GOOD Magazine Created a Holiday So You Can Get to Know Your Neighbors…Are You In?
Photograph by Hillary Newman. Poster illustration by Frank Chimero, in collaboration with GOOD.
Admit it. You probably don’t know your neighbors. You may say hello to them here and there, but do you know what their hobbies and careers are? I don’t want to give you a guilt trip, but according to a 2011 study by the Corporation for National and Community Service, only 15.62 percent of Americans trust all their neighbors and 35 percent of Americans don’t do favors for their neighbors at all. That means we need to be better about getting to know our community, right?
It seems fair to say that a holiday could remedy all this. In fact, throwing a regular old-fashioned block party could really help you and your neighbors break the ice. GOOD Magazine is proposing that the world observes Neighborday on April 27, whether that means throwing a barbecue for the guy next door, inviting your whole block over to do some sidewalk chalk art, or building a phone tree for your apartment complex. Whatever your Neighborday ideas may be, we’ve created a toolkit for you with downloadable flyers to get you started and we want you to contribute videos of your Neighbordays to our awesome documentary.
A neighboring network can connect you to hyper-local events, culture, politics, and art. Creating these relationships can get you more involved in civic activities, local schools, and even sports and recreational centers. Overall, being friendlier to your neighbors can make your community a better place to live and work.
What am I doing for Neighborday? Well, if you live in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, specifically by Rowena and Hyperion Ave, where the great Walt Disney founded Disney Studios, I’m hosting a neighborhood walk in the morning starting at the Lyric Hyperion Theater and Café, a parking lot hip-hop dance class in the afternoon taught by Versa-Style Dance Company, then a 10pm comedy and storytelling show, in collaboration with all the shows hosted at the Lyric. Do you want to come? Join the Facebook event for all the details leading up to April 27.
If you’re an out of towner or you want to throw your own Neighborday, join good.is and click DO here so you can get a more detailed DIY toolkit to get you started. Do you want one of those way cool Neighborday posters like the one above? Get one in GOOD Magazine’s March issue, which is full of innovators, movers and shakers, and people that are making good things happen in our world. From all of us at GOOD, we hope you have a great Neighborday!
