A Tale of Two Cities: Civic Engagement in Minneapolis-St.Paul and Miami

On January 24 in Miami, the National Conference on Citizenship and its Florida and Minnesota partners released a report entitled Tale of Two Cities: Civic Health in Miami and Minneapolis-St.Paul. The report finds that individuals in Minneapolis-St. Paul who are in the lowest income group are more likely to volunteer, attend public meetings, work with neighbors, participate in politics outside of elections, and participate in associations than are people in the wealthiest tier in Miami. It also finds that the civic culture of Minneapolis-St. Paul is oriented toward enlisting and empowering diverse people in the common work of shaping the area’s future without abandoning their own cultural backgrounds and values. CIRCLE contributed to the report, thanks to a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. CIRCLE staff Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg and Peter Levine are among the reports’ co-authors. Read the report, here.

Youth Volunteering in the States: 2002 to 2009

The volunteering rate among Americans of high-school age (16-18) hit its peak in 2005, at 33%, but has since declined to 27-29% for the past four years, according to the new CIRCLE fact sheet “Youth Volunteering in the States: 2002 to 2009.” This fact sheet provides rates of volunteering for teenagers and young adults by state in 2002 through 2009. It also summarizes state policies relevant to youth volunteering. Much of the important variation is actually at the local level; to illustrate how communities differ, this fact sheet provides quick profiles of Boston, Minneapolis-St Paul, and Seattle (where youth volunteers have very different profiles) and the state of Maryland. Read the report, here.