4 Themes from the 2022 Points of Light Conference That Shine a Light on CSR Trends for Business
Points of Light knows that when the world’s largest companies get it right, the world gets it right, which is a theme at the heart of the 2022 Points of Light Conference. As a part of this year’s conference experience, we welcomed leaders from the corporate citizenship community to our stages and workshop spaces to meet like-minded peers and share insights from the challenging work that faces the business community as leaders in social impact.
Several themes were explored, shining a light on the direction where business needs to lead:
The “to do” list of the business community has become longer. For the business community, it can feel like we are being outpaced by the problems of the world that we seek to solve. In addition to economic and societal responsibilities, global communications firm Edelman shared with Points of Light’s Corporate Service Council that almost six out of 10 people in the U.S. believe it is a responsibility of business to take action on the world stage, engaging in geopolitical issues such as the war in Ukraine. Navigating how to respond to or engage in these issues has introduced new and unique challenges for corporate citizenship professionals.
Our brains are wired for stories. As companies seek to capture the measurable impact of their efforts, they should leverage the power of stories. Disney Institute shared with conference attendees that stories are one of the strongest forms of communication, evoking a sense of connectedness in those who hear them. At Points of Light, we say that “Data + Stories = Proof.” The relentless pursuit of data must be coupled with an equal desire to share more about the people and places at the heart of that data. Additionally, leaders within companies must be equipped to tell these stories, communicating the company’s and their own passions and values through the story.
Volunteer engagement must adapt to the hybrid world. As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to grapple with variant surges, return-to-office starts and stops and disruptions to in-person events. It has become clear that the current hybrid work environment will not be a temporary condition of the pandemic, but a lasting model of collaboration that must extend to deepen employee engagement. In one workshop, Common Impact shared how companies can look to skills-based volunteering as a partial or fully virtual strategy to deliver on employee engagement goals.
There is a CSR and ESG identity crisis. The corporate citizenship community is caught between two acronyms. Several workshops sought to answer the question: What is the difference between CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)? The role of business in society has been discussed and expanded upon over 50 years. The growing influence of ESG is rooted in CSR, which marked the starting point of businesses taking ownership of their impact on society. Without CSR, there would be no ESG, but the two are far from interchangeable. CSR helps companies give context to their corporate responsibility strategy and culture, while ESG is the action and measurable outcomes of that agenda.
Whether or not you joined us this year at the 2022 Points of Light Conference, we invite you to continue learning with us year-round by accessing our body of
. These studies shed light on global trends that are central to maximizing the impact of corporate social responsibility. We look forward to the 2023 Points of Light Conference in Chicago on June 14-16.
to receive updates and be a part of global change.
The 2022 Points of Light Conference Offers Education, Inspiration and Connection
In a world of conferences, webinars and workshops, Points of Light works hard to ensure that our events are more than relevant. They’re designed to empower and instill a sense of purpose. You’ll leave with a sense of determination and tools to help turn your vision into reality.
The Points of Light Conference is an annual gathering that many in the sector eagerly await. That’s no accident. Each year, we reflect on our history, turn to former attendees and a host committee made up of local leaders to help shape the content and experience
for feedback, examine what worked and what didn’t, and put together a fresh agenda that speaks to the current state of the world. We work to ensure our conference is always a high-value proposition to companies and organizations that are leaders in corporate social responsibility.
Get ready to reimagine, revitalize and recommit as the 2022 Points of Light Conference begins. Here are a few of the benefits you can look forward to.
Content Tailored to Your Needs
While there’s no shortage of divisive topics in our world today, the Points of Light Conference is centered on creating meaningful dialogue and respectful conversation. We value authentic and dignified approaches to listening and learning, and we’re eager to hear from experts in the field about recognizing, addressing and removing bias.
For instance, the Civic Talk entitled “Bold Moves” will address head-on racial equity, hate and barriers to the complex issues that communities face. Our conference speakers will share their methods for championing social change and spreading solutions using popular platforms.
There’s also the Service Summit, which will explore models of national service. From the AmeriCorps shared agenda to creating pathways to employment in the public sector, our speakers—including Michael D. Smith, CEO of AmeriCorps, and Dalila Wilson-Scott of Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation—will dive into the countless shapes and forms that national service takes throughout the world.
Concrete Strategies and Inspirational Stories
We know that hearing stories of both successes and failures from top leaders can help inspire other leaders. There are those “aha” moments that conference attendees experience simply by listening to speakers share their experiences. Don’t miss the “Nailed It” Stage and Luncheon, where a few brave individuals will share their remarkable results… and big mistakes!
We also believe that people are most empowered when they’re given specific strategies they can implement in their spheres of influence. That’s why our speakers are preparing presentations with tangible takeaways for you to actually use in your day-to-day life.
Speakers like Glennon Doyle and Tara Schuster will not only acknowledge the landscape of activist burnout, but present ideas for deep self-care. In the “Oxygen Masks On! Caring for Ourselves and our Communities” they’ll be talking through small, practical actions you can take in your ongoing efforts to care for yourself and your community.
Key Connections Build Your Network
As we resume an in-person conference format, you’ll have many opportunities to network with others in and outside your field. You’ll mingle with others who are passionate about the causes you’re championing and find mutually beneficial connections.
We’re hosting a variety of workshops with topics like “Antiracism 101,” “Leveraging Trust in Communications” and “Economic Mobility and Equitable Policy and Practice.” Here, you’ll have the ability to share ideas, ask questions, talk through hindrances in your work and get valuable insights to help you break through them.
We encourage you to forge connections with other conference attendees, exchange contact information and find ways you can collaborate with complementary efforts and resources.
Welcome to the 2022 Points of Light Conference
We’re thrilled to kick off this year’s Conference and honored that you’ll be joining us. These three days are bursting with inspiring speakers, creative solutions, rich conversations and powerful opportunities for the future of our collective impact.
To the global leaders across the nonprofit, corporate and government sectors… to those new to their careers in the social sector… to the seasoned C-level executives… and to everyone in between: welcome to the 2022 Points of Light Conference. Let’s get started.
The Power of the Youth Voice with 2021 Time Kid of the Year
The Points of Light Conference is a rich experience for civically-minded folks of all ages and with all levels of experience.
We value the voice of youth, which is why we host a special Youth Summit as part of our overall conference experience each year. This summit is an all-conference session that will feature inspirational stories from young civic leaders who demonstrate that age has no limit in addressing the issues facing our world.
KPMG Foundation President Anita Whitehead will open the session with a discussion with Orion Jean, 2021 Time Kid of the Year and Ambassador for Kindness, about his story and what guidance he has for other young people.
This young man is on a mission, sharing the gift of reading with hundreds of thousands of kids. At only 11 years old, Orion has already created waves in his community with his involvement and advocacy. He has used his $500 in prize money from a kindness contest to donate toys to a local children’s hospital. He has also hosted food drives and partnered with a relief group to collect 100,000 meals for Texas families. And now he’s focused on spreading the gift of literacy to local households that may not have access to books.
Following the keynote, four members of the Points of Light Youth Council – Esha Venkat, Chase Hartman, Eleanor Ann Schoenbrun and Adom Appiah – will participate in a moderated panel discussion around the theme that youth are a powerful force for change. They’ll discuss listening and learning, mindful engagement, finding your “why” and “how” and much more.
Esha Venkat is a 16-year-old global changemaker, ambitious servant leader and groundbreaking “girlpreneur” passionate about advancing social progress across the globe. She is the co-founder and COO of NEST4US and a junior at Broad Run High School. In 2020, Esha and her sister, Shreyaa, were recognized with The George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award for their servant leadership.
Chase Hartman of Tampa, Florida is a 16-year-old community changemaker, youth leader and “kidpreneur” dedicated to finding solutions to some of the toughest challenges in our country. Chase co-founded a nonprofit called Eco Brothers and an award-winning book distribution project called “read.repeat.”
Eleanor Ann Schoenbrun is from El Paso, Texas, and is the founder of Pennies FUR Pets and Kans for Kids. She is a member of the Yale College Class of 2025 with prospective majors in economics and global affairs. She joined the Points of Light family at eight years old when she became a National Make A Difference Day Winner for Pennies FUR Pets, benefiting homeless pets in her border city.
Adom Appiah is an author and the founder of Ball4Good – a nonprofit that supports communities through sports, volunteering and grantmaking. The Ball4Good team has fostered partnerships with community-based organizations to address homelessness, childhood cancer, child abuse, autism awareness, cultural representation and public health.
Youth ages 13 to 18 from local organizations will be in attendance, but Youth Summit content isn’t just for young people. The session is appropriate for attendees representing nonprofits, national service, government, social entrepreneurs and businesses that work with youth or who consider youth a target audience.
Be sure to check our agenda for other workshops with sector experts that highlight youth-focused efforts for organizations. And join us for this year’s Youth Summit by registering for the 2022 Points of Light Conference, held July 13-15, 2022.
initiative – a global, in-person volunteering program that
unites approximately 15,000 employee volunteers in more than 50 countries around the world with a single purpose: to strengthen local communities through volunteering.
This investment in community at this level reflects AbbVie’s values, and their commitment to supporting the people and causes that matter to the communities where they work and live.
Claudia Carravetta, AbbVie vice president, Corporate Responsibility & Global Philanthropy, shared a little more about the Week of Possibilities and how AbbVie works to transform the communities where they work and live.
“Working with our local communities is a big part of who we are at AbbVie,” said Claudia Carravetta. “Through our AbbVie volunteer programs, we strive to inspire our people to do purposeful work around the world.”
We share the story about this work as an inspiration and model of how companies are engaging.
Points of Light’s recent global civic engagement research shows 82 percent of people expect companies to take a stand on social issues. However, over the past few years, companies have had the difficult task of responding to various and ongoing worldwide crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, social unrest and the war in Ukraine.
AbbVie’s Week of Possibilities is an inspiration and model of how companies are engaging employees to drive positive change in communities. Beyond supporting communities, corporate volunteering is a great way to build employee engagement and culture. According to Carravetta, thousands of AbbVie employees will experience its global, in-person volunteering event for the first time after a two-year pause due to the pandemic.
“We are thrilled our employee volunteers are returning to service projects in local communities this year and we could not do this program without Points of Light to make a real impact across the globe,” added Carravetta.
Hands-on projects for Week of Possibilities includes renovating schools, playgrounds and community centers to benefit local communities impacting tens of thousands of people. For example, in the U.S., employee volunteers will support local school enhancements to enrich the student experience, including the development of immersive STEM labs and STEM-focused library spaces, as well as transform new playgrounds for community parks and support local food programs.
. Through our Global Network of 178 affiliates in 38 countries, we work in and with communities to understand their needs and help corporate partners respond, engaging their resources and employees. It is this kind of partnership and ability that makes events like these possible.
While the past few years have brought changes in employment for many people, that also means a wave of new employees in new roles.
Companies can lead the way and set a model for what it looks like to work with and in communities, making a positive impact on the communities and their employees. And Points of Light is
.
We are grateful to AbbVie for making this investment and showing how employee engagement creates possibilities.
Natalye Paquin was the president and chief executive officer of Points of Light from 2017–2022. She is a visionary and results-oriented leader, with more than 20 years of experience providing strategic, operations and fiscal leadership in the nonprofit and public sectors.
Being Proximate
Many years ago, I heard Bryan Stevenson, an American lawyer and social justice activist speak about the need for and value of proximity. Last year,
, “When you’re proximate, you hear things you won’t otherwise hear, you see things you won’t otherwise see. It’s in proximity that we begin to understand what people distant don’t understand.” His message continues to resonate with me.
We know that communication is both verbal and non-verbal. We communicate intent with tone, body language and micro gestures. Proximity provides space to understand what is
not
being said yet is being
communicated
. Proximity also provides space to observe one another when we are not directly communicating with each other and interpret non-verbal cues. These quiet observations allow us to assess, fill in the picture, deepen perspective and build trust.
Most people recognize the value of proximity when it comes to personal experiences. We want to be present for one another. It’s why we travel to see family and friends during the holidays, take summer vacations with loved ones, hop on planes or pack up for long drives to attend weddings or graduations or big birthdays.
But proximity is just as important in our work, community and civic engagement experiences.
Points of Light Global Network affiliates and leaders from Fundación Telefónica at our conference in 2019.
I was recently in Madrid with many of our Points of Light Global Network affiliates. It was a great week where we talked about our impact and shared ideas on how to work more closely together.
One evening after dinner, I gathered with a group of leaders from Brazil, France, India, Peru and the Netherlands to discuss an idea they had. Even though we had met over Zoom throughout the past two years, our proximity to each other created space for a very special moment, and we spoke openly about our challenges and opportunities and made room for imagining new possibilities.
Over the past two years, we have found new ways of work, ways to be productive, more efficient with our time by avoiding long commutes and old morning and after work routines. Advances in technology allow us to log onto our computers, tick through agendas and sign off to jump to the next meeting with few breaks. Some of us are happier, and those who are must recognize that some of us are frustrated and lonelier.
I am all-in for listening to your workforce and adjusting to new ways of work. Also, I believe with equal passion, that being proximate, without structured time or an agenda, is imperative to building culture, leading to new discoveries, more complete experiences, and sustained and deeper connections with each other and the meaningful work we perform.
These ideals are true in volunteering and civic engagement as well. It’s easy to assume that we have the perfect solution for what’s needed in the communities we support. But being proximate to the communities we work with, listening and learning from them can bring new ideas and reveal different solutions and approaches to what might work best.
In just a few short weeks, we’ll be together
This year, the theme of our conference is “Reimagine. Revitalize. Recommit.” We hope to provide the space for you to do all of these things in relationship to yourself, each other and our collective work.
It was 2019 the last time we were together in person in a conference setting, exchanging ideas, networking, laughing and creating memories that inspire and fill us to continue our work in community.
I have appreciated the pivots to virtual experiences. Technology allowed us to be in multiple cities, time-zones and countries in one day. That technology will continue to help us reimagine and revitalize our work. But after three years, being with you in person, seeing your smiles, hearing your laughter and stories with passion and pain, and creating new memories is an experience that I look forward to.
That proximity to all of you is what refills my cup and makes me feel revitalized.
but if you can’t, please join me in finding a way to be proximate in your community, and share what you learn in the experience.
Natalye Paquin was the president and chief executive officer of Points of Light from 2017–2022.
She is a visionary and results-oriented leader, with more than 20 years of experience providing strategic, operations and fiscal leadership in the nonprofit and public sectors.
Points of Light Conference Teams Up with Bestselling Authors for Talk on Wellness
Anyone engaged in civic life — especially those who are employed in the nonprofit sector — face the risk of burnout and compassion fatigue. That’s why it’s so critical to consistently and intentionally take care of oneself while helping others. The 2022 Points of Light Conference will explore wellness through an array of featured speakers and special workshops.
Two of our most notable offerings include bestselling author, activist and podcast host Glennon Doyle and bestselling author and television executive Tara Schuster. The duo will be hosting a special Civic Talk titled “Oxygen Masks On! Caring for Ourselves and our Communities.” This session will explore the ways we can care for our mental health and wellness while continuing to lead courageously. We offer inspiration for those driving transformative change who have served on the front lines of social good for the last two years of this global pandemic.
Glennon Doyle is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “Untamed,” a Reese’s Book Club selection, which has sold over 2 million copies. She is also the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “Love Warrior,” an Oprah’s Book Club selection, and “Carry On, Warrior.” In her “Untamed Journal,” published November 2021, Glennon helps us each discover our own voice of longing and allows us to reclaim our true, untamed selves. An activist and “patron saint of female empowerment” (People), Glennon is the founder and president of Together Rising, an all-women-led nonprofit organization that has revolutionized grassroots philanthropy, having raised over $30 million for women, families and children in crisis. She hosts the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast, which debuted as #1 on Apple Podcasts.
Tara Schuster was once best known as the executive in charge of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning show, Key & Peele. Tara turned her struggle with chronic anxiety and depression into a best-selling book and a mission to help others. Her humorous takes on taking charge of one’s mental health, always backed by empowering action steps, have won praise from readers ranging from Wharton professor Adam Grant to Academy Award-winner Anjelica Huston and best-selling author Glennon Doyle. InStyle, People Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Goodreads, BuzzFeed, Goop and many others have chosen her memoir as one of the best books of 2020.
Check our agenda for other workshops with sector experts that address specific issues and strategies around wellness. These conversations will bring inspiring ideas and experiences to the stage and offer deep learning and takeaways from innovative leaders. Join us for these powerful discussions on how to nurture your health and wellness so you can sustain your long-term work that’s making an impact in the sector. If you’re not yet registered, head over to our Points of Light Conference page. We’ll see you July 13-15, 2022!
3 Ways to Remember Loved Ones Through Civic Acts
June 12 is the birthday of our founder, President George H.W. Bush, and June 8 marks former first lady Barbara Bush’s birthday. While the president, a generous, community-focused and highly influential leader, passed away in 2018, each year we commemorate his birthday and shine a light on his vision of civic engagement by offering key ways you can contribute to your own community.
President Bush believed in the power of many working together to create change and help better the world. He advocated for individuals to unite, knowing that many “points of light” contributing their time, talent and resources had the power to make a massive impact and create a ripple effect that spans the globe.
This year, Points of Light is celebrating the second annual George and Barbara Bush Day of Service to commemorate both of their birthdays and honor their lifelong commitment to public service.
Today we’re offering three ways that you can remember loved ones and honor their legacy through your own acts of civic engagement.
“We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a thousand points of light… we all have something to give.”
— President George H.W. Bush, Founder Of Points Of Light
Volunteer: Host Your Own Day of Service
Whether you choose to organize a food drive on a deceased loved one’s birthday or host a community clean-up on the first day of their favorite season, you can call your fellow community members together to maximize your impact through a day of service.
You might opt to name the event after the name of your loved one or conduct the volunteer opportunity at their favorite place. In these meaningful ways, you can carry on their legacy through encouraging your community to get involved in volunteering.
Donate: Contribute to Their Favorite Cause
Was your loved one an avid bird-watcher? Make a financial donation to a wildlife refuge or conservation society. Were they the top chef in your family? Consider contributing non-perishables to your local food pantry.
Perhaps they were active in volunteering themselves and spent time focusing their time and effort on a particular organization. Reach out to that organization to find out what they need – maybe it’s a children’s hospital looking for volunteers to visit or a shelter for unhoused individuals seeking new or gently used clothing.
Voice: Activate Around a Solution
If your loved one passed away from a specific issue or illness, you might choose to honor their legacy by doing your part to contribute to bringing light to the cause. This could mean using your voice by talking about the issue or petitioning for more support for the cause.
For example, if your loved one passed away from breast cancer, you might post on social media about breast cancer awareness and prevention, as well as encourage donations with a link to a breast cancer research organization. Or you might sign and share a petition for increased breast cancer research funding.
There are so many ways to recognize the people in your life who have had a lasting impact on you and your community. To learn about the many pathways to civic engagement that you can take in their honor today and every day, check out Civic Life Today, our free digital magazine. And for more ways to get involved in your community and shine your light on the world, Points of Light Engage is our database of hundreds of thousands of volunteer opportunities throughout the world, both in-person and virtual.
Join a Powerful Civic Talk on Deep Sector Learning at the Points of Light Conference
will be the Civic Talks with sector experts. These all-conference sessions will bring inspiring ideas and experiences to the stage. Drawing across all disciplines, speakers will be individuals who have stepped out of their world in unexpected ways to live their best civic lives and take action to make the world a better place.
One such discussion will be the Civic Talk on deep sector learning, featuring Eddy Moratin, Barbara Poma, Bayeté Ross Smith and Breauna Dorelus. These leaders have each stepped up in their spheres of influence and their actions have created a ripple effect resulting in a powerful impact.
, a movement of business leaders working with residents and community partners toward neighborhood revitalization since 2013. This collaborative approach has been decreasing childhood poverty and increasing financial mobility for families in the heart of Orlando. The organization strengthens neighborhoods by building high-quality, mixed-income housing and providing a cradle-to-career educational pipeline while improving community health and wellness, and creating economic opportunity for residents.
Barbara Poma is the owner of Pulse nightclub and founder of
, the nonprofit established to honor and preserve the legacy of the 49 killed and all those affected by the Pulse nightclub tragedy. onePULSE’s mission is to create and support a memorial that opens hearts, a museum that opens minds, educational programs that open eyes and 49 Legacy Scholarships that open doors.
What the Research Says
Points of Light’s Civic Life Today: A Millennial Perspective research from 2021 indicated the top issues of concern for Millennials as well as how this generation is getting involved to help solve them. When asked, “For which social issue did you perform at least 1 action in the last year?”:
93% said civil rights/racial discrimination/social justice
is an interdisciplinary artist, photographer, filmmaker and education worker, working at the intersection of photography, film and video, visual journalism, 3D objects and new media. He is Columbia Law School’s inaugural Artist-In-Residence, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, a TED Resident, a Creative Capital Awardee, an Art For Justice Fund Grantee, a CatchLight Fellow, a BPMPlus Grantee and an AmDOC/POV NY Times embedded mediamaker. His work is featured in the collections of The Smithsonian Institution, among many others.
Breauna Dorelus is the founder and chief cause consultant at
, a consultancy dedicated to helping volunteers and those that lead them to identify and uproot harmful volunteer practices specifically towards Black and brown communities. She is an advocate for voices of color to be heard, recognized and valued in the service and volunteerism sector and believes in keeping the community centered in all aspects of the volunteer process.
Between these leaders tackling poverty, championing LGBTQ+ rights, confronting bias through art and advancing equality in the nonprofit sector, the discussion is sure to be rich in both insightful perspectives and tangible takeaways that fellow leaders can benefit from. Join us July 13-15, 2022, at the
helps individuals connect to opportunities and understand that doing good comes in many forms. It represents your power to lead, lend support and take action for causes you care about and to engage more fully in civic life. Here we offer nine apps that will give you actionable steps to bring the Civic Circle to life in your own community today and every day.
Donating new or lightly used items seems straightforward, but it has the power to change someone’s circumstances and, ultimately, the trajectory of their life. Purposity
. School systems and nonprofits in local communities share their needs – for items like clothing, household goods and other supplies – and Purposity spreads the word to individuals nearby.
Listening and learning about a cause or a community before jumping in to help is crucial for effective civic engagement that honors the experiences and perspectives of others. And doing this might be as easy as listening to a podcast or scrolling an app! With over 500 incredible facts across 11 distinct categories of history, the Black History Facts App brings millennia of historical knowledge directly to your fingertips.
Every time you shop, you demonstrate your values Choosing where to spend your money and ensuring the companies you support are aligned with your values doesn’t need to take hours of research. The Buycott app lets you join campaigns to support causes you care about. You can use their built-in barcode scanner to learn a product’s history, make purchase decisions on products and communicate your decisions to companies.
Maybe you’re interested in flexing your service muscle by running for school board president or local office. Or maybe you simply want to support the candidates and causes you care about from a more informed place. Either way, Causes makes it possible to keep up with the current issues and trending bills and understand how they impact your world.
Social entrepreneurs find creative ways to solve some of the world’s toughest issues, whether through the products they create, the services they offer or how they spend their profits. A platform that unites people, businesses and nonprofits to drive collective impact across causes and communities. You can explore the social impact performance of companies and nonprofits, share and get involved in their social good efforts.
Voting is one of the central tenets of democracy. Besides ensuring that you vote in every eligible election, championing the right for all people to vote is part of leading a civic life. ActiVote is changing the way citizens engage with their government. This app educates voters on important issues, when and where they can cast their vote, connects them with their elected officials and allows them to make their voice heard by quickly answering key polling questions.
Whether at a protest, a polling place or on the go, the ACLU’s free Mobile Justice smartphone application allows users to: Record encounters with public officials and law enforcement while streaming to your closest contacts and your local chapter; report any abuse by authorities to the ACLU and its networks; and empower yourself with up-to-date information regarding your rights as well as important actions and happenings in your area.
Volunteers work with organizations by sharing their time and talent to support the causes they care about. There are hundreds of thousands of volunteer opportunities throughout the world just waiting for the right volunteer to step up. Search the Points of Light database for volunteer opportunities, inside and outside of the home, that meet critical needs.
Civic engagement belongs in all spheres of your influence, including your work. When you want your paycheck to incorporate your convictions, Idealist is one excellent way to get there. You can find a job with any number of mission-driven nonprofit organizations on their website database, then download their app to connect with fellow idealists in your area. Use these tools to make a difference in the community where you live, work, and play.
No matter how you choose to lead a more civically engaged life, these apps can help you take concrete steps toward your own goals of creating change in your community. Pick two or three that you want to try out for the issues you’re most passionate about.
on civic engagement. But what if we told you there are actually many ways to drive change?
Today’s political climate can feel divided or even stagnant, but the truth is, you really can make things better, starting with your own community, one act of kindness at a time. And those aren’t just words. We’re here to share real, practical ways for you to make a difference.
helps people connect to opportunities and understand that doing good comes in many forms. It is a framework that represents your power to lead, lend support and take action for causes you care about and live your best civic life.
The Civic Circle provides actionable examples of all the ways you can change your community to reflect the world you want to see around you. In fact, you’re probably doing some of these things already. Are you helping a neighbor by picking up groceries or chaperoning on your child’s class field trip? You’re volunteering. Did you vote in the last election or help others get to the polls so they could vote? Those acts of civic duty illustrate the “vote” element. When you buy a product, do you choose to support companies that reflect your values or advance a social cause? That’s called “purchase power.” There are nine elements of the Civic Circle, and countless ways to bring each one to life.
This blog is the first in a seven-part series that will help you find real and manageable ways to activate the Civic Circle through
.
We also offer other resources to help you connect with all the ways you can become empowered to be the change you want to see in the world. Check out our
, our digital magazine series. Each issue takes a deep dive and provides materials, ideas and inspiration so that you can become civically engaged. Get started today, and launch your own civic engagement journey with these tools.
This piece is part of a series that highlights the many ways you can activate the Points of Light Civic Circle using various tools. Check out each one so you can live your best civic life:
