Empowered communities are built upon a foundation of collaboration. Together all of us can work towards developing leadership and advocating for the common good.

The Initiative for Engaged Citizenship supports a more inclusive and accessible civic process that facilitates greater participation and community decision making. Our goal is to empower residents and facilitate partnerships that make our neighborhoods stronger. The Initiative is nonpartisan, nonprofit, and an affiliate of Oak Hill CDC.

The Initiative supports 5 Actions to empower residents in all of Worcester’s 5 districts

• Coordination of Community Outreach Efforts to Increase Voter Turnout
• Providing Individuals and Organizations with the Skills and information Necessary to Advocate in Their Community
• Steering Dialogue to Encourage Inclusivity, Accessibility, and Discredit Bias
• Community Based Participatory Research that Encourages Greater Resident Involvement
• Action Based Civics Education To Empower Our Youth

In addition to partnering with nonprofits to develop and enhance their voter engagement efforts, the Initiative currently facilitates two programs

The Coalition for Educated Options (CEO): CEO is a growing coalition of more than 20 community partners whose purpose is to engage, mobilize, and protect voters. Through education and dialog the coalition aims to build a stronger city with greater inclusivity in the civic process. CEO works on voter registration, nonpartisan Get Out The Vote (GOTV) activities, candidate debates & meet and greets, civic advocacy, Election Day transportation, and community questionnaires.

Seminar Series: The Initiative supports a series of workshops that use a mixed learning strategy in which residents identify and develop a plan to address a local issue using the tools, skills, and strategies developed in the program. The presentations are offered by civic leaders and elected and appointed officials who serve as faculty. Participants in the program have the opportunity to become fellows and develop new engagement programs to be taught in the community.