Marvel star Chris Evans receives the Spirit of Service Award for co-founding A Starting Point

Marvel star and veteran actor Chris Evans was selected for a Spirit of Service Award alongside his A Starting Point colleagues Mark Kassen and Joe Kiani. Darren Walker of the Ford Foundation, philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos have all received the same award in previous years.

Chris Evans receives the Spirit of Service Award on September 11

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Partnership for Public Service’s Spirit of Service Award will also be presented during the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal ceremony scheduled for September 11 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

The annual event is designed to honor outstanding federal employees for their achievements and contributions to the public good, according to the organization. But the Spirit of Service Award stands out because it honors individuals outside of government whose work is critical to the goal of better government and a stronger democracy.

What does Chris Evans’ organization A Starting Point do?

A Starting Point, a video civic engagement platform, was co-founded in 2020 by Chris Evans, Kassen’s director, and technology entrepreneur KIani. Their clear goal is to create a non-partisan channel of communication and connectivity between Americans and their elected officials to create a more informed electorate, as the organization itself explains.

Over the past week, A Starting Point’s Instagram account has posted updates on several hot topics, including the Chevron decision, the Supreme Court’s decision to grant presidents complete immunity from prosecution, and FEMA’s response to the extreme heat.

A Starting Point targets young people in high school and college to teach them how government works and to encourage civil discourse about important policy issues and the democratic process. Evans, Kassen and Kiani thanked Partnership for Public Service and said they were “so proud” of their brilliant team at A Starting Point.

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