Civic Pathways Out of Poverty

This white paper is the product of nearly two years of conversation, research, deliberation and writing. We began this project to explore the idea that service and civic engagement can be more purposely focused on workforce development goals and post-­‐secondary educational achievement for low-­‐income youth and young adults. We had a particular interest in reversing the conventional view of service as something ‘done to’ people in need. As we began our outreach and research we discovered that there were many other individuals and organizations interested in joining this conversation. This paper is a result of this wide-­‐ranging dialogue with those in the service field about how these ‘civic pathways’ can be created.