EleanorThibodeau

“It’s always better to be kind, it’s always better to be considerate. It’s always better to show people you care about them and that they are valued,” Mayor of Omaha, John Ewing Jr. said. These ideas are exactly what he hopes to see blossom in the Omaha community through the Year of the Neighbor initiative.

The Year of the Neighbor is an Omaha-based initiative that started as an idea from Ewing’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Communications, Erin Grace, Marian graduate of 1991. This idea has become the goal to set Omaha apart from other cities in 2026. “We want Omaha to be special,” Ewing said.

This initiative is to help bring together Omaha as well as honor those people or groups who are doing an exceptional job each month. There is a different theme to follow during the different months. Citizens of Omaha are able to submit someone they believe is a good neighbor to be considered to receive an honor from Ewing. 

As an example of a month’s theme, February is the month of family, to try and be good neighbors to family members. “We want to make sure we are doing everything as a community to support families and to have families be able to have a great life here in Omaha,” Ewing said. Having a specific theme for each month does not mean to forget the month prior, but to build upon that. 

The Year of the Neighbor challenges citizens of Omaha to “soften our hearts and not take the meanness that happens in other places and think that is the appropriate way to act, but to be kind, considerate and show people they are valued,” Ewing said. 

Noting many different ways the world is divided, Ewing said he believes Omaha can be set apart by promoting how citizens treat citizens. “We are very intentional in creating an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” Ewing said. The Year of the Neighbor is intended to bring people together, along with new ideas to our community. 

Many young people don’t know the impact they can make on their community. The Year of the Neighbor calls all people of Omaha to be kind to their other Omahans. This does not just mean adults, or those who can vote, it includes young people as well.

“I want everyone in this community to feel loved, to feel respected, to be treated with dignity and young people are just as accountable and capable of doing that as adults,” Ewing said. Marian girls falling under the demographic of young people can help build up the communities at school, at home and around the city.

The Golden Rule, “treat others the way you want to be treated,” is the exact goal of this initiative. As a Catholic school, Marian promotes this rule to its students through action. Not only does this initiative apply to the Golden Rule but many of the Marian core values as well, the most notable one being community. 

Ewing also touched on the subject of promoting the year of the neighbor. Along with holding a press conference each month, honoring the previous month’s “good neighbor,” they will also use social media to promote. Ewing also hopes that the citizens of Omaha will promote the initiative by telling others about it and by businesses promoting it for themselves as well.

The Year of the Neighbor, outward from ourselves, is to grow the Omaha community, but within each person it “challenges yourself to be the best you that you can be,” Ewing said. 

Marian can take the initiative into the classroom and encourage it outside as well, challenging girls to take their values and use them in their broader Omaha community.