January 2003

Hello, and welcome to the January issue of the National Civic League's email newsletter. This monthly communication will provide information on the activities and accomplishments of NCL and links to information on a variety of topics relating to NCL's mission.

The National Civic League is a 108-year-old non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to strengthening citizen democracy by transforming democratic institutions. NCL accomplishes its mission through technical assistance, training, publishing, research, and the All-America City Award. The National Civic League is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, call 303-571-4343 or visit www.ncl.org.

This newsletter is by subscription only! You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription on our website or because you are an NCL member. If you would like to unsubscribe, look for instructions at the end of this newsletter.

1. Deadline For All-America City Application Approaching
2. Community Services - Community Visioning, Neighborhood Revitalization, And Charter Reform
3. Model City Charter - 8th Edition To Be Released Soon
4. Denver Student Voices - Getting Students Involved
5. Federal-Community Partnerships - Safe Start Updates
   
6. ANR: Things You Can Do For Your Community
7. Civic Index Feature

Winning the All-America City Award, the nation's premier civic recognition award, can provide tremendous benefits to your community. A survey of All-America Cities who have actively marketed their designations shows that winning communities often experience concrete gains including: new businesses and jobs; an increase in tourism, and enhanced tax base.

Howard County, Maryland Executive James N. Robey, 2001 All-America County, stated, "This award belongs to all of Howard County. We are a microcosm of America and at this critical time in our nation's history, it is important that we take pride in those civic values that are reflective of the stability and strength that we as a nation value now more than ever."

The 2003 application deadline is Wednesday, March 26. To download the application, visit www.ncl.org/aac/. Please contact Aleks Humeyumptewa at aac@ncl.org or 303-571-4343 for more information.

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Community-Based Visioning and Strategic Planning in Teaneck, New Jersey
The Township of Teaneck is taking the early steps towards the development of a community-wide vision and strategic plan for community improvement. Supported by the township, organizers will engage citizens from all perspectives, beliefs and backgrounds to plot the course for the township's future. "We have several pressing issues and we need to have a safe public space for dialogue to address them", says Helene V. Fall, Municipal Manager of Teaneck. The Community Services team of the National Civic League will provide assistance in designing the strategic planning process and on-site facilitation of meetings.

Neighborhood Revitalization in Longmont, Colorado
The City of Longmont has taken an enlightened approach to neighborhood revitalization. Rather than decide up front for the Kensington Neighborhood what needs attention and then doing it for them, the City has invested resources in the leadership development and problem-solving capacity within the neighborhood. KROC (Kensington Revitalization Outreach Committee) is comprised of neighborhood residents, city officials, leaders from the faith community and schools. Neighborhood residents have taken the lead in this effort to engage fellow residents, identify key issues and develop plans to address those issues. Their reasoning for this approach is superbly simple, "You give a man a fish and he'll be hungry the next day but if you teach a man to fish, he'll be fed for a lifetime", said Kensington resident and KROC member, Tommy Faraghar. NCL's Community Service Team will provide support in process design of the project, facilitate on-site meetings and give on-going coaching to KROC.

Citizen-Based Charter Reform in St. Louis, Missouri
Citizens for Home Rule, a non-profit, citizen-based group in the city of St. Louis has undertaken an ambitious project to engage citizens from throughout the entire city, reflecting various perspectives and backgrounds, to develop recommendations for change in the structure and function of local government. Over the next year, citizens will come together in a series of meetings and public forums to analyze the current city charter and develop proposals that will lead to a better, more efficient and effective government. The Community Services and New Politics Programs of the National Civic League will work together to provide research, education and facilitative support to this effort.

To learn more about NCL's Community Services program, please visit www.ncl.org/cs.

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The National Civic League is in the process of developing the 8th edition of the Model City Charter, a publication that has profoundly influenced local government structure since NCL printed the first edition in 1900. To publish the 8th edition, NCL has assembled an advisory committee of experts on local government. The committee met on several occasions in 2001 and 2002 to assess current issues facing local government and to revise the model charter accordingly.

The 8th Edition of the Model City Charter is in the final stages of production, and should be available for purchase in the next month or two. NCL will publish purchasing information on its web site once the new edition is available.

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Since May of last year, the National Civic League has been working with the Denver Public Schools to implement Student Voices, a program funded by the Annenberg Center for Public Policy in Philadelphia, PA. Student Voices works to increase civic engagement among young people by introducing a curriculum in the classroom that teaches the students the skills and abilities they need to be civically engaged.

Last semester, the Student Voices curriculum focused on Denver's local government. The students learned about the city council, how it operates, and contacted the city council person that represents their district. In addition, the students were taught how to create effective arguments around an issue and how to successfully advocate for that issue.

This month, The National Civic League began the second semester of the Student Voices program-Student Voices Campaign.

Currently, we are working with twenty-three teachers in twelve Denver Public High Schools. The Student Voices Campaign curriculum focuses on the mayoral election in Denver and encourages students to get involved by submitting questions to the candidates through their websites, speaking-out on various topics (last week the speak-out topic was "What Qualities Do You Think Are Important for a Leader to Possess?), and becoming educated on the different issues affecting their communities.

In addition, the National Civic League will work to bring the candidates into the classroom throughout months leading up to the election so that the students will have an opportunity to meet and speak with them. Another highlight of the program is the candidate forum that we are hosting, with the Denver Public School system, on March 4th. All the students participating in the Student Voices Program will be invited to attend. The students will have an opportunity to ask the candidates questions and to speak with them after the forum. Judging from the early interest and enthusiasm surrounding this forum, it should be a very successful event!

To find out more about Denver Student Voices, or the Student Voices program in general, please visit student-voices.org.

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NCL's Federal-Community Partnerships division provides training and technical assistance for eleven communities selected to implement the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) Safe Start Demonstration Project. The Safe Start Initiative provides five years of funding for urban, rural, and tribal communities to address problems faced by young children exposed to violence within homes, schools and communities. The initiative will offer these communities an opportunity to implement effective prevention and intervention strategies by strengthening already existing alliances and integrating service delivery systems (such as police/mental health/justice partnerships).

NCL recently conducted eight site visits to customize assets/needs assessments, including programmatic gap analysis. These visits included meetings with key collaborative partners, Safe Start staff, and direct service providers. When possible, the visits included tours of the communities and participation in collaborative meetings.

To read details of recent Safe Start activities, or for more details on the Federal-Community Partnerships program, visit www.ncl.org/fcp.

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The Alliance for National Renewal is an intentional community of civic leaders and community builders who collaborate to learn and tell their stories to inspire creative problem solving, imitation, and innovation in pursuit of democratic revitalization and the renewal of civic life. The following ideas are an excerpt from their poster "100 Things You Can Do For Your Community In A New Century".

Things You Can Do For Your Community With Your Neighbors

1. Hold a coat and winter clothes drive.
2. Apply for the All-America City award. Contact the National Civic League for information and application materials (303-571-4343 or www.ncl.org/aac).
3. Host a neighborhood discussion on race using the Study Circles Resource Center discussion guides (860-928-2616 or www.studycircles.org).
4. Learn more about local programs and organizations that address inter-group relations. Contact the National Conference for Community and Justice for a resource guide (212-206-0006 or www.nccj.org).
5. Organize a campaign to upgrade street lights.
6. Start a Neighborhood Crime Watch program. Contact National Association of Town Watch for more information (800-648-3688 or www.nationaltownwatch.org/natw).
7. Make a list of current mayors and council members with address, phone numbers and internet address for your neighbors. Create a postcard campaign to keep elected individuals aware of your community's concerns.
8. Help your town create their own web page.

To learn more about the Alliance for National Renewal, visit their website at www.ncl.org/anr.

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Civic Education: Responsible And Open Community Information Sharing

Whether it is the media, a civic organization, a university or a school system, communities must have mechanisms for gathering and sharing information, and educating the public about the issues. Community information sharing is the composite of all these mechanisms. Without comprehensive and accessible information sharing, a community's ability to work toward solutions to the challenges they face, make balanced judgements and head off contentious disputes is impaired.

Futurists say our society has left the industrial age and entered the information age. The link between information access and citizen participation is irrefutable. Citizens must understand the vital issues of their communities so that they can make informed decisions.

Read more of this article by NCL's Derek Okubo...

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