^Click the photo above for full graphic
What does civic health look like in Nebraska?Â
Every #WellnessWednesday through the end of 2015, Civic Nebraska will be releasing a new infographic depicting current civic health in our state. Check back for new graphics each week, follow the launch on Facebook and Twitter, and be sure to share with colleagues and friends.
This week:
Click on the image above to access the full graphic, best-viewed on a mobile device.
The 2015 Nebraska Civic Health Index discusses many interesting trends regarding civic health in our state. One of the most prevalent is the differences in rates of participation in many civic health activities among Nebraskans of varying age groups.
Check out this week’s infographic to learn more about Millennials in Nebraska, current levels of engagement, and ideas on how to get this demographic more involved.
Week 1:
Check out our overview infographic –  “What is Civic Health?” Click on the yellow image on the right for the full graphic, best-viewed on a mobile device.
Week 2:
One action step we can all take to strengthen civic health is to 
“Continue to grow the strong tradition of connecting all Nebraskans.” Strong social connections and high levels of social capital lead to great benefits for our communities and serve as the building blocks for other civic actions. Click the blue graphic to the right to check out the full infographic for Nebraska’s levels of social connection, and what we can do to capitalize on this strength in our state.
Week 3:
Click on the yellow image to the 
right to access the full graphic, best-viewed on a mobile device.
This week we take a look at the ways Nebraskans engage in their communities. Volunteering, donating to charities, and attending public meetings are great ways to support our neighborhoods. In 2013, the value of a volunteer hour in Nebraska was more than $23! That’s a great investment in making our communities, towns, and state an even better place to live. In Nebraska, we need to continue to work to make sure these kinds of opportunities are intuitively accessible for community members. To learn more about how Nebraskans are already showing up in their communities, ways to get engaged, and how to promote community engagement opportunities, check out this week’s infographic: “Create and promote accessible networks for community engagement.”
Week 4:
Nebraska shows clear strengths in the civic health areas of social connectedness and confidence in institutions, 
but one area with a clear need for improvement is political involvement. This week we focus on the specific actions we can take to activate Nebraskans to register and vote by modernizing the process. There is great momentum in our state to make access to elections more 21st century-friendly, including the launch of the Secretary of State’s online voter registration system this year. Capitalizing on these forward movements to ensure that all Nebraskans have access to registration and elections is a top priority and a key component to increasing civic health. Click the blue image to the right to see the full infographic.
Week 5:
Click on the yellow image to the right to access the full graphic, best-viewed on a mobile device.
Nebraska shows clear strengths in the civic health areas of social connectedness and confidence in institutions, but one area with a clear need for improvement is political involvement. This week we focus on the specific actions we can take to increase interaction between elected representatives and constituents. Just someone might lift weights to improve physical strength, there are activities to help us strengthen this area of civic health. By contacting or visiting elected officials about issues we care about or that impact our communities, we actively create a more accountable government. By speaking up, we own our civic health better, and benefit from institutions that respond to us.
Week 6:
Click on the blue image to the right to access the full graphic, best-viewed on a mobile device. Our schools offer the perfect opportunity to promote civic engagement among all Nebraskans. By continuing to “Prioritize civic education that leads to civic action for all students in Nebraska,” we afford our students the opportunity to become active community members now, and practice the critical thinking and leadership skills that will help them be active community members into the future.
Civic Nebraska’s service learning programs are a way to incorporate just this type of education. Contact us to learn more about programming for students during the day and after school, Kindergarten through college.
Civic Nebraska and our Nebraska Civic Health Partners released the first-ever Nebraska Civic Health Index in April 2015. The report uses data from the Current Population Survey administered by the US Census Bureau to gauge levels of civic health in Nebraska and compare those levels to the civic health of other states. Find the full report here. Since the launch of the report, we have been working to support community-specific projects to strengthen civic health. For more information on our Civic Health Ambassador Program, contact Kelsey Arends at kelsey.arends@civicnebraska.org or (402) 904-5191.
