EMBOLDEN BY DESIGN

Anythink Nature Library manager Maria Mayo designed the program “Community Voices: Breaking Bread,” which she described as “cultural speed dating.” Six community members baked bread from their respective cultures, and attendees were invited to sit down at each table to taste the bread, hear stories about its cultural importance, and share their own stories. People from all backgrounds and ages bonded over the simple but powerful topic of bread.

Civic Saturday, launched by Citizen University and now hosted by hundreds of civic catalysts nationwide, is a gathering using faith-based rituals in a civic setting to strengthen a sense of community. Through song, poetry, shared civic texts, and small-group discussions centered around democracy, friends and strangers create bonds by practicing what it means to be an

engaged member of society.

Aspen Institute’s Better Arguments Project was a national civic initiative designed to encourage Americans to engage one another in more productive debates around core American ideals. The project was based on the premise that “American civic life doesn’t need fewer arguments; it

needs better arguments.”

“Illuminate the Night,” a community healing event hosted at Anythink in August 2022, included live music, spoken word performances, owls, yoga, lights, and lanterns, inspired by artist-in-residence Helen Hiebert’s large-scale paper lantern, “Step into the Light.”