Character Counts of New Mexico

New Mexico Character Counts - Character is the heart of New Mexico

MEET OUR PARTNERS

WHAT IS CHARACTER COUNTS? Character Counts is a national movement which promotes the Six Pillars of Character as the basis for understanding and evaluating all ethical behavior.

WHAT ARE THE SIX PILLARS AND WHY ARE THERE ONLY SIX? The pillars are: FAIRNESS, CARING, CITIZENSHIP, RESPONSIBILITY, TRUSTWORTHINESS, and RESPECT. We believe that human behavior can be guided by these six concepts. While more words or "pillars" could be chosen, the intent is to be concise. For specific examples of the Pillars, visit our Pillars page.

HOW DID CHARACTER COUNTS GET STARTED? Character Counts got its start as a result of the Josephson Institute of Ethics' conference at the Aspen Institute in 1992 for the purpose of exploring the causes of the perceived decline of ethical behavior in recent years. Participants included approximately thirty people representing various walks of life. During the three day conference, the participants themselves chose the words as a direct result of their consensus building deliberations.

IS CHARACTER COUNTS RELIGIOUS OR RELATED TO ANY RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS? No. Character Counts is not a religious organization or affiliated with any religious denominations. The six pillars of character are universal concepts that are readily understood and embraced by all religions and cultures.

IS CHARACTER COUNTS POLITICAL? No. Although we have the invaluable support of Albuquerque's Mayor Chavez in 1994 and New Mexico's Senator Pete Domenici, Character Counts is community-based and has no political agenda. Senator Pete Domenici became aware of Character Counts through a nationally syndicated newspaper column. Senator Domenici invited then Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez to join him in introducing Character Counts to Albuquerque and to the state of New Mexico.

IS CHARACTER COUNTS A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION? Well, yes and no. Character Counts is a local, grass roots effort of concerned citizens in the many communities nationwide that have embraced it. There is also a national organization administered by the Josephson Institute of Ethics in California which "owns" the name and six pillars service mark. This organization is a not-for-profit activity of the Institute and serves as a library of resource material including training information and materials and other useful information for local groups. The Institute also conducts training of several days' duration to prepare individuals to assist their communities through ethical awareness and development workshops. In Albuquerque, for example, there are 80 people who have received training from the Institute. Approximately half of them are within APS.

IS CHARACTER COUNTS PRIMARILY A SCHOOL BASED ACTIVITY? No, not at all. We started in the school system in Albuquerque because it was introduced to our city by Don Whatley of the teachers union and Mary Jane Aguilar, then a guidance counsellor at Bel Air Elementary School. Don was one of the participants at the Aspen Conference in 1992. Through the enthusiastic support of APS administrators and faculty, we were able to reach large numbers of people quickly.

CHARACTER COUNTS SEEMS TO BE WELL ALONG WITHIN APS. WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT STEPS? To be effective, Character Counts needs to impact all environments. We have expanded Character Counts into the after school activities such as Boy Scouts, YMCA, YDI, and Middle School Athletics. We are now striving to bring Character Counts into the workplace. Ultimately, we hope to penetrate most of the environments of the great majority of our citizens.

HOW DOES CHARACTER COUNTS PLAN TO EXPAND INTO ENVIRONMENTS BEYOND SCHOOLS? We have identified several broad environments that we "inhabit" during our day. For children, these include school, of course. But also after-school activities such as Boy Scouts, YMCA, YDI, athletics and the like. For working adults, this includes the workplace, recreational opportunities after work hours and time spent in volunteer civic related outlets. These may include virtually any form of organized athletics or less structured forms of relaxation or perhaps the pursuit of additional education. For most people, it includes the hours spent at home in social or family types of activities such as sharing meals. Any list of possible environments should logically include churches and synagogues which are positive contributors and reinforcers of the principles of good moral behavior.

WHAT SPECIFIC PLANS DO YOU HAVE FOR EXPANDING CHARACTER COUNTS INTO RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS? There are many initiatives that have been undertaken with little or no guidance or assistance from our local organization. Perhaps the best example of this is the Albuquerque YMCA Metropolitan office which has for many years had institutionalized programs dealing with character formation. We see a need in Albuquerque to extend our reach into organized athletics programs for children and young adults. The recently restored Middle School Athletics program within APS has as one of its centerpieces the six pillars of character. Through the efforts of the coaches, teachers and APS administrators, these are constantly stressed. One example of this is that children who do not act "responsibly" in doing their homework and maintaining good grades are not permitted to participate. This directly links behavior and consequences and is a way of restoring values that have been lost in recent years. Organized athletics provides an excellent means of facilitating the teaching and awareness building of the six pillars.

HOW IS CHARACTER COUNTS ORGANIZED IN ALBUQUERQUE? A Leadership Council consisting of approximately thirty community leaders and representing many community "constituencies" was formed in 1994 under the joint sponsorship of Senator Pete Domenici and Mayor Martin Chavez. The Council has organized itself into both standing and ad hoc work groups to develop and implement plans to broaden Character Counts in our community. In late 1995, we became a 501(C)3 corporation to facilitate our fund raising activities.

HOW IS CHARACTER COUNTS SUSTAINED IN ALBUQUERQUE? We rely on a variety of sources to support our activities. Senator Domenici assisted in securing a three-year federal grant to assist spread Character Counts into other areas of the state of New Mexico and to continue to develop instructional resources for use in Albuquerque and elsewhere. We also rely on private donations of cash and in-kind resources.

HOW WILL THE FEDERAL GRANT BE USED IN SUPPORT OF YOUR SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES IN ALBUQUERQUE? The grant was an initiative of Senator Domenici's office and was primarily designed to facilitate the spread of Character Counts around New Mexico. It is channeled to us through the State Department of Education and we in turn must expend the funds in support of the goals as specified in the grant which are primarily aimed at school aged children. There are some monies allocated in support of public awareness activities but very little in support of anything that is not tied to educational programs and the extension of Character Counts educational activities into other parts of the state. Frankly, if we were writing the grant specifications today, we would expand them to address the evolving needs that we have seen beyond the classroom in our own community. Nevertheless, we are appreciative of the support from the Federal government as it will ultimately benefit the citizens of New Mexico in raising awareness of Character Counts.

HOW MUCH OF THE CHARACTER COUNTS BUDGET IS RELATED TO ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEAD? Our administrative needs have been almost totally defrayed by the Federal grant. From a programmatic point of view, there is virtually no administrative overhead that we must defray.

WHAT IS THE LONG TERM GOAL OF CHARACTER COUNTS IN ALBUQUERQUE? While we hope to improve the ethical sensitivity and behavior of all of our citizens, this will be a very long term process and somewhat difficult to measure concretely. We believe, however, that we will have been successful if over the next three to five years we significantly raise community awareness of the six pillars of character. We must integrate these principles into our schools, homes, work places, and recreational environments to positively influence the development of "people of character" in our community and throughout our state.

WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH CHARACTER COUNTS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE? There are over 30 active organizations throughout the state. We are aware of considerable interest in other cities and plan to assist spreading Character Counts throughout New Mexico.