Celebrate National Good Neighbor Day by encouraging acts of neighboring. In Greene County, Mo. we are going to do this by awarding participants in our 1,000 Acts of Neighboring Challenge.
Leader
David Burton
Location
2400 S. Scenic Ave Springfield, MO 65807
National Good Neighbor Day is Sept. 28 (first proclaimed by U.S. President Jimmy Carter). In southwest Missouri, the University of Missouri Extension Engaged Neighbor Program is focused on making the entire week (Sept. 26 to Oct. 2) a time for neighbor focused events and speakers and outreach.
Local residents can submit reports on their neighboring efforts to our website as part of 1,000 Acts of Neighboring Challenge. Those who participate can win prizes or have their efforts recognized as the "Best Act of Neighboring" in their specific town and win a cash prize of $250.
The goal is bring focus to the importance of neighboring, launch new neighboring programs, and develop partnerships to teach about and promote the importance of neighboring year round.
Community development begins in your neighborhood and with your leadership. Developing relationships with your immediate neighbors can improve your neighborhood and your community. We need sponsors and supporters to help fund this National Good Neighbor Day project along with our efforts in pilot neighborhoods and other related programs in Greene County, Missouri for the next year.
Once cash is in hand the team will make immediate purchases of awards and prizes and media efforts to promote the week.
But even before the cash goal is met, National Good Neighbor Day is already being planned and so is our 1000 Acts of Neighboring Challenge. Donations will help purchase prizes for random drawing when participants submit a report. We will recognize the best acts of neighboring in every community of the county. Media coverage will make this event a success and elevate the topic of neighboring to a regular year-round discussion topic.
No donations go toward staff salaries or the normal operations of Greene County MU Extension. Instead the money will go directly in to funding our 1000 Acts of Neighboring project and motivating residents to give neighboring a try themselves.
The goal is bring focus to the important connection between neighboring, community health and civil discourse. This program is focused on launching new neighbor training programs, and developing partnerships to teach and promote the importance of neighboring. Community development begins in your neighborhood by developing relationships with your immediate neighbors to improve your neighborhood, your own quality of life and ultimately your community. These efforts reduce isolation and loneliness among residents, improve communication and discourse among diverse individuals, and actually helps to develop individual leadership skills at the most grassroots level. Our longterm goal is to see National Good Neighbor Day become celebrated nationwide annually.
