The Difference Between Civically Engaged and Volunteer and How to Turn One Into the Other

Adam J. Cheshier
4 min readAug 14, 2021

Is there a difference between civically engaged and a volunteer? How does an organization convert one to the other?

Let’s take a look at what the question means and how an organization can possibly turn people more dedicated to the cause.

What is Civically Engaged?

Basically, civil engagement means that one is aware of what is going on around them in the world and that they are some level of involved. This could mean a number of things but it generally falls in the landscape of five categories:

  1. Political action
  2. Intertwined in current events
  3. Socially connected
  4. Involved in the community
  5. Service

It’s important to note that while ‘Service’ might mean volunteering to some, it actually means any number of things. Even with 90% of the general American population having desire to volunteer, only about 25% of people actually do.

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Adam J. Cheshier
Adam J. Cheshier

Written by Adam J. Cheshier

Documenting obscure pockets of the world across long-distance overland expeditions. Recently celebrated 7 years of nomadism. https://linktr.ee/adam.cheshier