What makes a place feel like home?
I arrived in Burlington 26 years ago, a newly minted college grad, transferred here for a job as an environmental organizer. My plan was to spend the winter, then return to Chicago, where I’d lived the past two summers. When I took the Vermont assignment, my boss said, “Just don’t quit and stay there; that’s what everybody does.”
Driving down Main Street toward the city center on a gorgeous late August afternoon, I could see why: the picturesque university campus, the vibrant downtown, the lake, the mountains beyond. It was love at first sight.
My office was on Church Street, and it wasn’t long before I had gotten to know a lot of great people.
I quit my campaign job in the spring to pursue my dream of becoming a professional writer. It took roughly seven years of freelancing while doing all kinds of odd jobs — from unloading trucks at the Onion River Co-op to staffing the hospital parking garage — until I joined Seven Days full time in 2005.
In the process, I learned plenty about my new home: where to find things, whom to talk to, how local institutions work. The more I became familiar with the community, the more I appreciated it — and felt a growing responsibility to contribute. I do that now through my work with Seven Days.
In 2018, my colleagues and I came up with the Good Citizen Challenge, a nonpartisan youth civics project organized by Seven Days and our parenting publication, Kids VT. The Challenge invites young Vermonters to do what I did: discover how their community works and what they can do to improve it.
We’ve rolled out summer and school-year iterations since. The scorecard, rules and activities for this year’s Challenge appear in the pages of this week’s issue and here.
How do you play? Think of it as civics bingo: A participant has to complete any five activities in a row on the scorecard. Options include visiting a local memorial, talking with someone from the town’s fire or rescue squad, and reading an issue of the community newspaper.
In the center square is a visit to the local library. The scorecard is set up that way because this year’s Challenge borrows the theme of Vermont libraries’ summer reading program: All Together Now. More than 70 librarians across the state have expressed interest in participating in or promoting the Challenge.
The overarching lesson: We can accomplish great things when we work together.
It’s no secret that there are many forces pulling this country apart. Exhibit A: this week’s cover story about Dartmouth College professor Jeff Sharlet, author of The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War — a disturbing account of the disaffected people finding connection through militia groups, QAnon and political campaigns that glorify violence.
The Good Citizen Challenge is not about national politics. It invites young Vermonters (and the adults in their lives) to find the community outside their front doors. The Challenge prompts them to enter shared spaces and practice various ways to get involved, such as raising money for a local charity.
If you’ve got a K-8 student in your life, take the Challenge with them this summer. In addition to earning a snazzy Good Citizen sticker and patch — and an invitation to a VIP reception at the Vermont Statehouse in the fall — they’ll also have a chance to win one of five $100 gift cards to Phoenix Books and a free trip to Washington, D.C., from Milne Travel.
The deadline to submit entries is Labor Day, September 4.
This year’s Challenge is underwritten by the Vermont Community Foundation, Vermont Humanities and the Evslin Family Foundation.
I asked Mary Evslin why she supports the project.
“Besides its beauty, Vermont is still a place where you can make a difference,” she said. “Teaching young people how to care and give their time is a huge part of our gift to this next generation. The Challenge is an investment in the future of this special place.”
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This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2023.
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