If there was ever a time to do something good for your neighbor, it would be during COVID-19. With self isolation practices still underway, people are not only going stir crazy, they are also experiencing numerous other problems that are related to being stuck at home. That said, people never know what their neighbors are experiencing. Last month, Mayor Brown launched the Good Neighbors Network, but when you live in The City of Good Neighbors, additional efforts should be made to check in on residents that live close by.
In year’s past, I’ve posted on Starr Valentino, who founded the national awareness campaign “Do Something Good For Your Neighbor Day”. This year, the special day, officially recognized by County Executive Mark Poloncarz, falls on Saturday, May 16.
As people have become more and more frantic about the pandemic, the current state of affairs and national political climate have pitted factions against one another. Valentino is of the belief that we must use this time of critical self isolation to come together as a nation, which starts as a ripple effect through our immediate neighborhoods.
Helping out a neighbor is going to be different this year, due to social distancing measures in place, but that’s all the more reason to get creative with ways that we can rise up together. Maybe it’s a beautiful flower planted in their front yard garden? Or a chalk drawing with a message of hope on a sidewalk? Or maybe it’s as simple as an unexpected phone call?
“Buffalo’s City Hall will be lighting its dome purple on behalf of this Awareness Day on May 12th,” said Valentino. “Niagara Falls will be illuminated purple on May 13th at 10:00 pm. City Hall councilman Mitch Nowakowski will be recognizing the day at their next annual meeting – also on May 12th. This day is currently recognized in over 3000 cities across America, including cities in Canada. It’s a coalition of cities whose mayors have recognized the proclamation in efforts to spread Neighborly Love throughout its neighborhoods.”
To learn more about Do Something Good For Your Neighbor Day, click here.
Lead image: Photo by Aaron Burden