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It’s time to come together with neighbors, co-workers, congregations and others to promote community and getting to know one another during Midland’s Neighboring Week from Sept. 24 through 30.
The Midland Cultural Awareness Coalition invites residents to participate in inclusive neighboring, which it calls “the catalyst for building a sense of belonging across Midland County.”
“Making Midland a welcoming community is something everybody can do, and you can begin to do it in your own neighborhoods,” said Midland Mayor Maureen Donker.
Residents are encouraged to celebrate neighboring however they choose, whether it’s hosting a block party, writing messages on the sidewalk or planning any sort of event with people in the community.
Residents can also take part in a variety of events, including:
• Neighboring Week viewing, “Join or Die” (a documentary about service clubs) at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library
• Public Art Scavenger Hunt throughout the week at various businesses
• Fall into Fun with Us! at 5 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Arc of Midland
• Floats with Goats at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library
Other Neighboring Week events can be found on the community calendar Max Loves Midland.
The Cultural Awareness Coalition is encouraging participants to branch out beyond their physical neighborhoods and plan events with their co-workers, congregation members, club members or other affinity groups, according to Alysia Christy of the Midland Area Community Foundation and Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition.
“It goes beyond our physical housing situation and really looks at ‘Who am I in the community and who do I have around me that serve as my neighbors?’” Christy said. “Oftentimes we talk about that being your workplace, the places in which you recreate, the civic or service clubs you’re a part of, the places of worship that you visit…We don’t generally identify as, ‘This is who I am because of where I live.’ It’s, ‘This is who I am because these are the things I participate in and engage in across my community.’”
Christy explained that the week plays a critical role as residents, workers and visitors try to align Midland with its vision statement: “Together — Forward — Bold. An Exceptional Place Where Everyone Thrives.”
“Anyone can join in either participating in a Neighboring Week event, planning a Neighboring Week event, just being an inclusive neighbor intentionally that week,” Christy said. “It doesn’t have to be anything big, but it’s something that our community can rally behind that says, ‘We see people, we believe that people have the right to feel that they belong in a community.’
“One week allows for a lot of intentionality and focus on the fact that we should be a place that supports belonging and inclusion of people that live here and that work here and that recreate here.”
For Donker, Neighboring Week is about creating a more welcoming community by ensuring no one feels alone in their neighborhood, workplace, place of worship or anywhere else in the area.
“We’re just encouraging people to love where you live and create something in your neighborhood,” she said. “Not every community does what we’re doing…I think the fact that we do this tells people that this is a community that cares.”
Part of the events this year will include a showing of the documentary “Join or Die” on Sept. 14 at the city library. The documentary’s name belies the fact that it talks about how service clubs have benefitted the world and looks at “what we have because we came together,” Donker said.
On Sept. 28, watchers will gather to discuss the documentary and how the community can work on neighboring together at the Delta College Midland Campus from 6 to 8 p.m.
The Midland Area Wellbeing Coalition states that the goal of Neighboring Week is to enhance belonging as residents and leaders work together to build a more inclusive community.