If America's 250th anniversary is going to leave a real legacy, it must be rooted in service - and in the local gathering places where service still happens.

Across the country, those places may look like veterans' halls, church basements, fire stations, school gyms, food pantries, community centers, lodge rooms, and nonprofit meeting spaces. They may not always look modern. They may not always get attention. But they are often where neighbors become volunteers, where veterans find support, where young people see service modeled, and where civic trust is built one meal, one conversation, and one act of service at a time.

At American Legion Post 655 in Haltom City, Texas, Wednesday hamburger nights and Saturday breakfasts are not just meals. They are a front porch for civic life. And communities across America have their own versions of that same story.

The question is not whether civic organizations are dead.

The question is whether we are willing to walk through their doors, pull up a chair, and help carry the work forward.   Read the full article here 

A perspective on service, nonprofits, and the role of business in strengthening civic trust

America’s 250th birthday is more than a celebration of the past. It is a test of who we are now and who we intend to become. America250, the official nonpartisan effort created to help lead the nation’s semiquincentennial commemoration, has framed this milestone as a nationwide call to educate, engage, and unite Americans ahead of July 4, 2026. That ambition matters. But it also raises a serious question: what will make America250 more than a branding exercise, a parade, or a once-in-a-generation calendar event?

The answer is volunteerism.

If America wants its 250th anniversary to mean something deeper...  Read the full article here