How will you be a better neighbor in 2018?

Working together with nearly 100 national partners, join us in launching the Know Your Neighbor New Year’s Resolutions social media campaign, which runs from Monday, January 8th to Monday, January 15th, 2018. This is an effort to encourage Americans of all ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds to take strides towards being kinder to others across lines of difference.Most New Year’s resolutions are personal and individual (I resolve to lose weight, I’ll clean out that junk drawer, etc.). This year, however, we have to take stock of disturbing developments in our country and the world that we need to respond to not just as individuals but as communities.

This New Year, therefore, should call us to make one simple resolution: to get to know our neighbors and to encourage and enable encounter and mutual learning among diverse Americans. Partners commenting on the campaign said:

“The need for such bridgebuilding has never been more imperative. Our nation is threatened by a growing tribalism that sees other cultures, religions, and ethnicities as threats; we each need to resolve to do what we can to break through that dangerous polarization to find our common humanity. That’s what this campaign is all about.”

 – Maha Elgenaidi, Islamic Networks Group (ING)

“#KnowYourNeighbor is rooted in pluralism and diversity, which strengthen the bonds that unite people and the nation overall. Sustaining dialogue and relationships across lines of difference is essential to building a world of justice, wholeness, and compassion.”

– Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

“Just as with other faiths, my faith mandates that my highest priority should be to ensure that all people are treated with respect and dignity and that their basic human and civil rights are respected. Anytime people are belittled and attacked in the United States simply for what religion they profess, it is imperative for all people of faith to stand on the side of our neighbors. That is what this campaign is about and why I am excited to participate.”

– Pastor Bill Mefford, Americans United for Separation of Church and State

We invite you to participate in this campaign by:

1. Sharing Your Resolutions on social media using the #KnowYourNeighborhashtag. You could share videos, pictures, posts, or relevant news articles. We ask that you use #KnowYourNeighbor so that we can share your posts as well as those of others participating in this campaign.
2. Sharing Campaign Content: If you don’t want to create your own content, we have many sample videos, posts, tweets, and memes that we’ve created for the campaign. See the campaign page.
3. Spreading the Word: Share this campaign with your networks to encourage community members across the nation to share their ideas on being a better neighbor this coming year.

We hope you will join us in this effort toward renewing our commitments to our communities and each other. Our previous campaigns have reached over 5 million people around the country!

Thank you and we look forward to your participation.

Sincerely,

Kate Chance
Interfaith Manager
Islamic Networks Group (ING) | http://www.ing.org
408-296-7312 x 190 (o) | [email protected]