Chris Evans receives the Spirit of Service Award for his contribution to “building a more civic-minded society”

July 3, 2024

Chris Evans, Mark Kassen and Joe Kiani receive the Spirit of Service Award for founding the civic engagement platform A Starting Point.

The award is given by the nonprofit organization Partnership for Public Service to “individuals outside government whose work is critical to the goal of better government and a stronger democracy.”

The awards ceremony will take place on September 11th at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Evans launched A Starting Point in 2020 with filmmaker Kassen and tech entrepreneur Klani, describing the initiative as a “bipartisan communication and networking channel between Americans and their elected officials with the goal of creating a better-informed electorate.”

“Today, only 7 percent of federal employees are under 30, and young people’s trust in the federal government is low. By engaging young people, A Starting Point helps build a more civic society, an effective government that looks like the people it serves, and ultimately a stronger democracy,” said Max Stier, CEO of Partnership for Public Service. “We are honored to recognize Chris Evans and his co-founders for their achievement in establishing A Starting Point and supporting its important mission.”

Chris Evans with Mark Kassen and Joe Kiani (A starting point/Instagram)

In a joint statement, Evans, Kassen and Klani said, “We founded ASP to encourage civic engagement and make it accessible to all, so we are truly proud to see ASP receive this recognition alongside so many incredible federal employees who share the same goal within the government.”

They thanked Partnership for Public Service for the award.

As part of “A Starting Point,” a group of high school students visited the White House earlier this year to talk with administration officials, including Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Assistant Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, about issues such as economic opportunity, jobs and the climate crisis.

Evans had approached Donald Trump about “A Starting Point,” but the former president was apparently not enthusiastic.

“We asked him, we had to. You have to do it. We asked him, he said no. He said no twice, so I did my part,” said the Captain America the actor said on Jimmy Kimmel’s show in 2020.

The Spirit of Service Award has been given in the past to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, Darren Walker of the Ford Foundation and former PBS anchor Judy Woodruff.