The Civic Circle was extremely honored to take part in The Maryland Civic Education Coalition’s virtual summit to celebrate Global Youth Service Day. Titled “Empowering Maryland Youth Through Service & Civic Engagement,” the summit explored how volunteering opens the door to civic learning and participation.
The summit kicked off with a service “slam” led by the coalition’s Youth Advisory Council, and included a virtual performance of a song written by Civic Circle students, “We’ll Get There Soon.” Students had written the song and shared it with seniors at Ingleside King Farm last year as part of a workshop series that combined service-learning with civic learning.
The Civic Circle’s Eliza Newlin Carney also led a summit Roundtable discussion titled “Start Young! Why Successful Community Engagement Starts in the Youngest Years.” Big thanks to discussion participants, whose insights made for an extremely lively panel:
- Lana Anderson, Founder and President of Small Things Matter, Montgomery County.
- Kimberly Eggborn, Coordinator of Elementary Social Studies, Howard County Public Schools System.
- Anisa Kalil, 8th Grade Student, Dumbarton Middle School, Baltimore County.
- Amy Neugebauer, Executive Director, The Giving Square, Montgomery County.
Thanks, too, to The Civic Circle’s Trevor Schmutz, and to Marcie Taylor-Thoma, of the Maryland Council for Civic and History Education, for facilitating the breakout room discussions. It was exciting to see the state’s coalition for civic learning in Maryland coming together and building momentum.
