Malibu Times
December 1, 2010
Malibu has seen greater volunteerism and involvement in various social and political activities, according to city leaders. By Paul Sisolak / Special to The Malibu Times Following up on data included in a recent Harris poll indicating that more Americans are willing to volunteer or donate their time in spite of shaky economic times, a new study concluded early this month through Pepperdine University has also revealed that Californians are becoming more civically engaged in their communities. Results of the 2010 California Civic Health index, presented at a university–hosted conference on Nov. 11, concluded that more Californians turned out to vote this year, volunteered more and worked closer with their fellow neighbors to solve local problems than in the past. And while no data was collected for individual cities in California, by all accounts Malibu this year saw an upswing in its residents getting out and volunteering for various social and political activities, according to leaders of special interest groups across the city. The presentation at Pepperdine was co–sponsored chiefly by the National Conference on Citizenship and the university’s Davenport Institute. Federally funded, the study examines two categories of civic health–social and political civic engagement–said Pete Peterson, executive director of the institute. “It [the index] looks at various questions on civic engagement, from voting to public volunteering,” he explained. Peterson said this is the third year a California civic health index was produced. A summary of the report described that it was initially started as a research project, following the 2005 elections in the City of Bell, when, after a controversy surrounding a decision by local lawmakers regarding city salaries, only 1 percent of residents showed up to vote. By and large, that city’s civic health was failing. Statewide, the index reported that Californians last year kept up with the national civic engagement curve in the way they worked with their neighbors to solve problems. The index reports that through 2009, 8.3 percent of people helped others to improve their communities, versus 8.8 percent nationwide. The index also reports that more than 6.8 million Golden State residents donated their time to various volunteer and service causes between 2007 and 2009, and last year, nearly a quarter of Californians volunteered at least once in the last 12 months. Some of those numbers coincide with the Harris Poll, gaining insight from more than 2,600 U.S. residents, 48 percent of whom said they volunteered their time or money to charitable causes. Likewise, 11 percent said they volunteered more, a 2 percent increase from the year prior. Whether it was canvassing neighborhoods during election season or just getting involved with churches or social clubs, local residents were perceived as having more visibility in regard to their level of civic engagement throughout 2010. “We were very pleased with the number of volunteers” who served with the Malibu Democratic Club through the most recent election season, said the group’s president, Jean Goodman. “For the fact that it wasn’t a presidential election, interest and volunteers and activity were very good.” The sense of renewed civic pride is noteworthy for the group, Goodman said, considering that membership is down this year, from 150 in 2009 to 100 in 2010. “We really tried to reach out to Republicans in Malibu,” said Patti Adair, a co–chair of the Malibu/Bel–Air Republican Women Federated. “People were definitely involved on all levels. It was very impressive, some of the hours that [volunteers] put in.” The same can be said for local houses of worship. Rev. Bill Kerze of Our Lady of Malibu reported that his parishioners this past year immersed themselves in church missions through a variety of ways, from feeding the homeless, to attending more faith formation groups, to simply attending mass more. “We continue to grow,” he said. “There’s an increased number of people becoming engaged in the life of the parish. There are people not just showing up on Sunday, but involved with something else.” While it’s purely speculative at this point, most people who weighed in on the issue agreed that the current financial struggles in the U.S. have prompted residents to get out and make a difference. “My thinking has been, in many ways, what we’ve seen is that California has responded to the financial crisis in ways that are more positive than other states,” Peterson, of the Davenport Institute, said. “Especially during a time of great fiscal crisis, with city and county governments being in deficit, Californians are appearing to work together to help solve local problems.” “We’re personally a generous country,” Adair, of the Republican Women Federated, said. “They’re scared we’re losing what has made America great.” Goodman, of the Malibu Democrats, opined that there is a correlation of Malibu’s ethnic diversity and its good civic health. Because residents treat each other with equal respect, so do they give equal attention to various social causes. “One of the things you’ll find in Malibu is that people are involved,” she said, “but because we have a very diverse population here … we have a large elder population here, obviously we have Pepperdine and a lot of families here, that the interests and what they become involved in, and what they volunteer for, is very diverse. “But,” she continued, “I think generally people in Malibu seem very engaged with the community and with causes, whether they’re political or social.” California is one of 13 U.S. states issued a Civic Health Index, but, Peterson said, that will become even more streamlined starting in 2011, when individual cities, like Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, will be examined. That means it’s likely that some hard numbers will be available on the civic health of Malibu’s own. More information on the 2010 California Civic Health Index can be obtained online at www.NCoC.net/CivicHealth2010.