Nebraska is the home of many vibrant rural communities. Civic Nebraska partners with the Agriculture Leadership, Education and Communication department at the University of Nebraska and the Rural Futures Institute to create the Rural Civic Action Program, or RCAP.
The program engages rural high school students to think critically about community strengths and areas of improvement, and then to take action through a service-learning project to address needs in their community.
Undergraduates enrolled in a course on leadership and service learning at Nebraska U. and the University of Nebraska at Kearney collaborate as peer mentors, facilitating the high school students in identifying community needs and crafting substantive projects to address those needs. Civic Nebraska connects the undergraduates to our growing network of Greater Nebraska teachers and will ensure that the projects fulfill service-learning and state education standards.
Partnership with the University of Nebraska also provides interesting opportunities to research community engagement among students in rural communities. The project will provide insight on student perceptions of efficacy, of the accessibility of higher education, and investment in rural communities.
For more information about the Rural Civic Action Program, contact Daniel Bennett, Civic Nebraska’s Rural Civic Health Programs Manager, at 402.904-5191 or daniel.bennett@civicnebraska.org.
