Everyone has one. Everyone hates most of them. In the day and age of technology there is now the oftentimes dreaded, but many times adored, GROUP TEXT.

Many are short lived and situational. A group of people meeting up for the evening – easy way to communicate directions, estimated times of arrivals, potluck dishes, etc? Group text.

But I am talking about the other type of group text. The thread that’s been going on for months or even years between a group of friends. I have two in particular that stay pretty consistent. One of them is my “Family Dinner” Group Text. This consists of a quite random assortment of friends, I think 12 in all, and we often reach out about weekend plans, spontaneous dinner parties, game nights, etc. This Group Text came into play over a year ago when it was formed for the Planning Committee for a fundraiser I put together for an organization called Community Push. Many of the people in the text chain were not friends or had only met briefly at our original meeting. It is a pretty diverse group — most of the men in the group are skateboarders (hence the connection to Community Push), but there are a handful of women in the loop with a variety of different reasons for being there — one’s a graphic designer, another is a DJ, a couple are event planners by trade, bartenders, etc.

I am not often one to advocate for texting all the time or being stuck to your phone, but through this particular Group Text, that has since stayed active, a group of 12 young Detroiters became friends. In addition to building these unexpected friendships, we’ve been given resources through communicating with each other to assist in our individual endeavors. Community Push is now consulting for the City of Detroit on the West Riverside Skate Park, we have staffed events and raised money for community organizations thanks to this Group Text. We have supported one another while producing music videos, hosting pop up dinners, DJing parties, bartending events, advocating for local charities, or just when we need someone to grab a beer with. We have used it as a resource and as a support system.

In a world of constant communication and technology, it is really beautiful to see it bring people together in the REAL world, and not just digitally. I am looking forward to hosting many more Family Dinners with my Group Text, and creating and developing some awesome projects with this diverse group of real life friends.