The Civic Values Campaign
To Promote the General Welfare

Crime. Blight. Truancy. Ethnic and racial divisions. Residents not getting involved. These are all serious ongoing concerns of people working to improve Philadelphia that often define whether we think a neighborhood is a desirable or difficult place to live. All of them reflect a neighborhood's civic values-- the values that we share as citizens and as members of a community. That's why we form civic groups--to strengthen civic values. And if a neighborhood has a serious problem in one area--crime, as an example--the chances are that other civic values in the neighborhood are also under attack.

 How strong are the civic values on your block and in your neighborhood? Do people obey the law? Do they respect one another, regardless of race, ethnic background, or economic circumstance?    Do young people meet their responsibilities in school and in the community? What is the level of citizen participation in the neighborhood? How many people vote?

These are all expressions of a neighborhood's civic values-- the values that we  share as citizens. They have been  central concerns of block leaders and community groups in seeking support from the City, the School District, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the federal government to improve our quality of life. We believe that fulfilling these civic values defines the social contract that exists between 'we the people' and every level of government. It is what we expect government to do and what we are prepared to do in return.

Up to now, however, we have been addressing these problems in isolation, even though they are integrally connected with one another. What we need is an integrated strategy to address all of them simultaneously.

To meet this need, the Institute for the Study of Civic Values has launched a 10 point Civic Values Campaign, aimed at helping neighborhoods work with the City and the School District to  strengthen our civic values. We are building this campaign through PhillyBlocks--our growing email  network of block captains-- and with a broad cross-section of community groups from all parts of the city

One of the most important goals of this Campaign is to develop a new kind of neighborhood agenda--a Civic Values Agenda. A Civic Values Agenda focuses on developing short and long-term strategies for strengthening  neighborhood civic values. How can the neighborhood build unity among the residents, expand citizen participation, promote youth civic responsibility, reduce blight and crime, and increase voter participation? These are the concerns addressed by the  Civic Values Agenda. It establishes the benchmarks needed to measure progress along the way.

  If you are interested in working with us to develop a Civic Values Agenda and a Civic Values Campaign for your neighborhood, fill out the form below and we will add you to the email list that we have established for participants in the Campaign.