{"id":357663,"date":"2021-06-08T04:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T09:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/civic-engagement.html"},"modified":"2025-05-19T12:38:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T17:38:22","slug":"civic-engagement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/civic-engagement.html","title":{"rendered":"Civic Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. \n FindLaw <\/a>\n \/<\/span>\n <\/li>\n
  2. Civic Engagement<\/li>\n <\/ol>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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    Civic Engagement<\/h1>\n

    Civic engagement is the act of engaging in public service for the betterment of one’s community. Through participation in community service, political processes, and civic learning and engagement, an active citizen can strive toward the common good.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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    \n Find a Qualified Attorney Near You\n <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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    Find a Qualified Attorney Near You<\/h2>\n \n Search by legal issue and\/or location\n <\/p>\n \n Enter information in one or both fields. (Required)\n <\/p>\n
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    Start Making a Difference<\/h2>\n

    Civic responsibilities involve matters of public concern, such as advocacy for higher education, improving the civic life of young people, access to health care and mental health, donating to non-profit organizations, and political participation in the democratic system.<\/p>\n

    Civic engagement offers many ways to make a difference. The resources on this page aim to expand public access and promote civic participation.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n \n\n

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    \n \"\"\n<\/img>\n County and Municipal Governments<\/span>\n
    \n <\/i>\n \n Know Your Government<\/span>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n
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    \n \n How County Governments Work\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n How Does a Bill Become a Law?\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n How to Run for Mayor\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/section>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n
    \n \"\"\n<\/img>\n Citizen Journalism<\/span>\n
    \n <\/i>\n \n Stay Informed<\/span>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n
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    \n \n The Freedom of Information Act\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n What Is Citizen Journalism?\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/section>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n
    \n \"\"\n<\/img>\n What Makes a Good Citizen?<\/span>\n
    \n <\/i>\n \n Be Engaged<\/span>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n
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    \n \n What Does Citizenship Mean?\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n How To Write to a Politician\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/section>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n
    \n \"\"\n<\/img>\n Protesting<\/span>\n
    \n <\/i>\n \n Exercise Free Speech<\/span>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n
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    \n \n Protest Laws by State\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n Peaceful Protests\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/section>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n
    \n \"\"\n<\/img>\n Voting<\/span>\n
    \n <\/i>\n \n Make an Impact<\/span>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n
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    \n \n Voting Rights and Laws\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n What Is a Citizen Ballot Measure?\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n How Elections Work\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/section>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n
    \n \"\"\n<\/img>\n Nonprofits <\/span>\n
    \n <\/i>\n \n Improve Your Community<\/span>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n\n
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    \n \n Do’s and Don’ts While Speaking at Public Meetings\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n Starting a Nonprofit\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n
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    \n \n Benefits and Drawbacks of Tax-Exempt Status\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/section>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
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    Where Do I Start?<\/h2>\n

    There are many forums that provide opportunities for citizen participation in community engagement. For example, high school students can engage in civic learning through internships with charity organizations that help the homeless. While youth civic engagement in service learning is important, engaged citizens of all ages can partake in the public interest in different ways. Civic participation can mean voting, serving in a jury, using social media to raise awareness on controversial issues, or even peacefully protesting an injustice for the well-being of civil society.<\/p>\n

    Many Ways To Make an Impact<\/h2>\n

    Political activities, including running for office or attending city council meetings, can empower local communities to shape their public affairs. Mobilizing volunteers, reaching out to voters, and improving the civic education of the electoral base in any municipality can go a long way toward improving public policy. Similarly, collectives of concerned citizens, i.e., community organizations, may form partnerships with local governments to influence political decision-making for the benefit of underserved populations. For example, non-profit charities can lobby city councils to increase spending for mental health facilities, hospitals, and housing shelters for vulnerable people.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    From running for local office to contacting politicians to citizen journalism, FindLaw shares resources to help you get involved and improve your community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41135,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"app\/Http\/Controllers\/Templates\/LandingPageController.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":true,"_modified_date":"","_autodraft_ids":[],"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"_sb_is_suggestion_mode":false,"_sb_show_suggestion_boards":false,"_sb_show_comment_boards":false,"_sb_suggestion_history":"","_sb_update_block_changes":"","_is_real_time_mode":false,"_realtime_collaborators":"","footnotes":"","cf_checklist_status":[]},"categories":[2753],"tags":[],"state_laws_tags":[],"flmsa":[],"class_list":["post-357663","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-civic-engagement"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/357663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357663"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/357663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":392843,"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/357663\/revisions\/392843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357663"},{"taxonomy":"state_laws_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/state_laws_tags?post=357663"},{"taxonomy":"flmsa","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/flmsa?post=357663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}