Arizona State University

Final Paper: Civic Engagement in the Joni and Friends Organization

Halley Brewer

Identity, Service, and American Democracy PAF 112

Jonathan GS Koppell, Ph.D. & Eileen Eisen-Cohen, MSW, Ph.D.

05/04/2021
Introduction

Throughout this course we have studied a myriad of organizations and movements and

investigated how they have used the many tools discussed in this course to create civic and

political engagement. Like many of those organizations, Joni and Friends utilizing many tactics

explained in the course to further their goals. Joni and Friends is a Christian-based organization

to serve people with disabilities around the world. They have a diverse group with a range of

abilities, genders, and races but unite under their shared love and desire to help people with

disabilities. This shared love creates social capital and a connection. They perform acts of service

for those in the disabled community, host summer camps, provide wheelchairs and Bibles around

the world as their form of civic engagement. This paper will explore the group Joni and Friends

and how it cultivates civic engagement through diversity, social capital, and mobilization.

Identity

This organization was founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, a white Christain women, who

had a traumatic accident that left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. She founded the

program to help others with disabilities and share the gospel with them. Her identity as a woman

with a disability is very important to her and ending the idea that disabled is synonymous with

less capable or valuable. Identity plays a crucial role in Joni and Friends, the organization is

centralized around the shared identity of caring about the disabled community and the Christain

faith. Without these two shared identities the organization would cease to exist. The identity of

the Christian faith can cause issues with other identity groups, as many conserative Christians

reject LGBTQ+ members, or members of other faiths. To participate in most of the actions of the
organization you must be at least somewhat financially secure or have a job where you can take

up to a week off, and this alienates others.

Social Capital

Joni and Friends operates on social capital as it is defined in the course, “Connections or

relationships with others and the willingness to interact with and aid others.” Since Joni and

Friends is almost entirely volunteer based, without social capital it would fail to function. Many

of the volunteers join because they know someone else who did it or get involved through their

church, this premade relationships create a solid dynamic in the group and allow for growth and

influence. While being a Christian is not required to participate most are, and those who are not

often come to Christ over the course of their work. Since its founding they have had over 430

family retreats, with over 30,000 volunteers.

Civic Engagement

Engagement in this group can be many things. The most common is a Short Term

Missionary (STM). STMs are volunteers who work at the Joni and friends summer retreats for up

to a week at a time, but do little else throughout the year. STMs are trained on site before

participants show up and act as, “A loving and trained volunteer [who] attend activities with

each camper while parents and caregivers attend programming worry free!”. In addition to

STMs, family retreats have coordinators, volunteer leaders, chaplins and a slew of other helpers

that do more than the STMS but still only work during the months around the event. They also

have interns who either work at their headquarters and help with Bible and wheelchair
distribution or at international retreats. Besides volunteering people can also support the

organization through monetary donations, donating wheelchairs, or even praying with them.

Mobilization

Mobilization is taught in this course as, “when people are inspired to take action

collectively on a particular public problem” if the group does not mobilize, nothing will change.

Joni and Friends uses a pathos approach to mobilizing and getting new volunteers, using videos

of young kids with disabilities excitement and joy at going to camp to get new members under

the promise that it will be a life changing experience for all who participate. They also use the

network of churches and word of mouth to find new members that care and will participate in

their programs. They also take full advantage of advertising at events with a similar message

such at the Tim Tebow Foundations, Night To Shine--a prom for those with special needs, to get

volunteers that are already engaged in disability activism.

American Democracy

While Joni and Friends doesn't officially participate in American Democracy, its founder

and leader Joni Eareckson Tada does. According to the organization website, in 1988, “ President

Ronald Reagan [appointed] Joni to the National Council on Disability. Joni advocates for the

passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.” In 1990, “Joni attends the signing of the

Americans with Disabilities Act at the White House” and in 2006, “Joni [was] appointed to the

Disability Advisory Committee at the U.S. State Department.”. Joni has been a major advocate

for disability rights and has used her voice to make change and that is the backbone of American

democracy, listening to the voice of the people to make change.

Summary and Conclusion

The organization, Joni and Friends, uses the techniques and tactics used in the course to

make a positive change and help disabled people around the world. The use of social capital,

shared identity, civic engagement, mobilization, and American democracy as described in the

course make the organization as successful as it is.

 Works Cited

“Our History.” Joni & Friends, www.joniandfriends.org/about/our-history/.

“Social Capital Definitions .” Sign In with Auth0, Arizona State University ,

courses.ea.asu.edu/courses/course-v1:ASU+PAF112+2211B/courseware/f414a5e60d1d47

f191a366998dbc9b72/e951d827858f494f98fe46e9858e785d/?activate_block_id=block-v

1%3AASU%2BPAF112%2B2211B%2Btype%40sequential%2Bblock%40e951d827858f

494f98fe46e9858e785d.

“Joni and Friends/ Joni Eareckson Tada.” Joni and Friends/ Joni Eareckson Tada -

MinistryWatch.com, briinstitute.com/mw/ministry.php?ein=953402002.