Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport: The Ultimate Civic Engagement Handbook
With a new introduction addressing the era of Trump and the 2020 election, here is a comprehensive guide to civic participation and the best opportunities for volunteering.

We are proud residents of the land of the free and the home of the brave, but how often do we actually get involved and do anything to make a difference? The lifeblood of democracy is civic engagement, and Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport teaches readers how to get in the game and help!

Volunteers are needed in record numbers. Millions of Americans—middle class, working class, professionals, and business executives—have experienced the loss of a job, a home, or a business, a small farm failure, a personal bankruptcy, or a loss of pension or retirement income. And millions more are only a layoff, illness, divorce, or accident away from falling into poverty. Blaustein focuses on two critical questions: “How did we get into this mess?” and “What can be done to turn things around?” His answer to these interconnected questions is volunteering, community service, civic engagement, and citizen participation.

Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport is a comprehensive collection of more than two hundred community service opportunities and experiences. More than a simple resource guide, this unique handbook includes interviews, anecdotes, and commentary from the top people in nonprofit and service fields.
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Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport: The Ultimate Civic Engagement Handbook
With a new introduction addressing the era of Trump and the 2020 election, here is a comprehensive guide to civic participation and the best opportunities for volunteering.

We are proud residents of the land of the free and the home of the brave, but how often do we actually get involved and do anything to make a difference? The lifeblood of democracy is civic engagement, and Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport teaches readers how to get in the game and help!

Volunteers are needed in record numbers. Millions of Americans—middle class, working class, professionals, and business executives—have experienced the loss of a job, a home, or a business, a small farm failure, a personal bankruptcy, or a loss of pension or retirement income. And millions more are only a layoff, illness, divorce, or accident away from falling into poverty. Blaustein focuses on two critical questions: “How did we get into this mess?” and “What can be done to turn things around?” His answer to these interconnected questions is volunteering, community service, civic engagement, and citizen participation.

Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport is a comprehensive collection of more than two hundred community service opportunities and experiences. More than a simple resource guide, this unique handbook includes interviews, anecdotes, and commentary from the top people in nonprofit and service fields.
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Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport: The Ultimate Civic Engagement Handbook

Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport: The Ultimate Civic Engagement Handbook

by Arthur Blaustein
Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport: The Ultimate Civic Engagement Handbook

Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport: The Ultimate Civic Engagement Handbook

by Arthur Blaustein

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$14.99 
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Overview

With a new introduction addressing the era of Trump and the 2020 election, here is a comprehensive guide to civic participation and the best opportunities for volunteering.

We are proud residents of the land of the free and the home of the brave, but how often do we actually get involved and do anything to make a difference? The lifeblood of democracy is civic engagement, and Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport teaches readers how to get in the game and help!

Volunteers are needed in record numbers. Millions of Americans—middle class, working class, professionals, and business executives—have experienced the loss of a job, a home, or a business, a small farm failure, a personal bankruptcy, or a loss of pension or retirement income. And millions more are only a layoff, illness, divorce, or accident away from falling into poverty. Blaustein focuses on two critical questions: “How did we get into this mess?” and “What can be done to turn things around?” His answer to these interconnected questions is volunteering, community service, civic engagement, and citizen participation.

Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport is a comprehensive collection of more than two hundred community service opportunities and experiences. More than a simple resource guide, this unique handbook includes interviews, anecdotes, and commentary from the top people in nonprofit and service fields.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781510761988
Publisher: Skyhorse
Publication date: 09/08/2020
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 797,324
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Arthur Blaustein is a recently retired professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught community development, public policy, and politics. He has served on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities under President Bill Clinton and was chair of the President’s National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity under President Jimmy Carter. Blaustein has written extensively for magazines and newspaper syndicates, including Harper's, Saturday Review, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Los Angeles Times and Knight-Ridder, as well as for academic and professional journals. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the 2020 Edition x

Preface 1

Introduction: A Nation Challenged 13

Part 1 Understanding Community Service 27

Volunteering, Public Policy, and Politics 29

American Values, Citizenship, and Civic Engagement 45

The Value of Service 67

Part 2 Stories to Inspire, Books to Consider 79

Volunteer Stories 81

Part 3 On Your Own 111

The Reading Cure: How to Organize a Book Group with a Social Conscience 112

Part 4 Spectator Become Participant 123

Organizations by Interest 125

Children 126

Civil Rights 132

Community Development and Economic Justice 137

Consumer Affairs 145

Education 148

Environment and Sustainable Communities 156

Free Speech and Government Accountability 166

Gay and Lesbian Rights 170

Health Care, Hunger, and Homelessness 172

Human Rights 182

People with Disabilities 186

Seniors 190

Social Welfare and Emergency Relief 193

Violence Prevention and Peace 200

Wildlife and Animal Rights 205

Women's Rights 215

Organizations By Type 221

Advocacy Organizations 222

Campus Organizations 226

General Resource Organizations 236

Faith-Based Organizations 241

Policy and Issues Analysis Organizations 252

Service Organizations 272

Acknowledgments 277

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