Civic Sparks – Issue 2 – March 2026
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Letter first sent out to mailing list 3/3/26
It’s been two months since I last sent a newsletter. A lot has developed at Civic Roots over that time.
January brought deep reflection — as Januaries tend to do. I was simply trying to decide on a topic to write about when I was introduced to a new-to-me concept: Civic Readiness.
I’ve now written three Substack articles on the subject, mostly highlighting my own process and reflection. But the idea brought on much more.
That internal journey led to a new layer of infrastructure within the Civic Roots Toolkit.
Why this matters is simple: civic participation isn’t just about jumping in — it’s about knowing where you are and how to move forward in ways that are sustainable. Without orientation, people either hesitate to begin or burn out trying to do too much.
There is now a dedicated page titled Civic Readiness: An Orientation, along with a short reflective questionnaire. The page is listed at the top of the Toolkit menu, and the questionnaire appears right at the top — intentionally placed to provide orientation and streamline visitors toward the most relevant links for them.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to answer the six reflection questions yourself. You can find them here.
Think of this questionnaire as a 1.0 version — simple, but effective in bringing awareness to your current season of civic participation. The final question offers insight into where you may be in your readiness, along with considerations and opportunities designed to meet you where you are — without overwhelming you, and within the real containment of your life right now.
Much of the language and thinking behind this approach is explored more deeply in those three Substack pieces, you can also find them here.
In the last newsletter, I shared about updating the CRM slogan and logo — bringing “civil” into clearer alignment with “sexy.” That evolution continues. There is now a Make Civic Participation Civil message option available across product styles, and it currently anchors the hero mockup on the home page.
Social posting is also taking shape. I’ve now completed six consecutive weeks of weekly posts across Facebook, Instagram, X, and Bluesky. I haven’t heavily promoted those channels yet — I’m building consistency first — but if you’d like to follow along (or help amplify the message), I’ll include the links below.
Outside of CRM, I’ve also been growing my own civic participation. Last week, I attended a facilitators workshop hosted by the City of Houston in partnership with Braver Angels. The city has launched a series called Grounds for Dialogue, I participated in the third round as an attendee. I’ll share more in the next letter about what the actual event felt like from the inside.
Another theme over the past two months has been strengthening the site’s infrastructure. Several small but meaningful sections now have their own URLs. This showed up in social posts, including the invitation to participate by sending in personal photos wearing your Civic Roots merch.
That invitation includes the possibility of being featured as a model — just for fun — and the chance to “wear” a badge of civic participation. There is now a dedicated link on the site for that invitation: Real People of Civic Roots
As I was preparing this newsletter, I realized something else needed clarity: the site now has two writing threads. This letter will live under Civic Sparks (behind-the-scenes updates), while deeper reflections from Substack will also live in the Civic Journal.
The goal of Civic Roots Merch continues to be simple and steady: to encourage civil — and yes, sexy — civic education and participation.
~Vendoni
Instagram: https://instagram.com/civic_roots_merch