National Good Neighbor Day is September 28. Do you have the date saved in your calendar? Until a few years ago, I had no idea this holiday even existed. I wasn’t aware that in 1978 then-President Jimmy Carter signed a nationwide proclamation to promote the idea of good neighboring. But now I know. And as Maya Angelou is famously quoted as saying, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” And so now that I know better, I’m striving to do better.
What about you? Did you know about National Good Neighbor Day? Well, now you do! And I’d like to encourage you to make a plan to honor this holiday. Here are three ideas for celebrating:
Start with Hello – One of the most basic things we can do as neighbors is get to know the people who live around us. And to do that, you have to start with hello. If you haven’t gotten to know all of your neighbors, try to find an opportunity to say hello and learn a new neighbor’s name in honor of National Good Neighbor Day. Maybe you know your neighbors a little bit, but would like to know them better. Use National Good Neighbor Day as an excuse for that as well. If you need something to help you out, these postcards are a great way to connect with your neighbors.
Plan an Act of Neighboring – You can take your neighboring one step further in honor of the holiday and plan an act of neighboring. Check out this list to help you with some ideas. If you live in Missouri, don’t forget to go to www.missourigoodneighborweek.com to register your act of neighboring.
Community Engagement – You might be thinking, “This is a great idea! I want more people to know about this.” We would love for you to share. This year we created a free digital resource kit for libraries to share with their patrons. While it might be too late for them to plan the events suggested, there are coloring sheets and other materials they could share without a lot of advance planning. You can also share about the holiday on social media, using these social media graphics or this video. You can also honor the holiday by volunteering in your community.
Now that you know about National Good Neighbor Day, are you ready to celebrate? I know I am.
Take pictures of what you do and share them with the hashtag #goodneighborday and #ilovemyneighborhood. You can also share your pictures with me at jennifer@hopefulneighborhood.org.
Let’s make this year the biggest celebration of the holiday since Jimmy Carter signed it! Are you with me?