About Us

The Civic Education Project combines traditional education and community service to promote civic responsibility among young people. Through innovative school year programs and summer courses, CEP offers promising young people opportunities to learn and serve in communities across the country, developing the knowledge, experience, and leadership skills they need to make a positive impact on society.

CEP offers weeklong field study programs during the academic year for students in grades 9 through 12, and intensive, three-week service-learning courses during the summer for students completing grades 7 through 12. Since the program's founding in 1997, over 1,900 students have participated in 148 projects and have dedicated more than 50,000 total hours to service in host communities throughout the country. To see a complete list of our past programs, click here.

In 1999, CEP was recognized as one of America's most promising new nonprofit organizations when it received a prestigious Social Entrepreneur Award from Youth Service America, a group committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for youth. With this honor, CEP joined a select group of groundbreaking nonprofit organizations that are tackling the country's most pressing social issues.

Past CEP participants have...

• Built a house for a family in need
• Delivered a meal to someone living with HIV/AIDS
• Been a child's hero for a day
• Made lasting friendships
• Discussed education policy with the mayor of Little Rock
• Prepared a feast for the elders of the Oneida Nation
• Received guitar lessons from a homeless man
• Laughed a lot
• Attended a taping of CNN's Crossfire
• Listened to an eyewitness account of a church bombing from a civil rights activist
• Run the bases at Cleveland's Jacobs Field
• Learned a lot
• Met with editors from the Boston Globe
• Led a peace rally for students at a Detroit elementary school
• Joined local citizens to save the hills of West Virginia from mountaintop removal
• Been part of the solution

CEP in the News

More students taking 'alternative spring breaks'  The Associated Press.  An in-depth look at CEP's CivicWeek program, including interviews with participants and staff.

Spring Break Service Program Gets National Notice Northwestern University School of Education & Social Policy. An overview of the CivicWeek program with highlights from Chicago and New York trips.

Service Learning: A New Way for Academic Talent Development  Talent Development.  A summary of research results from a survey of past Civic Leadership Institute participants, by Seon-Young Lee, Ph.D.

The Civic Education Project has also been featured in:

USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Youth Today, and more.

The Civic Education Project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, the Harris Bank Foundation, the John Malone Foundation, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Back to Top