STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES ONE DINNER AT A TIME
DOYLESTOWN, PA
How do you turn a neighborhood stranger into a lifelong friend? Simply
invite them to this yearâs Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day.
On January 11, 2003, and on the second Saturday in January for every year that follows,
neighbors throughout the United States will be opening their doors, and hearts, to
their not-so-familiar neighbors by inviting them over for dinner.
Dinner Day, a concept originally brought to life by the Smith
family of Doylestown, PA, celebrates the reintroduction of suppertime as a great
American pastime. To celebrate the holiday, all you have to do is invite someone
you donât really know from your neighborhood, or any community for that matter,
to join you for dinner.
Like many other Americans in the wake of September 11th, Jeff and Barbara Smith were
devastated by the events that haunted them through the media, yet they were inspired
to become more appreciative of the people close to them, their communities, and ultimately,
their country. A month later, they took a class together entitled Self Expression
and Leadership, sponsored by Landmark Education, which encouraged them to create
a major project and begin its coordination by the following year.
Jeff and Barbara brainstormed at home. They wanted their project to address
the burning question that went through many American minds on September 12, 2001:
"How can I make a difference?ä
At long last, when the question was posed to their kids, Josh, 17, and Jeremy, 11,
the concept of Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day began to form. When
asked what they thought of the idea, classmates became instantly invested.
One fascinated classmate, Bob Schultz of Havertown, PA, called Jeff during a random
afternoon the following year to ask how he could help. It was then that the
Smith family realized that Dinner Day, to all who heard of it, was
more than just a fleeting notion.
They decided to form a Dinner Day committee, which meets every Monday night
from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Smith home in Doylestown. The committee is anxiously
preparing for this yearâs Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day, which will
be held, coincidentally, on the 11th of January. "The American Public
needs to realize that safety and security start in our own backyards, Jeff said.
"We just donât know the people who live around us anymore. We need
to reach back to our roots.ä
Perhaps the Smiths are right. If we take one day out of the year to extend
our homes beyond four walls, we may find that we can dig up more than just roots
in our backyards. We may be able to uncover true friendships that will strengthen
our communities, and ultimately protect the core values of our great nation. |
