92Y, Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Citizen University Launch Ben Franklin Circles
Modern Revamp of Franklin’s Mutual Improvement Clubs To Spur Social &
Civic Innovation
BenFranklinCircles.org
STANFORD, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–92nd Street Y, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and
Citizen University today announced the Ben Franklin Circles
(BenFranklinCircles.org) – a 21st-century community-building
initiative inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s “club for mutual
improvement,” launched more than 300 years ago. The initiative aims to
bring people together to discuss 13 core virtues and how they can be
catalysts for personal, social, and civic change. Franklin’s club became
a launching pad for civic initiatives such as the post office and
volunteer fire department; today’s Circles encourage 21st-century
citizens to consider ways to implement positive change in their own
communities from the ground up.
BenFranklinCircles.org, the initiative’s online hub, provides the
infrastructure and tools for individuals and organizations to start
their own Circles. The first Ben Franklin Circles are launching
in the states of New York, Washington, South Carolina, Colorado, Utah,
Minnesota, Massachusetts and California. Participating groups include
The Family Dinner Project, The Village Square, Roosevelt Institute, and
many more. Individuals who want to find an existing Circle or start
their own can visit BenFranklinCircles.org for more information.
“At 92Y, we are committed to thinking about new and creative ways to
foster community and renew our values for the globally connected,
digital world in which we live,” said Henry Timms, Executive Director
of 92Y. “We are all inundated with information, but what people
crave are meaningful interactions and real connections. We hope the
Circles will allow diverse groups of people to come together, to listen
and better understand each other, and to create new connections that
will enrich both their personal lives and their communities.”
Ben Franklin Circles is a program within the Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich
Initiative at the Hoover Institution, Educating Americans in Public
Policy, which seeks to equip citizens with accurate facts, information,
and a discerning analytical perspective, so they can better perform
their civic duties, hold their elected leaders accountable, and “secure
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”
“Ben Franklin Circles offer people a chance to discuss their vital
concerns and aspirations with fellow citizens,” said William Damon, a
professor at Stanford University and Senior Fellow at the Hoover
Institution. “Research has shown that people from all walks of life,
young and old alike, can benefit from opportunities to talk face-to-face
about meaningful issues with others from their communities, and such
opportunities have become all too rare at this time in our society.”
“This project aligns deeply with Citizen University’s broader mission of
spreading the values and skills of powerful citizenship,” said Eric
Liu, founder and CEO of Citizen University. “With this project, we
have a powerful opportunity to take the ideas of one of our country’s
most iconic figures and build a platform for person-to-person engagement
– the kind that strengthens communities and builds networks of
engagement and participation. This is an essential project that fosters
and teaches the values and skills of citizenship.”
How Ben Franklin Circles Work
Ben Franklin Circles meetings are dedicated to exploring the 13 virtues
identified by Franklin: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution,
Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness,
Tranquility, Chastity and Humility. The suggested size for a
group is 5-12 individuals; together, they engage in conversations on
what each of these virtues means today on a personal and societal level.
Six Guidelines for launching a Circle:
- Pick a diverse membership (aiming for no more than 12 members)
- Find the right time and place to meet regularly
- Reach out to your members and identify a club facilitator
- Prepare with the toolkit at BenFranklinCircles.org
- Kick off with a call to action and
- Create a conversation-conducive space
Ben Franklin Circles is the newest initiative from 92Y, through its
Innovation Center, designed to build community and meaningful,
values-based discussions around the world. Other innovative initiatives
launched by 92Y are The Social Good Summit; the global day of
philanthropy #GivingTuesday; and the 7 Days of Genius Festival (the
third festival kicks off this March).
About 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a world-class, nonprofit cultural and community center
that fosters the mental, physical and spiritual health of people
throughout their lives, offering: wide-ranging conversations with the
world’s best minds; outstanding programming in the performing, visual
and literary arts; fitness and sports programs; and activities for
children and families. 92Y is also a community that stretches across the
world, reimagining what it means to be a community center in the digital
age with initiatives like the award-winning #GivingTuesday. These
programs are transforming the way people share ideas and translate them
into action both locally and around the world. The organization, founded
in 1874, is a center for innovation and the visual and performing arts;
a convener of both people and ideas; and an incubator for creativity.
92Y is built on a foundation of Jewish values: the unparalleled capacity
of civil dialogue to change minds; the unlimited potential of education
and the arts to change lives; and the eternal commitment to welcoming
and serving people of all races, religions and ethnicities. For more
information, visit www.92Y.org.
About Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution, Stanford University, is a public policy research
center devoted to the advanced study of economics, politics, history,
and political economy—both domestic and foreign—as well as international
affairs. With its eminent scholars and world-renowned Library &
Archives, the Hoover Institution seeks to improve the human condition by
advancing ideas that promote economic opportunity and prosperity, and
secure and safeguard peace for America and all mankind.
About Citizen University
Citizen University is a national non-profit based in Seattle that works
to help Americans cultivate the values, systems knowledge, and skills of
powerful citizenship. Programs and initiatives include the Civic
Collaboratory, a civic leadership network; Sworn-Again America, a
project on civic rituals; a series of programs and resources to teach
civic power; and a new initiative, the Joy of Voting, that aims to
reinvigorate a culture of participation and engagement around voting.
The Citizen University National Conference features hundreds of
change-makers, activists, catalysts, and students from across the
country, and is an annual civic gathering unlike any other. This is a
time when citizens are solving problems in new ways, bypassing broken
institutions, stale ideologies, and polarized politics. Citizen
University is part of a movement to rekindle citizenship and remake the
narrative of America.
Contacts
92Y:
Jovana Rizzo, 646-200-5329
Jovana@berlinrosen.com
or
Beverly
Greenfield, 212-415-5452
bgreenfield@92Y.org
or
Hoover
Institution:
Jenny Mayfield, 650-723-0603
jennymayfield@stanford.edu
