From Orlando to Omaha, Connecticut to San Francisco—and even smaller communities such as Bryant, Arkansas—Good Neighbor Week is becoming a way to turn a simple idea into meaningful community action. September 28 is National Good Neighbor Day, but in 2026, communities around the country are taking the idea beyond a single day. The growing movement encourages residents to meet the people who live around them, volunteer together, celebrate local community leaders, and create opportunities for people to feel connected and included. The National Good Neighbor Day movement encourages communities to make a plan, meet their neighbors and turn one day of connection into something that lasts throughout the year.  Here is what is being planned (or is emerging) for five communities and regions in 2026. Orlando, Florida: A First-Ever Good Neighbor Week Orlando is preparing for its first-ever Orlando Good Neighbor Week , scheduled for September 28 through October 4, 2026 . The effort ...

I use artificial intelligence.  It can help organize ideas, summarize research, brainstorm a headline, improve a paragraph, or answer a question in seconds. There is no denying its usefulness. But a recent commentary by Maria Baer for WORLD, titled “ The Friend Who Asks ,” raises an important question about what happens when we begin asking artificial intelligence questions that we once would have asked another person. Increasingly, people are turning to AI with personal questions, relationship questions and even moral questions. That may seem convenient. After all, the computer is always available. It doesn't appear distracted. It doesn't tell you it has somewhere else to be. But perhaps there is something important missing. A chatbot can give you an answer. A friend gives you a relationship. And relationships require something of us. Good Friends Ask Questions One of the most important lessons I have learned from studying neighboring is remarkably simple: peop...

  We often imagine that great ideas come from unusually creative people. Someone has a flash of inspiration. A brilliant new idea appears. Everyone else wonders, “Why didn't I think of that?” But research on social networks suggests something different. Sometimes the person with the best idea isn't necessarily the most creative person in the room. It may simply be the person who has been in more than one room. Marc J. Dunkelman, author of "The Vanishing Neighbor," recently told me about a fascinating 2004 blog post by Bruce Hoppe titled “ Good Ideas at Raytheon and Big Holes in Our Own Backyard .” The article discusses research by sociologist Ronald Burt and what he called “structural holes.” The idea has important implications not only for businesses but also for neighborhoods and communities. The Raytheon Experiment Burt studied managers at Raytheon and asked them to submit their best ideas for improving business operations. Company executives then evaluated those i...

  Missouri will once again celebrate the power of everyday neighborliness when Missouri Good Neighbor Week returns Sept. 28 through Oct. 4, inviting residents, neighborhoods, businesses, organizations and communities to recognize the simple acts that make Missouri a better place to live. The statewide celebration, created by University of Missouri Extension Community Development Specialist David Burton, and officially signed into law by the Missouri Governor in 2022, has grown from an idea into one of the nation’s most visible organized efforts to encourage people to know, love and serve their neighbors.  The initiative is supported by University of Missouri Extension, National Good Neighbor Day, and ServMo.   The program was also named America’s Neighboring Program of the Year by Neighborhoods, USA in 2023.  Act. Report. Celebrate. Missourians are encouraged to report their acts of neighboring throughout the year, not just during the September celebration...

There is an old story told by minister Harry Emerson Fosdick about an experience he had as a boy growing up in New York. His mother sent him outside to pick a quart of raspberries. He didn’t want to do it. He approached the chore reluctantly, and that container seemed to fill painfully slowly. Then he changed the challenge in his mind. Instead of picking the quart his mother requested, he decided to surprise her by picking two quarts. Suddenly, everything changed. The raspberries hadn’t changed. The chore hadn’t changed. The amount of time he had hadn’t changed. His mother hadn’t changed. His attitude changed. I’ve been thinking about that story because I believe it applies to how we approach our neighborhoods and communities. It is easy to look around and focus on everything that needs to change. We want local government to do more. We wish people volunteered more. We complain that nobody knows their neighbors. We wonder why someone doesn’t organize an event, clean up the park, welcom...