SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension and The Hopeful Neighborhood Project are expanding their annual celebration of National Good Neighbor Day (Sept. 28) in 2022 with Missouri Good Neighbor Week (Sept. 28 – Oct. 4).

This will be the fifth year of organizing a celebration of the national holiday and bringing attention to the engaged neighbor program, according to David Burton, county engagement specialist, MU Extension.

"We have expanded our good neighbor campaign statewide with an official Missouri Good Neighbor Week this year," said Burton. "The goal is to document 10,000 acts of neighboring in Missouri that week and to recognize the best neighbors across the state."

ROLE OF CONNECTORS

A key to the expansion of Missouri Good Neighbor Week is partners and connectors across the state who use resources and tools made available by MU Extension to get more Missourians involved with the celebration.

Missouri "connectors" have several key roles:

• Help spread the word about Missouri Good Neighbor Week in their community.

• Judge great neighboring submissions and good neighbor nominations in their county.

• Secure sponsors – like county extension councils -- for local neighbor awards.

• Present awards to the winners in your county and document those winners with photos.

BECOME A CONNECTOR

Individuals willing to learn more about serving as a neighboring connector can access the training video on the MU Extension YouTube Channel known as MUExtension417. The direct link for the training video is at https://youtu.be/K-rHDxnjuCY or search for the video by name: "Missouri Good Neighbor Week Connector Training Video."

Files for connectors and instructions for individuals and organizations related to Missouri Good Neighbor Week can also be accessed via Google drive. Email David Burton at burtond@missouri.edu to request a link to the files on Google Drive.

Information about Missouri Good Neighbor Week is already online at http://missourigoodneighborweek.com.

"It is never too early to start planning what you or your organization will do to help celebrate Missouri Good Neighbor Week in September," said Burton.

Individuals want to be a connector locally must email David Burton at burtond@missouri.edu to express their interest and indicate what county they are willing to serve.

MORE INFORMATION

University of Missouri Extension is at the forefront of a national movement recognizing the importance of neighboring in community development. MU Extension is offering classes like "Neighboring 101" and "Becoming an Engaged Neighbor" along with two annual neighboring events to raise awareness and encourage others to focus on neighbors.

To learn more about our "Engaged Neighbor" program or the impact of neighboring, go online to https://extension.missouri.edu or contact David Burton at burtond@missouri.edu or 417-881-8909. "Becoming an Engaged Neighbor" can also be found on Facebook.