Neighborly Love

I have this really close friend here in North Carolina. She's got two kids and a great husband. Like myself, she's a housewife. She's one of those woman you don't ever want your husband to meet because the moment he walks into her house you know he's going to ask why you can't keep your house clean like hers. One husband had the gall to ask right in front of her.
We have always been there for each other. When one person needs to run to the grocery store or just wants fast food in the middle of the night and can't drive for some reason, we call the other person. When we are having big fights with our husbands, we call each other. When our children just won't behave and we want to wear them out, we call each other. When we are lonely during our husbands' deployments, we call each other.
Recently, every time I go by her house, one of her new neighbors stops by. Then, I start to hear about how "great" I am. Honestly, I am not that great. For a while I thought that she thought I was this really awesome person and wanted them to like me too. This would make sense because most people don't like me when they first meet me. Nope. The reason is because her neighbors don't seem to have the understanding of how to treat your neighbor.
While my friend and I were always there for each other, we were always there for our other neighbors too (even if we didn't like them). One of the ladies we didn't get along with fell down her stairs while she was pregnant, so I went to the hospital with her. Another person needed a sitter but couldn't afford one so my friend watched their child for several months for free. Another friend of ours was always willing to watch our kids when we had to run errands but they couldn't come along. Another neighbor was always inviting us in for dinner. The guys would all help each other too: fixing lawn mowers, mowing lawns while the husband was away, getting together and fixing a car, etc.
I guess her new neighbors are willing to accept this neighborly love, but they are not willing to return the favor. It seems to be that way in my new neighborhood as well. What happened to the "Love they neighbor as thyself" verse or even way of life here in the United States? My foster parents often lent me out to neighbors to help clear out weeds or move furniture or even prepare for garage sales. Helping someone in need (great or small) doesn't seem like such a huge deal to me and it's almost second nature. I know it's true of several other people as well. But the more people that I meet, the more it seems like that way of life is dying out.
My friend here has recently found out she has cancer. I found out she wasn't eating much let alone eating healthy for the most part. I know how eating properly is extremely important for normal people let alone people trying to fight with their own bodies. So, I resolved to myself that whenever I had plans to meet with her, I would make sure to bring food with me. Even if she doesn't eat it, then her husband and children have a meal for those days that she is too weak to cook.
I'm not doing this to get "awesome" recognition or so that people see me. I am not doing this because someday she'll repay the favor. I really do care about this person and her family and I want to help in anyway possible. I don't live right next door anymore so I can't be there every time she needs me to help wear the kids out. Part of it is selfish: I want my son to have this same attitude towards helping others that my husband and I have. The only way to teach him to show him.