Building Community, One Story at a Time: Reflections from the Civic Champions Reading Program
This summer, the David Mathews Center completed its first summer of the Civic Champions: Summer Reading Program. Welcoming participants of all ages, this program is for children to learn about what it means to be engaged citizens in their community.
Starting with the values of good citizenship, the DMC team read What If Everybody Did That? By Ellen Javernick. This book depicts amusing ways for the students to engage in responsible and thoughtful decision-making, from not throwing trash out the window to staying quiet in the library to hugging family members.
From her time assisting in the program, JOIP Summer Intern Julie Milstead reflects, “Working with kids from diverse communities through the Civic Champions program at the Mathews Center showed me the transformative power of civic engagement. And taught me how fostering connection and civic engagement can inspire young minds while also empowering communities to collaborate and work together.”
To highlight these values, students worked in groups to pair together pictures of actions that represented positive community engagement, such as volunteering, loving the planet, and helping with chores at home.
Students then talked more about community: what it means, who or what is in it, and how they can be a part of it. During the conversation, students picked out the people, places, and things that make their community unique.
With these ideas, students worked together to create a collage of their community and all the places they enjoy, like the library, town hall, schools, parks, police stations, and more. To bring their community to life, students decorated cutouts of their favorite buildings and arranged them to create a display of their beautiful community.
Reflecting on the program, Frances Lewis, Director of the Aliceville Public Library, expresses, “The presenter was interesting and engaging. She had the students participating and asking thoughtful questions. The craft activities were age-appropriate and fun! It was a very well-planned, educational kids session. We all enjoyed the time spent and will certainly be asking for another kids program this coming summer.”
Once students finished, they received an activity book and goodie bag, encouraging them to be active community members and incorporating the positive skills and habits discussed throughout the program. Each library and school received a bookshelf of ten kids’ books that reinforce skills and lessons of collaborative and kind citizenship. Some of these books included:
In the Neighborhood by Rocio Bonilla
Say Something! by Peter H. Reynolds
Stitchin' and Pullin': A Gee's Bend Quilt by Patricia McKissack (Author), Cozbi A. Cabrera (Illustrator)
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by F. Isabel Campoy (Author), Theresa Howell (Author), Rafael López (Illustrator)
You Can Change the World (Ordinary People Change the World) by Brad Meltzer (Author), Christopher Eliopoulos (Illustrator)
Democracy for Dinosaurs: A Guide for Young Citizens (Dino Tales: Life Guides for Families) by Laurie Krasny Brown (Author), Marc Brown (Author)
What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers (Author), Shawn Harris (Illustrator)
We're Better Together: A Book About Community (Highlights Books of Kindness) by Eileen Spinelli (Author), Ekaterina Trukhan (Illustrator)
Looking back on the program, Youth Services Librarian, Frances Smith, of the Albert L. Scott Library, states, “Our library was very happy to be part of the Civic Champions program. It was interactive and made learning about community responsibility fun for kids. The parents said that they enjoyed it, too. The kids were thrilled with the goody bags and activity booklets they got to keep and the library was happy to get the gift of good books on civics.”
The David Mathews Center is incredibly grateful to these communities for opening their doors to us. We enjoyed every moment of getting to know your librarians, community members, and future leaders; we could not do this work without you. If you want to host the Civic Champions Reading Program in your community, please contact Education Manager Lauren Lockhart at llockhart@mathewscenter.org for more information.