Civic Reflection News Update — March 2007

New Civic Reflection Resource

In partnership with the Project on Civic Reflection, the Association of Small Foundations has developed Civic Reflection: A Toolkit for Foundation Boards, available free of charge through the ASF website. The toolkit is intended to help foundations use civic reflection to inspire and engage their boards in heartfelt and interesting conversations about the nature of giving and philanthropy. It contains tips for leading the conversation, sample readings and questions, and a list of resources for further learning.

New Small Grants

Nebraska Rotarians to Engage in Reflections on Service

Rotary Club #14 in Lincoln, Nebraska will build on the success of its four-year-old Reflective Philanthropy program to introduce a new program, Reflections on Service. Using the readings on service from The Civically Engaged Reader, the program will invite Rotarians of all ages to discuss values fundamental to the organization. With Reflective Philanthropy alumni as facilitators, participants will explore such questions as Do our motives for volunteering matter? How does direct service compare to the giving of material goods? Does service address inequalities in our society? Organizers hope that this effort will grow into an annual program with four conversation series, one each on Associating, Serving, Giving, and Leading.

Civic Reflection with RSVP in Akron, Ohio

In April, RSVP of Summit County, Ohio, sponsored by Mature Services, Inc., will present the first of four civic reflection series designed for volunteers in the local community. RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) is a national organization whose mission is to connect adults over 55 with meaningful volunteer assignments that meet important community needs. The civic reflection program, "Reading and Reflecting with RSVP," will run from Spring through Fall 2007 and engage local high school students as well as adult volunteers in conversation about a diverse set of readings, including pieces by Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Next deadline for civic reflection small grant applications: June 1, 2007

New on Our Website

… in the Resource Library

The Resource Library is an extensive collection of questions and readings designed to spur reflection on civic activity. Following are recent additions to the library along with a few questions they raise.

"The Rembrandt" by Edith Wharton

• How important is honesty in the world of philanthropy?
• What are our motives for giving to or serving others? Does it matter what our motives are?

"The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara

• How should leaders handle opposition?
• What are the dangers of unequal relations between people?

"Simile Practice" by George Bilgere

• What constitutes citizenship?
• What does one give up or gain by joining a group?

…in the Facilitators' Forum

The Facilitators' Forum provides an opportunity for leaders of civic reflection discussions to share their experiences and insights. Recent submissions include:

"The Lamb and the Pinecone" by Pablo Neruda. A group of young adults who volunteer in urban wellness clinics used Neruda's poem to explore the nature and motivations of their service.

The Bishop's Beggar by Stephen Vincent Benet. For participants in an intensive community leadership program, Benet's story provoked a discussion of what qualities are essential to making a leader.

"Waiting for the Barbarians" by Constantine Cavafy. A group of AmeriCorps members working in educational settings wrestled with the complexities of power and leadership in Cavafy's poem, and in their own service.

Program Spotlight

Gary, Indiana High School Students Explore Their Civic Life and Heritage

Through a small grant from the Project on Civic Reflection, Indiana University Northwest has been holding a series of civic reflection conversations with students from Roosevelt High School in Gary. Using a diverse set of readings from African-American and Afro-Caribbean history and culture, eighteen students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, have been meeting since last fall to explore their responsibilities as citizens and community members. Their conversations are being facilitated by Scooter Pégram, Assistant Professor of French and Minority Studies at IUN, with support from long-time RHS teacher and counselor Odis Richardson. Among the questions they have discussed are What responsibilities do I have to myself and those around me? What do I, and those around me, think, value, and believe? What is my relationship to others in my community? How do we "belong" to each other?

Pégram notes that he makes a conscious effort to tie the themes of the readings to the students' own lives in Gary. He says that throughout the series, which will conclude in April, "the enthusiasm of the students has been infectious," shoring up his own energy and dedication. Typically the group spends a few minutes having refreshments and discussing a local issue before delving into the readings and questions of the day. Students in the program were given blank notebooks in which to keep journals, and many have been doing creative writing inspired by the readings and conversations. Mr. Richardson plans to print a selection of the writing from the journals in a student magazine this spring.

Pégram feels gratified at being able to represent IUN as a "good neighbor" in the city of Gary and wishes that there were more such programs. He hopes to involve more IUN faculty and to secure funding that will allow the university to continue "Conversations with Gary Youth" over the long term. "Judging by the hugs and 'high fives' that I get when I come and go, the participating students very much look forward to the sessions. They've responded very positively to this project, and for that I could not be happier."

Project News & Notes

The Project on Civic Reflection held its second annual winter facilitation workshop at the Seneca Hotel in downtown Chicago from January 11-13. Over 30 participants, including recipients of Project on Civic Reflection small grants, gathered to receive guidance from Project staff and to share their own ideas on facilitating civic reflection conversations. All participated in several conversations in the course of the workshop, and many had the opportunity to facilitate. Evaluations were enthusiastic, thoughtful, and filled with ideas and insights that Project staff can use in planning future trainings. One participant summed up with this representative comment:

I come away from the workshop with a much better sense of what civic reflection is, and what it is not; with some practice as a facilitator; great experiences as a participant; the opportunity of having watched several facilitators at work; and a toolkit full of tips and good practices that I can use. . . I also left with some creative and challenging questions that I have yet to resolve. I see these questions as things that I will explore and test as I gain experience as a facilitator, and have some fun doing so.

The Project on Civic Reflection is delighted to welcome our newest staff member, Debbie Garbukas. Debbie joined us as the Administrative Assistant for the Project in January 2007. Originally from Milwaukee, she worked at an elementary school there while raising her two children. Debbie's work experience also includes fifteen years at the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, where she assisted senior audit partners and served as Recruiting Coordinator for the Milwaukee office. We're fortunate to have her living in Valparaiso and working with us.

Project Director Elizabeth Lynn led a facilitation workshop for the Maryland Humanities Council in early February to help prepare facilitators for a year-long initiative marking the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. In mid-March Lynn led two workshops at Ohio's annual statewide conference on service and voluntarism, Forging New Links. At the end of March, Lynn and colleague Adam Davis will be leading a workshop for the New Hampshire Humanities Council to help that council prepare facilitators for its Religion and Civic Life initiative.

For further information on these workshops, or if you are interested in bringing civic reflection to your own state or organization, please contact our staff at (219) 464-6767.