Module 3 PAF 112 - Social Engagement and Its Role in American Democracy Notes

Social engagement

When people take action about a public problem through social service means such as, but not limited to, the following types of activities: encouraging others to participate or enjoy the arts, volunteering for a nonprofit organization, organizing drives to provide goods or services to those in need, serving in the military, and serving in the Peace Corps or Americorps.

Social capital

Connections or relationships with others and the willingness to interact with and aid others.

Associations

The relationships that people form with one another to accomplish specific tasks. Alexis de Tocqueville was especially interested in the non-political purposes that caused Americans to form associations where, in other countries, a government would have taken the lead. Associations can be informal or formal organizations.

A thousand points of light

A phrase used in two speeches by former President George H. W. Bush that highlights the importance of the non-governmental associations that Americans form to address public problems. 

Charity

Generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering, or aid given to those in need.

Philanthropy

Goodwill toward fellow members of the human race; especially active effort to promote human welfare or an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes.

Pluralism

A state of society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain and develop their traditional culture or special interest within the confines of a common civilization. It is a key component of US society that helps to explain the establishment and success of nonprofit organizations and civil society.

Individualism

The belief that citizens should not rely on the state to provide for their basic needs, but rather should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and take personal responsibility for achieving and maintaining economic self-sufficiency for themselves and their immediate families.

Clubs and community groups

Associations that are formed so that Americans can socialize and contribute to civil society. Examples include: Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs), Rotary Clubs, The Knights of Columbus, churches and congregations, human service organizations, settlement houses such as Hull House, and even online communities.

third sector

suggests that organizations of the nonprofit sector are mutually exclusive from the “first” sector of the economy

independent sector

often implies that nonprofit organizations are autonomous actors that stand apart from government and for-profit organizations. While this label is accurate for describing some types of nonprofit and voluntary groups such as lobbying organizations that are privately funded, this term is not accurate for describing all nonprofits, as some rely heavily or even fully on government for the funding they need to operate, as is the case for many health and human service organizations.

voluntary sector

inappropriate as a general label for the sector, as many organizations are highly professionalized and carry out their operations entirely through paid staff. While some nonprofit organizations are run entirely though donated labor, or through a mix of paid staff and volunteers, many are not.

charitable sector

an appropriate label for the large number of benevolent organizations that exist for the collective good of society; it is far less appropriate in describing other types of nonprofit organizations that primarily provide benefits to their own members such as professional associations and labor unions.

philanthropic sector

derives from the word “philanthropy” which means altruistic concern for humankind, often expressed through giving of time or financial resources. But some nonprofits do not rely at all on private giving to conduct their operations. Thus, while some nonprofits are philanthropic, many organizations in the sector are not.

first sector

comprised of privately owned, for-profit businesses

second sector

made up of government or public organizations

1st Amendment

guarantees freedom of speech, which includes the press and the right of citizens to assemble.

National Rifle Association (NRA)

lobbies to protect citizens' rights to keep and bear arms as outlined in the Second Amendment

American Civil Liberties Union

organizations designed to coordinate protests, develop lobbying campaigns, and dedicated to personal liberties

Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and Organizations (PTOs)

Founded in 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst, the PTA's purpose is to work toward the health, safety, and educational success of all children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. The founders started the organization when women did not have the right to vote and social activism was not popular.

Rotary Club

an international service organization founded by Paul Harris in 1905 in Chicago. Rotary's stated purpose is "to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world” and Rotary's primary motto is “service above self."

Jane Addams

led the American settlement house movement, founding Hull House, the first settlement house in the nation in 1889 in Chicago's west-side neighborhood largely inhabited by low-income, Italian immigrants

settlement workers

would live together with poor residents, sharing knowledge and culture with their low-income neighbors.

settlement houses

In poor urban areas, in which educated, volunteer middle-class “settlement workers.” Regarded as the earliest version of a formal system of social service provision in the US.

American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS),

founded in 1833 by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan with the mission to abolish slavery in the United States. The national organization worked to build a broad base of support by developing state and local chapters.

National Society Daughters of the Revolution (DAR)

founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and secure better education for children.

gentlemen’s agreement

among the most prestigious universities in the United States limited the number of Jewish students accepted. Indeed, a tradition of confronting discrimination led many American Jews to become actively involved in the civil rights movements for women and African Americans.

disability identity

a unique aspect of identity that includes a person’s sense of self as a person with a disability, as well as their connection to the disability community.

Black Lives Matter

a chapter base, member-led organization whose mission is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on black communities by the state and vigilantes.

Military Service

When people voluntarily or are conscripted into the military to fight on behalf of their country.

A service movement

A push to encourage Americans to engage in service, so that not only can the individuals experience the benefits of service, but the country as a whole. The common experience and worldview strengthens American democracy and the American identity.

Americorps

It is a network of national service programs, made up of three primary programs that each take a different approach to improving lives and fostering civic engagement. Members commit their time to address critical community needs like increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth, fighting poverty, sustaining national parks, preparing for disasters, and more.

Corporation for National and Community Service

A federal agency that helps Americans improve the lives of their fellow citizens through service. It oversees programs like AmeriCorps and it also partners with other federal programs to calculate the “volunteer rate.”

USA Freedom Corps

President George W. Bush established this council in the aftermath of September 11th. It promoted volunteering opportunities for Americans, both at home and abroad.

Volunteering

Contributing one's time to the community either through formal volunteering where the volunteer work is carried out through an organization, while informal volunteering is defined as time donated on an individual basis, outside of an organizational context. Both types contribute to social capital, community-building, and civil society.

Formal volunteering

generally refers to volunteer work carried out through an organization

informal volunteering

defined as time donated on an individual basis, outside of an organizational context.

social good

not only strengthens social ties within and among its members, but creates social capital for the larger community.