Daily Resource Highlight - 04/04/2022

Posted by on April 04, 2022 at 5:01 PM

Below are the highlights and featured resources of this past week’s Daily* Resource.

March 29, 2022 - The Civvys Are Back!!!! Thank You Sachi!

Whenever I’m interviewing potential interns, I emphasize to them that I want them to leave a visible mark on the Bridge Alliance before they leave. What that means is up to them.

Sachi Bajaj, who is a freshman at the University of Southern California, has met that challenge by reviving the American Civic Collaboration Awards (the Civvys), and nominations are now open (through April 18th). The Civvys have been around since 2017 to “highlight[] best practices in civic collaboration and collective action that put community and nation before party, ideology and narrow interests.” However, they were a victim of the pandemic and were not celebrated in 2021.

With Sachi leading the way, collaborative-minded leaders will once again be celebrated – this time as part of Civic Season in Atlanta, GA on June 12th. Civic Season is a collaboration of CivicsUnplugged and Made By Us, which is itself a coalition of 100+ history museums (including the Smithsonian Institute), sites, archives, libraries and civics organizations.

The categories for the 2022 Civvys will be National, Local, and Youth, and nominees will be evaluated for (1) the collaborative nature and (2) the scalability of their work. The nomination form also includes an optional question that asks how the work promotes equality, which will be considered when evaluating the nominations.

Once again, nominations are due April 18th. If you know of or are leading a project that you believe is a model of collaboration and should be recognized, nominate today! The form is short but the honors will be broadcast far and wide.

March 31, 2022 - Dr. Johnson Discusses Race and Embracing America’s Promise

Late last year, a meme was created called “We used to be a country. A proper country.” Like many memes, it began as a serious statement, and then quickly devolved into a joke, where people would post random – sometimes silly – pictures of America with the caption.

This meme popped into my head when I thought about the American Promise – an idea that Dr. Theodore R. Johnson will discuss with Village Square TONIGHT @ 7 PM ET. Maybe it’s a strawman, but there seems to be this idea that America was a great – almost perfect – nation, but can no longer claim that status. To me, what makes America great is that we as Americans have control over our future and can strive to be better.

Dr. Johnson sees that enormous potential, but believes our failure to come together around our highest ideals as Americans threatens our future as a nation. At the same time, that’s why being a leader in America can be so impactful – each of us can help turn the tide and raise our communities to new heights. If you see that potential in yourself, consider joining one of these leadership training programs:

As the great grandson of sharecroppers, Dr. Johnson knows something about impactful leadership. He has seized the opportunities made possible through centuries of struggles by his ancestors and their allies; serving as a White House Fellow and speechwriter to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. You can hear more about his journey, his concerns, and what he sees as the path forward tonight @ 7 PM ET.

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