How SF woman brought “Good Neighbor Week” to city (with the help of the 39th President) – NBC Bay Area

Julia Gitis likes to throw herself into situations where she has no idea what’s going on and then figure things out along the way.

That mindset may be the perfect explanation for how she became the driving force behind San Francisco Good Neighbor Week.

It all started with a seemingly random invitation to a Zoom webinar in May 2025.

“Things happen when you join a Zoom webinar,” Gitis joked.

The webinar focused on National Good Neighbor Day, a holiday signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. While the day has been observed sporadically around the country over the years, Gitis thought it might be a good fit for San Francisco and a natural extension of her community-building passion.

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“What I didn’t expect was the response from San Francisco residents just from me asking the question,” Gitis said. “I have never gotten as loud a ‘yes’ to any question I’ve ever asked in my life as I have to asking people in San Francisco if we should do a Good Neighbor Week.”

That enthusiasm quickly turned into action. In 2025, the first San Francisco Good Neighbor Week was officially proclaimed and organizers say it became the largest Good Neighbor celebration ever held in the United States.

This year, Gitis and her team of volunteers are planning an even bigger event.

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The week begins with a kickoff celebration Saturday at Civic Center Plaza before spreading across the city’s neighborhoods over the next seven days. Planned activities include community cleanups, neighborhood gatherings, and meetups designed to help residents connect with one another.

But Gitis says the true magic of Good Neighbor Week happens in the smaller, more personal moments.

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“It’s really incredible,” she said. “You can knock on your neighbor’s door 364 days a year, but there’s something about having a citywide celebration around Good Neighbor Day or Good Neighbor Week that gives people the push to say, ‘This is it. I’m going to do it today.’”

Gitis experienced that spirit herself last year when she hosted a neighborhood potluck during Good Neighbor Week. This year, one of her neighbors is returning the favor and hosting a gathering of their own.

For Gitis, that ripple effect is exactly what Good Neighbor Week is all about: inspiring small acts of connection that strengthen communities one neighbor at a time.