In 2026, the United States will celebrate its 250th birthday. Across the country, cities and states are planning events, festivals, and commemorations to mark the moment. But one city is offering a powerful reminder that the most meaningful celebrations may not happen on a stage or in a stadium. They may happen on your street. In Philadelphia, leaders have announced an ambitious idea: host 250 block parties across the city to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. Instead of concentrating the celebration in one downtown event, they are spreading it across neighborhoods—inviting residents to gather with the people who live closest to them. It’s a simple idea. But it carries a profound lesson. Because at its core, America was never meant to be just a place we celebrate. It was meant to be a people we belong to. The Power of Taking Celebration to the Street Too often, we think of civic life as something that happens somewhere else—at city hall, at major events, or on national stages. ...

Excelsior Springs, Missouri is taking big steps to bring neighbors together. With the help of Laura Mize and other local leaders, the city has launched a Neighborhood Engagement Team and a fun Block Party Challenge to encourage connection and community. To help kick off the effort, neighborhood expert David Burton was invited to town to talk about his work on building stronger neighborhoods across Missouri. Advance stories about David's program in the Excelsior Citizen called him the " neighboring guru " for Missouri! During his visit, he gave a talk at the public library about how to be an engaged and caring neighbor. He also met with the new engagement team, spoke with city staff, led a discussion with the ministerial alliance, and even had a one-on-one visit with the mayor. “I was excited to visit a city that already values community and is ready to take it to the next level,” David said. “Excelsior Springs is a great example of what can happen when people come to...

  Hosting a driveway chat for your neighbors is a simple low-stress way to build friendships and make your neighborhood feel more connected.  If you want to host this easy-to-organize event, having everyone bring their own lawn chairs and drinks is a perfect idea. This setup keeps things simple, relaxed, and low-stress for the host, while still offering everyone a chance to hang out, connect and get to know one another.  Here are some tips to make your driveway chat a fun and successful event. Pick the Right Time and Date The first thing to consider is the timing of your driveway chat. I think this depends on the culture and makeup of your  neighborhood. When I organized these for a year in my neighborhood we did Thursday nights to avoid known conflicts. We moved our event around (like the one shown on this page) to different "host" driveways. More recently, I have seen other leaders saying weekends are usually the best, since most people have time off from work....

  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...