This paper presents a preliminary exploration of the usefulness of "caring" as a framework for understanding certain elements of community change, specifically its relevance for the current community-building efforts seeking to reinforce or reinvigorate social, economic, and physical assets of communities for the support of children and families. The paper posits that community building shares with caring some crucial assumptions about the importance of social connectedness to community strength, the need for social participation and involvement to build a sense of belonging, and the values of commitment and reciprocity. Both caring and community building, therefore, can be seen as inputs to other outcomes, as contexts for successful development, and as orientations for pockets of effort.