I think most of us want to engage with our communities but have lives that already seem overly full. If we could fit a community-volunteering activity seamlessly into our lives, we would probably do so right away. If you feel I'm speaking to you, read on.

My message for you today: I'd like you to challenge the notion of what civic engagement is all about. I have participated in the traditional forms of civic engagement for decades now, and continue to do so gladly. I have volunteered at school, at church, in my neighborhood, and am currently working with small groups at United Way to address Web 2.0 technologies and early childhood literacy. All wonderful stuff.

But there is something else I'm doing that I'll call Civic Engagement 2.0. I'll call this a form of societal volunteering by example. It takes almost no effort, no time, and I think it might have quite a powerful impact on my community over time. This might be something for you all to consider who have over scheduled lives.

First, though, a little background: When my husband retired a few years ago, we decided to follow our passion and work in the area of environmental sustainability. We formed a community called Great Lakes Green Initiative in 2005, and have worked, in weekly and monthly meetings, at understanding our impact on the environment and subsequently making changes to our lifestyle. Some of our changes have been big, such as installing a geothermal heating/cooling system, but most have been small, such as changing light bulbs in our home to compact fluorescents. My C.E. 2.0 story has to do with a very small change - a bag.

I had learned a couple of years ago how to shop at the grocery store with reusable bags, but was still bringing bags home from other shopping places, such as the mall. No big deal, but we have learned in our work that even the smallest changes can make an impact - why use resources unnecessarily? So I found a nice reusable bag and started taking it to the mall with me. I was surprised at the reaction I got. Everywhere I went, salesclerks asked me about it, as did others in line with me. I didn't feel the need to educate people on the waste of paper and plastic bags, and when they inquired, 'Saving the earth, huh?' I just said, 'Yep.'

Well, that's the story. Not too dramatic, and that's the point. I'll never know if I have inspired anyone else to change to reusable bags, but I'm betting that I have planted a seed. And we all know how powerful those planted seeds can be. So I would ask you expand your notion of what it means to be civically engaged, and understand that we can be a force for change by our smallest actions.

Labels: civic engagement