Make Connections Through These Bergen Groups
Trying to be more active? Stay creative? Make a difference? These local organizations will keep you honest and help you thrive.
It’s easy to make a New Year’s resolution in late December—but it’s much harder to keep it once January starts in earnest. And, as we come to the end of the first full week of 2025, you might be remembering why it’s so difficult to go on that daily run, keep up your mindfulness journal or eat less takeout when you’re being constantly pulled between work and family obligations.
An easy way to keep yourself on task? Enlist some buddies with the same goal!
Bergen is filled with groups and organizations you can join or visit to find like-minded people. Whether you’re looking for folks to keep you honest or something with more structure and activities, you’ll find what you’re looking for here.
If you resolved to be more active.
Meeting your fitness goals goes beyond signing up for a gym. The Tenafly-based Palisades Running Club holds weekly meetups for runs in local parks and scenic trails. Waldwick’s Jersey Women Strong can prepare you for local races, but also offers weekly workouts, group runs and informal meetups to help women stay fit and healthy. If you prefer more of a stroll, Bergen County Hikers meets monthly and takes in nature at a “slow to moderate” pace. More of a cyclist? The Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey (BTCNJ) is active and ranks its club rides by difficulty.
If you resolved to be more creative.
No matter your craft, nothing will help you hone it more than listening ears and feedback. For musicians, try Bergen County Acoustic Musicians in Edgewater, whose members meet up once a month to play and practice together. If you’re more of a singer, try the Teaneck Community Chorus, Ridgewood Choral or the New Jersey Choral Society in Ridgewood. Visual artists will find a supportive environment at the Ridgewood Art Institute, in addition to mixers, resources and open studios held by the Arts Council of Glen Rock. For writers of all types, the Mahwah Library Writers’ Collective meets weekly for support and feedback.
If you resolved to meet new people.
It can be hard to expand your social circle as an adult, particularly in the work-from-home age. You can try any of the many active Women’s Clubs in Bergen, if you’re looking for a way to start reaching out, or the Ridgewood-based Junior League of Bergen County. You can also stop by a meeting of any of Bergen’s many rotary clubs. Many local chambers of commerce, including the one in Franklin Lakes, host monthly networking events to help forge connections between local business owners. Local libraries are also always hosting book clubs, another great way to make connections.
If you resolved to make a difference.
Bergen has no shortage of volunteer opportunities for those who want to help their neighbors. Help combat food insecurity and hunger in our county by helping rescue fresh food at Table to Table; donate your time and help at a homeless shelter through Family Promise of Bergen County; help build homes for those in need with Habitat for Humanity of Bergen County. Bergen Volunteers will give you opportunities to take part in mentor programs and more.
How are you going to stick to your resolution in 2025? Tell us all about it on Instagram @bergenmagnj!
