“This day taught me that civic service is not about projects and programs, not about measurable results, but about people, their stories and communities. It is about being hospitable, listening to another person's story, welcoming strangers, traveling together, breaking bread, and creating space where people with different backgrounds can meet. If this first day was any indication of the year ahead, I am excited to see where this journey of service, relationship, reflection, and bridge-building will lead.”

Civic Bridgers launches teens as Bridgers: community leaders who engage and solve problems across lines of difference. Bridgers navigate differences with a centered-set mentality where people organize around a central purpose. For bridgers, the center is pluralism: a worldview that embraces the multiplicities of identities, viewpoints, experiences, and values.