“Building Citizens” is a collaboration of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund. This project is rooted in our belief at the Whitman Center that democracy is as much a way of life as a form of government, and that it must be served jointly by thought and action, by deliberation and commitment. “Building Citizens” was written to help community service programs to incorporate a deliberative, civic dimension into their programs.

Education-centered service has come to mean service that is directly linked to schools, colleges and universities. However, reflective service – service that combines community involvement and structures, critical reflection – can and should be the rule rather than the exception in all service programs. But making it work is not always easy. Even when groups want to incorporate reflective, critical and scholarly elements into their agendas, they are hard pressed to do so. Too often, we see instead front-loaded training sessions and episodic reflection which offer little opportunity for critical self-examination or group deliberation.

"Building Citizens" will guide community service programs and participants in reflection that makes explicit connections between service and critical, enlivened citizenship. This practical guide will, we hope, allow any group to begin the critical process. Used well, it can expand the horizons of a group's thinking as well as the boundaries of their service experiences for the immediate benefit of out communities and the sustained vigor of our democracy.