When Neighboring Becomes a Cause
Most people think of “neighboring” as a personality trait: some people are friendly, some keep to themselves, and most wave twice a year when forced by lawn care season. But what if neighboring isn’t a personality type at all? What if it’s a cause?
In America we’re used to the idea that worthy causes become places we can volunteer, donate, serve, or advocate for. Hunger is a cause. Literacy is a cause. Animal welfare is a cause. Clean water is a cause. These causes build organizations, raise money, mobilize volunteers, and attract champions.
But neighboring — the small, ordinary work of knowing and caring for the people who live within shouting distance — has strangely never been framed that way. Until now.
Neighboring as a Volunteer Opportunity
When neighbors check on a widow after knee surgery, shovel a driveway, host a block party, deliver cookies to the new family on the street, or organize a yard clean-up for a family in crisis, they are volunteering.
But because our culture is trained to see “volunteering” as something we only do across town with matching t-shirts, we often miss the most accessible mission field in America: our own block.
One of the quiet innovations of Missouri Good Neighbor Week has been to define neighboring as legitimate volunteer work. When communities submitted over 42,000 acts of neighboring in 2025, they weren’t just being kind — they were participating in a civic cause that improves health, increases belonging, and builds informal safety nets.
County commissions, city councils, mayors, Rotary clubs, churches, libraries, and Extension councils are recognizing that when residents help their own neighbors, it reduces isolation, improves community trust, and decreases pressure on formal government systems. Neighboring suddenly looks a lot like strategic volunteerism.
Neighboring as an Individual Practice
Unlike most causes, neighboring scales down beautifully. You don’t need to join a committee, get a grant, secure a 501(c)(3), or form a task force. You just need to learn your neighbors’ names, practice small acts of kindness, and pay attention.
That’s the genius behind the Engaged Neighbor Program. It gives ordinary residents a practical on-ramp: take the Engaged Neighbor Pledge, learn the REACH framework, attend Neighboring 101, and put it into practice on your block. No special title required.
Neighboring as a Supported Sector
Every cause eventually attracts funders, partners, and champions. In Missouri we’re beginning to see that shift: city governments, universities, foundations, churches, and nonprofits are investing time, money, and staffing into neighboring because they see it as upstream work with downstream benefits.
Loneliness, civic fragmentation, declining trust, and the erosion of informal civic infrastructure aren’t solved by slogans. They’re solved by neighbors who believe belonging is worth building.
A Cause Hiding in Plain Sight
Neighboring has always mattered. What’s new is that we’re finally treating it like it does.
The future I see — and the one Missouri is quietly prototyping — is a nation where neighboring becomes a recognized area of service, a sector of civic life, and a cause where people can volunteer, practice individually, join collectively, organize locally, and support financially.
When that happens, we won’t just have more polite streets. We’ll have stronger communities, healthier citizens, and a culture that remembers we belong to each other.
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 or visit his website at http://engagedneighbor.com.
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