YOUTH VOICES WERE FRONT and center at The Civic Circle’s “Voices of Hope” celebration on December 8. Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart’s Q&A with Praneel Suvarna, Student Member of the Board, was a highlight of the evening, covering topics from the future of education and youth services in our county to how to be a principled leader. We also heard from Civic Circle Maryland Service Corps member Meleny Arias-Ramos, and Arts on the Block apprentices Bryan Joseph and Winnie Turkson, who created the arts backdrop for The Civic Circle’s recent Democracy Concert.
Big thanks to the many wonderful civic leaders, educators and public officials, including Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles, for turning out in force and joining us for civic arts activities, as well as participatory songs of hope with the wonderful Lilo Gonzalez and Munit Mesfin. We also thank our co-hosts, Jeffrey Slavin and Margo Reid, and all the wonderful Civic Circle board members, sponsors, in-kind auction donors, team members and volunteers who made this event a success.
OUR GIVE HOPE CAMPAIGN continues through the end of the giving season, so if you were not able to join us on December 8 or on GivingTuesday, you can still support civic learning that lifts youth voices and empowers students to participate in democracy by clicking HERE or on the Donate button below. For a limited time, you can also support The Civic Circle by joining our T-Shirt fundraiser, which features the seven “steps to democracy” at the heart of our program. This much sought-after shirt makes a great holiday gift, and will only be on sale for about two more weeks! We extend best wishes for hope, joy and civic community engagement in the new year to our many collaborators, stakeholders, students, teachers, teaching artists, team members, supporters and volunteers.