.
It’s civic imagination.
It’s cultural infrastructure.
And it only works if you show up, too.

Collaborate with us →Explore the directory →

THE PEOPLE BEHIND JOIN PHILLY

Join Philly is powered by a growing network of creative collaborators, civic-minded advisors, and passionate volunteers—people who believe connection is essential infrastructure.

The initiative was founded by Brian Adoff and Kristen Tideman, two creative strategists who met through organizing CreativeMornings Philadelphia and discovered a shared obsession: designing experiences that create real belonging.

With backgrounds in event production, community-building, and civic storytelling, they’ve seen firsthand how small gatherings can shape big culture. Join Philly is their answer to a simple but powerful question: What if connection wasn’t left to chance but designed into the everyday life of a city?

Together, they run Architects of Human Connection—a creative + culture strategy studio designing systems, gatherings, and cultural tools that make belonging possible.

We Don’t Need More Content.
We Need More Places to Belong.