MANY CIVIC CIRCLE STUDENTS entered our fall workshops worried about immigration issues, but they left more joyful, more hopeful, and more informed. A very high percentage of the students we serve are from immigrant and refugee families, so it’s not surprising that they should cite immigration worries when we ask them about their civic and community concerns.
We responded by introducing a new lesson plan about students’ rights that included age-appropriate information about the constitutional and legal protections students enjoy. Students also created and showcased songs, poems and posters that incorporated positive messages about immigration, their rights, and their countries of origin. In one showcase, participants shouted in unison the messages on student posters, including “Together is Better,” “We Are Family,” and “Immigration is Important.”
THIS IS THE MAGIC of combining civic learning with the arts. Students not only gain civic skills, and knowledge about their rights and responsibilities. They also build confidence, connection, well-being, and creative self-expression. Students leave our programs more excited about service-learning and helping others, and more enthusiastic about participating in school and community.
This has been a year of new challenges, and new milestones. We reached more than 500 students with 155 sessions of programming that included after-school workshops, camps, and student showcases. We launched our first Youth Democracy Fest, and our first “Jobs for Change” career club for middle and high school students focused on public service.
AS WE CLOSE THIS GIVING SEASON, we are making a special appeal for you to join our “Freedom Grows Here” campaign, so we can reach our goal for 2025. At a challenging moment, you can help plant the seeds of civic power and leadership! Please click HERE.