We're preventing loneliness - the first Joo Day invited residents to try new things together

We organised our first nationwide Joo Day on Friday, 5 May. The aim of the annual Joo Day is to inspire people to say "Joo" (yes in Finnish) to whatever feels right in the moment and to follow their hearts. Whether it's a new beginning in a different location, a new hobby, or a new friend next door, Joo Day encourages embracing life's opportunities.

Free trials of various sports activities

This year, the Joo Day events focused on the Joo.Arena sports and leisure centre in Kirkkonummi and our Joo Hetki café in Oulu. Everyone was welcome to take part in the community events.

At Joo.Arena, we had an open house and offered free trials of various sports activities. The day started with a fitness session led by personal trainer Nadia Ammouri who shared inspiring tips on effective workouts.

Influencer Mikael Sunberg challenged our residents to a padel match.

Kerttu Rissanen led a popular body pump class.

Pernilla Böckerman gave a half-hour body maintenance session, followed by a talk on listening to one's own body and recovery. The participants got actively engaged in the discussion and asked many questions.

Bike maintenance and tasty treats

The most popular event around the Joo Hetki café was the bike maintenance station offered to Joo Kodit residents. Throughout the day, people also enjoyed a communal brunch and an evening buffet accompanied by music. We also gave out balloons and candyfloss.

Joo Kodit offers communities as well as homes

Joo Group's social mission is to inspire a sense of community and provide places where the residents of our rental apartments can to get to know their neighbours in relaxed surroundings.

This mission emerged after a survey we conducted in 2021, which revealed that as many as one in three people experience loneliness where they live. We believe that as a property owner, we can genuinely help alleviate such feelings of loneliness.

In the survey, the majority of respondents expressed interest in getting to know their neighbours and spending time with them. That's why we aim to create easy opportunities for Joo Kodit residents to connect with their neighbours.

We invest in inventive communal spaces

We now take the community aspect into account right from the construction phase. This means providing spaces where getting to know fellow residents comes naturally. Our recently completed Joo Hetki café in Oulu is a prime example of this.

Some of our latest apartment complexes will feature laundry rooms and gyms for residents, and we want to playfully inspire community spirit in these spaces, too. For instance, one of the laundry rooms will have table football and other games that residents can play with their neighbours while waiting for their washing to finish.

We organise diverse residents' events

Besides Joo Day, Joo Kodit residents have also enjoyed activities such as running schools, bowling evenings, a Christmas party, and boardgame events that we've organised around Finland in the past year. We actively listen to our residents' wishes and boldly test out different ways to encourage lively communities.

Ideally, after the initial spark, enthusiastic residents themselves will take the lead in organising the communal activities. A great example of this is our residents' running group in Oulu, which meets up a couple of times a month and communicates via a WhatsApp group.