Civic Engagement Model

The Kaleidoscope Project has successfully helped hundreds of people engage in communities in ways that they never had before.

Steps of the Civic Engagement Model

First Step – Pre-contemplation Phase
The Stages of Change Model (Prochaska, DiClemente and Norcross) is a useful model that defines the stages that people go through as they are attempting to make a behavior change.

With just about any behavioral change, the Pre-contemplation Phase is the phase where a person is not even thinking about making a change. The Kaleidoscope Project typically works with people who are in the pre-contemplation phase of the areas of tobacco reduction/ cessation and weight management, nutrition and physical activity.

Step Two – Volunteerism
In our initial community assessments, we found that people in the community lacked a sense of belongingness and desired a way to form relationships. Volunteerism is our means of creating “temporary communities” for participants in our program

As a core part of our program, we involve our participants in volunteer projects. Each participant is assigned to a volunteer team and completes a short volunteer project. The projects are tailored to fit the schedules of our participants. Teams are typically made up of 10-12 people. The Kaleidoscope Project selects volunteerism sites, creates the schedule…the participant just needs to show up and be prepared for a great experience!

Step Three – Debrief Phase
Two weeks after the volunteerism project, The Kaleidoscope Project will re-convene the project team for a debrief session. The debrief session is three-pronged: (1) it is designed to provide time to share experiences in volunteerism, (2) to discuss the correlation between volunteerism and personal health and wellness and (3) learn options and develop a personal Self-Care Plan. The outcome of the debrief session is that each participant walks away with their own Self-Care Plan.

Step Four – Behavior Change
The Self-Care Plan drives what the participant will do to make the desired behavior change. This plan is managed by the participant, but The Kaleidoscope Project will do consistent check-in’s to support the participant in their plan activities.

source: thekaleidoscopeproject.org