(NICK GEORGOUDIOU)
One of our goals at The Community Paper is to introduce our readers to events, people, businesses, organizations and opportunities they may not otherwise find out about on their own. So when Megan Ginn, director of Community Building Strategies at CommunityWorks, let me know that Sept. 28 is National Good Neighbor Day, it made our list of future story ideas.
Earlier this year, she invited me to sit on the Orlando Good Neighbor Day Steering Committee. Technically, it was just a steering committee. During one of our planning sessions, the group decided to make it a week, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4.
Is it ambitious to take a little-known national holiday and turn it into a bigger celebration of our community? Of course! But annual celebrations have to start somewhere, and recognizing people and connecting the community is what we’re all about.
Along with this issue of The Community Paper and our socials, the place to go for more information about Orlando Good Neighbor Week is OrlandoGoodNeighborWeek.org. There, you can get involved as much as you want, with resources that include:
An email signup. Join the Good Neighbor Crew to get the latest information on Orlando Good Neighbor Week events and other opportunities throughout the month.
Instructions (and potentially cash) to host a neighborhood event. It can be as simple as a sidewalk chalk gathering with the neighborhood kids, pizza on your porch or whatever kind of event you want to host that brings people together.
Opportunities to highlight your neighbors. Want to celebrate a neighbor and/or your neighborhood? This is the place to do it. We’ll be highlighting these stories through The Community Paper throughout the month and in the October issue.
Information about Neighbor Jams. These free events are designed for groups of neighbors to discuss and brainstorm event ideas.
An event calendar. Meeting neighbors doesn’t have to be limited to the people next door. We’ll be sharing community and creative events from all over Central Florida where you can meet new people.
There’s a lot more to the site, including Good Neighbor Day guides for organizations, social media templates and other goodies. Make sure to check back throughout the month — and follow The Community Paper on our social media accounts.