Opportunity Nation and Citi Foundation Launch New Initiative Examining Civic Engagement Impact
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Opportunity Nation is very excited to announce a new initiative with the Citi Foundation that will look at civic engagement’s impact on the development of social capital and the expansion of youth economic opportunity.
We believe that community engagement and social capital play critical roles in people’s ability to access training, internship and job opportunities. They can also help teens and young adults gain valuable skills that are so critical to career success such as working in teams, problem solving and effective communication.
Using the lens of the Opportunity Index, developed in partnership with our research partner Measure of America, we will focus on civic indicators such as volunteerism and group membership to examine the critical role that community engagement and social capital play in the ability for young adults to access training, internship and job opportunities.
Our goal is to not only explore new connections between civic engagement and upward mobility, but to publicize these findings in the fall of 2014.
Opportunity Nation and the Citi Foundation are committed to helping more Americans, particularly teens and young adults, understand how volunteerism, service learning, group membership and other forms of community engagement yield positive educational and economic outcomes and help reduce rates of youth disconnection.
The more young Americans who have the ability to build social capital and economic opportunity, the more we all benefit as a nation.
We will share some preliminary findings at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Atlanta on June 17. If you are attending CVS this year, please join us for a 12:30 p.m. luncheon discussion: Building Social Capital: Measuring how Civic Engagement Expands Opportunity.
We’ll be joined by Kristen Lewis from Measure of America, our research partner in these efforts. Other panelists include: Lucas Welch of the National Purposes Initiative; Scott Warren, co-founder and Executive Director of Generation Citizen; Rosemary Byrnes, Senior Program Officer at the Citi Foundation; and Opportunity Leader Marcus Hall.
To learn more about this exciting new initiative, stay engaged with us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest information.
Thank you to the Citi Foundation for your continued commitment to the opportunity movement!
Russell Krumnow
Russell Krumnow is the Managing Director of Opportunity Nation and works with more than 350 partner organizations to advance policy change and community actions that expand economic opportunity across the country. Read Russell's bio.
