Announcing Missouri Good Neighbor Week 2026: New Award Categories and Resources

 

The fifth annual Missouri Good Neighbor Week (Sept. 28 - Oct. 4) is being celebrated statewide in 2026. This year includes some new award categories and new resources.

Along with a new theme: "A year of neighboring activity. A week to celebrate it."

"The website is open now for all nominations and for the reporting of acts of neighboring. We hope Missourians will help us document activity and make nominations all year-long," said David Burton, community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension and founder of Missouri Good Neighbor Week.

Awards will be announced during Missouri Good Neighbor Week as a way to celebrate neighbors!

"We are still encouraging activity and events during the week too," said Burton.

New this year is the opportunity to nominate your neighborhood as the best in Missouri. This nomination looks at activity and other gathering activities in any Missouri neighborhood or apartment complex.

On the website now, individuals can:

  • Report an act of neighboring (individual actions and events)
  • Nominate someone as the "Most Engaged Neighbor in Missouri."
  • Nominate a business as the "Most Neighborly Business in Missouri."
  • Nominate a neighborhood as the "Most Neighborly Neighborhood in Missouri."

Reporting actions and events and making nominations also help cities earn points toward being named "Missouri's Most Neighborly City."

There are also resources on the website to download, like a marketing kit to help spread the word about the week and a guide with 101 acts of neighboring for those needing ideas to jumpstart their action.
Written by David L. Burton

MORE INFORMATION

Take the Engaged Neighbor pledge and become part of a movement! The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge at https://nomoregoodneighbors.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special invitations to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.com.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best Acts of Neighboring During Missouri Good Neighbor Week Announced and Recognized

Image
  SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Second Annual Missouri Good Neighbor Week (Sept. 28 to Oct. 4) was a documented success. Organizers had a goal to document 15,000 acts of neighboring. But instead, Missourians reported 19,752 acts of neighboring during the week. The sponsors of Missouri Good Neighbor Week -- University of Missouri Extension and The Hopeful Neighborhood Project – recognize the most engaged neighbors and the best acts of neighboring during the week to encourage acts of neighboring all year. According to David Burton, community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension and creator of Missouri Good Neighbor Week, 10 different reported acts of neighboring were selected as the best examples in Missouri this year. “Whether you are an award winner or not, we want to encourage Missourians to keep learning the names of their immediate neighbors, finding ways to use their names, and planning fun neighborhood events to develop positive relationships and incre...
Read more

Results of 2024 Missouri Good Neighbor Week Exceed 30,000 Acts of Neighboring!

Image
  Several hands have been busy tabulating the final results from the 4th Annual Missouri Good Neighbor Week. While those volunteers and partners are invaluable, people like you are also worthy of thanks.  Individual Missourians who reported their acts of neighboring nominated someone for an award, or organized a block party! Or you were on one of 60 committees with University of Missouri Extension to organize county-level efforts that account for over 14,000 acts of neighboring this year!  No matter your role or level of involvement, thank you. On another positive note, the efforts in Missouri have not gone unnoticed. In the last month, I have received inquiries about the creation of other statewide neighbor weeks from Massachusetts, Michigan, Connecticut, California, Florida, Oklahoma, Washington, and Colorado. How exciting! Based on this year's results, the future seems bright. ENGAGED NEIGHBORS. We have already announced the 22 individuals being recognized as Missouri...
Read more

Five Cities Named Most Neighborly in Missouri for 2024

Image
  Photo above: From a block party in Ferguson, Missouri. New to Missouri Good Neighbor Week this year was recognition for the most neighborly cities in the state.  This honor was based on points earned by participating in the week, city campaigns and proclamations, residents making nominations for most engaged neighbor and reporting acts of neighboring, and statewide or local prizes won.  "The goal was to further engage cities with Missouri Good Neighbor Week and we had over 12 pass proclamations and at least 12 that had organized city-wide efforts for Missouri Good Neighbor Week," said David Burton, community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension and creator of Missouri Good Neighbor Week. "We ended the week with over 31,000 documented acts of neighboring and five cities worthy of the title 'most neighborly city' in Missouri." In 2024, five cities were named the most neighborly cities in Missouri: Houston, Excelsior Springs, Sikeston,...
Read more