Michael Bidwill thought back to a conversation he had with the late Sandra Day O'Connor.
The former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States attended a game with the owner of the Cardinals and challenged Bidwill to become involved with civic education.
Bidwill did that, starting the annual Civics Matters Arizona program in 2022, an initiative which sends over 275 students to Washington, DC, to see the inner workings of government. On Tuesday, Bidwill and the Cardinals took that request to another level, welcoming nearly 100 elected officials, non-profit leaders, organizations, and others to honor "National Civic Learning Week" at the Phoenix Art Museum.
Governor Katie Hobbs signed a proclamation to make the week official.
"We were meeting with a number of different organizations to pull together everybody who is working on civics in Arizona so that we can work together," Bidwill said. "As we know in football, 11 individuals on the field doesn't lead to great results, but when we play as a team, we have great results. That's what we're focused on."
In conjunction with the different groups, Bidwill announced that the Cardinals will have become the first team in the NFL to join CivxNow, a non-profit organization founded by O'Connor with the goal of improving youth civic education.
Bidwill said the Cardinals App will soon feature various organizations and serve as a portal for opportunities in civic education.
The app will be a platform for students to learn more about Civics Matters Arizona, the all-expenses four-day trip to the nation's capital which will provide a life-changing experience to those from Title I communities.
"We want to be a champion in the community," Bidwill said. "This is an area where we can highlight the great work so many organizations around our state are doing. We're going to continue to work hard, shine a light on them, and highlight civics education, character education, financial literacy with our students of Arizona. It's going to make us a better state going forward."
New programming will continue to develop throughout the year, including city- and county-wide competitions and potentially a civics day field trip to State Farm Stadium.
At the breakfast, plenty of stories about O'Connor and her impact were shared. Her words are a gentle reminder that more can be done.
"She wanted this education to continue," Bidwill said. "The kids that understand civics are going to be better going forward."
