Add These 9 Reads to Your Civic Engagement Book List
Calling all bookworms! Have you been following our series on ways you can activate around the
Points of Light Civic Circle
? If you’ve checked out our other articles with resources like
apps
,
documentaries
and podcasts you prefer the written word, we’ve got the civic engagement book list you’ve been waiting for.
These books take a deeper dive into the various elements of the Civic Circle, a framework designed to help individuals connect to opportunities and understand that doing good comes in many forms. Written by authoritative voices in their spaces of expertise, these reads are a must for any budding volunteer, donor, social entrepreneur or engaged citizen.
Looking for an easy-to-understand guide on donating responsibly? Advocate Dan Pollotta delivers in this book exploring topics from researching nonprofits to understanding overhead ratios to the actual impact you’re making with your donations. Written for people from all walks of life and of all ages, Dan will demystify donating so you can make better decisions about where and how to give.
American poet, essayist and playwright Claudia Rankine is perhaps best known for her award-winning collection of essays,
Citizen
, but
Just Us
is a powerful confrontation of racism. She demonstrates what racism looks like in the United States – from restaurants to theaters to airports – in this moving arrangement of essays, poems and images.
Using your wallet to make a statement? Influence your clients and customers to do the same? Become a conscious consumer and master marketer for good with this comprehensive guide to marketing based on shared values and a unique brand purpose. Even if you aren’t in marketing, this book can help you more fully understand how the companies you support with your dollar are marketing to you. A must read!
It’s not often we get to peek into the personal lives of military personnel, and even less common for us to hear detailed narratives from women in combat. Journalist Helen Thorpe follows the lives of three women deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq and the effect of their military service on their personal lives and families – over the course of twelve years. It’s a compelling illustration of just what it takes for military personnel to serve their countries.
If only social entrepreneurs had some kind of manual for exactly how to launch their enterprise… psst – they do! This playbook is the authoritative guide on the three phases of the start-up to scale-up process. Written by two Wharton professors, this tough-love approach will help social entrepreneurs avoid common pitfalls and navigate the landscape of solving the world’s toughest issues in innovative ways.
Penned by journalist Erin Geiger Smith, this book looks at the past, present, and future of voting, including the ongoing fight for voting rights. It covers the voting process, actionable steps for voters to take to become more civically engaged, and an examination of why, in the 2016 presidential election, about 40 percent of Americans didn’t vote. Even the most well-versed voter will walk away having learned something new about democracy from this read.
Your voice matters, but using it to better the world is not always clear-cut. Get a leg up with insights about the ways you choose to live your life. Jonah Berger takes us deep into the concept of social influence and how others’ behavior shapes our own. Once we fully understand why we do the things we do, we can decide what we want to to resist and what we want to embrace.
Poverty remains one of the leading issues our world has yet to solve, and it can feel so big and overwhelming that you may not know where to start. Join Peter Singer on this journey of exploration into the current state of global poverty and how you can be part of the solution. You may be surprised at some of the ways you can start working to end poverty right now, in your very own community.
VeraWorks President Bea Boccalandro teaches readers how to transform “meaningless” jobs into purpose-driven ventures in her book about making work more fulfilling. Through real-life stories and plenty of tools, tips and techniques, she offers employees in any industry a way to draw civic engagement into the workforce.
Intrigued? Time to get reading!
Tag us on social media
to share your favorite book from the list, and let us know how it impacted you and your journey of advocating for the causes you care about.
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 all the ways you can live your best civic life
.
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.
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.
Volunteer Power Across Causes Remains a Constant Need, Even in a Crisis
Points of Light’s Civic Circle
offers nine paths to civic engagement because we know that change led by the power of people comes in many forms. Points of Light
Global Network
affiliates tell us that volunteering is one of the primary ways people have supported the humanitarian relief efforts in and around Ukraine. They also explained that, because this crisis comes on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been unforeseen ramifications including volunteer burnout as well as a singular focus on Ukraine relief work from those who want to remain engaged.
“People stopped helping in other areas, as they used to, and everyone wants to help the Ukrainian refugees — which is great — but when I talk with corporate partners or volunteers, they’re not interested in helping children, elders,” said Agnieszka Lissowska-Lewkowicz, who is the President of
Points of Light Global Network
affiliate and Polish non-governmental organization Centrum Wolontariatu. “We have to find a balance.”
There are countless needs waiting for support, from trash pickup in your neighborhood to walking dogs at your local animal shelter. There are so many ways to shine a light on your community by volunteering for a cause that speaks to you. To find a cause area that you feel passionate about, check out Points of Light’s
volunteer webpage
, home to the world’s largest volunteer network.
When you’re ready to begin working on your next community-based project, keep in mind these tips for tips for successful volunteering:
- Identify and Research the Causes You Care About
Figure out which areas of focus are important to you and which organizations you want to support. Now there are more ways to get involved than ever before. Consider whether you prefer to join volunteer opportunities that are in person or virtual.
- Decide on Skills-based vs Learning Opportunities
Think about what skills you have to offer or whether you’d like to learn something new. Some organizations are looking for specialized talent like translators. Others may offer volunteer opportunities that require training, such as becoming a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line.
- Find Balance
Be realistic about balancing your volunteer time with other areas of your life, like your job and your family. Volunteering as a family may be one way to combine family time with living your best civic life.
Points of Light operates with a network of innovative volunteer-mobilizing organizations who serve more than 177 affiliates across 38 countries around the world. Together we are inspiring, equipping and mobilizing more people to use their time, talent, voice and resources to create positive change in their communities. Learn more about our Global Network.
Can an Old Fashioned Day of Service Strengthen Post-pandemic Connections?
The collective global experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world in many ways. The shift to remote work has revolutionized the workplace, with positive outcomes such as reduced commuting times and increased flexibility. On the flip side, it has resulted in isolation of workers from colleagues, a depleted sense of belonging and sometimes struggles with mental and physical health. These disruptions to workplace relationships, as well as volunteering, have kept us apart, separating us from our communities and each other.
Workplaces around the world are seeking strategies to build post-pandemic culture and reset toward a future vision. As a civic engagement leader, it got me to thinking, can an old-fashioned day, week or month of service hosted by businesses around the world spur a culture comeback and reconnect colleagues and communities?
The answer is
yes.
At Points of Light, we live by this principle every day, and it’s a clear affirmation of everything
Global Volunteer Month
stands for.
In a recent conversation, a Points of Light corporate partner reflected that, “Volunteering used to be a way to get people out of the office. But now, perhaps, it’s a way to get people back in.”
Focusing on greater purpose, both individually and for your company, can boost your mood, improve work performance and help rebuild a values-based culture. Bea Boccalandro’s,
Do Good at Work
and
purpose generator
are both fun and meaningful tools for exploring how you can build purpose. purpose.
There are countless ways to help your community — a host of issues just waiting for a willing pool of volunteers to help solve. Throughout the pandemic, communities have struggled
as rates of litter and illegal dumping
have increased and spread from cities to suburbs. Volumes of residential waste and recycling have placed increased demand on city workers and infrastructure. There’s no denying the increase in plastics and cardboard usage as ordering-in and home delivery have thwarted our reduce, reuse, recycle goals. School districts and parks need a helping hand to refresh and revitalize their public spaces.
Can your company build a day of service into its return to work plan? The classic example of a clean-up day provides much-needed extra hands to tackle a real need. It also engages colleagues, captures the health benefits of people being outside and introduces everyone to neighborhoods and communities for ongoing learning and action.
Perhaps there is a hybrid volunteer model that matches your company’s hybrid return to work.
Recent research from McKinsey
showed that all students are behind in reading and math, and students in majority-Black schools are now 12 months behind their peers in majority-white schools. Programs like
AT&T Believes
are responding to those challenges with new initiatives that engage employees as mentors and coaches and use aligned talent and capabilities to bring programs that close the gap both in-person and online. A great volunteering experience can address important community needs, inspire your employees and support your company’s comeback strategy, but how do you make it great? Points of Light recommends working at the intersection of good for community, good for employees and good for your brand:
- Focus on Company Values: What aligns with the authentic products, services and values of your brand? Who are your customers? What community needs align with these attributes? Company values demonstrated by volunteering in support of a community need offer the greatest opportunity to instill refreshed purpose and strengthen culture. These efforts can start in the virtual world as listening and learning efforts that prepare employees to be better leaders and citizens when in-person volunteering returns to your company. Many companies are expanding their employee engagement and volunteering programs to include training that serves a social purpose or benefit. Examples include providing opportunities for employees to learn sign language or take disaster training courses through the American Red Cross. Are the uncertainty, delay and hybrid variations challenging your planning? Some companies have had great success with projects like “virtual” cleanups, where employees coordinated and tracked cleanup efforts in their local areas.
- Listen to Your Employees: Employees are citizens first. Are they raising community needs? How can you support them as change agents to tackle the challenges they identify? Consider offering volunteer time off and matching grants for volunteer time. Can you help organize teams of colleagues for a day of service? Can you bring leadership together with employees hired in the last two years for a litter pick up or schoolyard refresh?
- Identify Your Strongest Assets: Can a day of service launch a place-based commitment for your organization? Perhaps a schoolyard update introduces your company to a school and community that might welcome mentors, advisors and coaches for students and faculty. Are there career learning experiences that your company could offer? Can leaders build relationships that expand the networks of nonprofit leaders to help them better connect to media, mentors and money?
Board training and matching programs present an impactful and scalable opportunity to engage employees. Not only can companies track and set targets for employee board service,
but
these programs can also support the organization’s DEI initiatives to increase minority board representation and expand support for racial equity-focused organizations. Check out organizations like
DiverseForce
to further diversify your boards:
No matter where you chose to start, now is the time to build service into your comeback plans.
Points of Light supports companies of all sizes that are interested in building and growing their civic engagement programs. You can access tools and resources to help you get started at
the
Points of Light
’s
Community for Employee Civic Engagement
and
contact us
for program design consulting and engagement solutions.
6 Ways to Activate Points of Light’s Civic Circle Around Ukraine Relief
As Ukrainian refugees evacuate their homeland and begin to build new lives in new countries, you can support them. We’ve gathered a collection of ways for you to activate
Civic Circle
and have an impact as the situation develops and long-term recovery efforts begin.
Cash donations offer flexibility for organizations to respond in real time to people’s developing needs. Do your research first so you can be sure that the organization you plan to support is legitimate. Points of Light has established the
Ukraine Crisis Response Fund
in order to funnel support directly to our Global Network affiliates in and around Ukraine. We’ve also developed a list of
other recommended organizations
you can support.
Global Volunteer Month
is happening all April long. Now is a great time to register to volunteer, but please do not self-deploy. There is limited access around humanitarian relief efforts right now. Working in the aftermath can be both dangerous and complex. It’s safest to wait until the impacted community has requested support, then coordinate with a vetted organization. Find a
Points of Light Global Network
affiliate in your area for opportunities to support relief efforts from home or in your own community.
Stay informed to find out what the community needs. Follow Points of Light on
Facebook
,
Twitter
,
Instagram
and
LinkedIn
, where we share updates and valuable information from our affiliates and other organizations about ways to support Ukraine. You can also follow first responders that are taking action to learn about the most pressing needs. Be intentional to watch media that cover both conservative and liberal views.
Through signing a petition, creating artwork with a statement or even staying silent, you can make your voice heard. And of course, you can share on your own social media network to raise awareness about long-term recovery needs. Just be careful to choose trustworthy sources to ensure you’re spreading accurate information. Check out our issue of
Civic Life Today
on “Voice” to learn more about how to use yours effectively.
Your dollars can have an impact. You can choose to do business with companies supporting relief efforts in and around Ukraine with proceeds from your purchases. Participate in your own
buycott
by searching for companies that are selling products and services that you need. Some companies that are doing this work include Epic Games, maker of the popular video game, Fortnite. The company is giving away all proceeds from the game through April 3. Video game console maker Xbox has joined their effort by donating their net proceeds as well. Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation launched the ‘Meta History: Museum of War’ collection, a series of NFTs that support the war effort in Ukraine. Grammarly, an English language app, is donating $5 million to organizations and funds supporting the people of Ukraine.
There is a growing movement in the corporate sector toward “doing well by doing good,” This ideal could look like giving to humanitarian relief efforts through employee matching, which not only supports the cause but amplifies employee donations. Find out if your company is supporting Ukraine through donations and matching or other means.
Some companies that are doing this type of work include:
Bank of America, which pledged to donate $1 million to the people of Ukraine via five groups: the Red Cross and Red Crescent network in Ukraine and the region, World Central Kitchen, Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, International Medical Corps and Project Hope. The bank also said it would match employee donations to support the relief effort.
KPMG Chair and CEO, Paul Knopp, shared via Twitter, “At KPMG we stand with and support the people of Ukraine, condemning violent attacks by the Russian givernment [sic]. Today, KPMG is making an initial $250,000 donation to GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund and encouraging our partners and professionals to donate as well.”
Whether you activate all six elements of the Civic Circle or choose just one, you’re exercising your civic power. Which will you choose? Tag us on
Facebook
,
Twitter
,
Instagram
and
LinkedIn
to share your story with us.
Points of Light operates with a network of innovative volunteer-mobilizing organizations who serve more than 177 affiliates across 38 countries around the world. Together we are inspiring, equipping and mobilizing more people to use their time, talent, voice and resources to create positive change in their communities. Learn more about our Global Network.
