Chris Evans heads to Washington, DC to engage first-time voters ahead of the 2024 election.
On Tuesday morning, Evans and actor Mark Kassen — who co-founded the bipartisan civic engagement website A Starting Point in 2020 — are bringing dozens of high school seniors to the White House for a conversation about youth engagement in American politics, specifically focusing on primary issues affecting young people people today, such as economic opportunities, job creation and climate action.
A number of senior White House officials will also answer questions, including Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyem and former Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, who heads the White House Office of Public Engagement.
The event, which will be broadcast live from the White House at 10 a.m. ET, is part of A Starting Point’s broader campaign to encourage civil debate around key policy issues and engage people in the democratic process.
The Personal Journey Behind Chris Evans’ Surprising New Project — Political Website: ‘We Have the Power’
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during a press briefing. Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Evans, PEOPLE’s 2022 Sexiest Man Alive, is no stranger to the political debate. When he was looking for a new initiative to launch ahead of the last presidential election, he wanted something that could have real impact.
“We live in a country of more than 300 million people, I think only about 60 percent of the people voted [in the last election],” he told PEOPLE 2020. “In my opinion, you’re going to have a hard time creating a government that accurately reflects who we are as a nation with those numbers.”
Chris Evans, Sexiest Man Alive 2022, shares his ‘sexy’ mid-term message
Coming from a political family and feeling determined to help others find their voice, Evans came up with the idea to tackle voter engagement. So he — together with his Before we go colleague Kassen and tech entrepreneur Joe Kiani — launched a website that could expose Americans to a variety of political viewpoints and encourage them to cast informed votes at the ballot box.
“There are a lot of things you can do as an actor with your name on it,” he said the Avengers said the star. “I could make a drink – I’m not putting anyone off that, I love a drink – but there’s no denying that I played a certain character [as Captain America]and it happens to coincide with part of my nature in terms of being someone who is politically engaged and who cares about the well-being of people in this country.”
Chris Evans launches ‘A Starting Point’ website to help Americans get real facts on which to vote
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Olivia Rodrigo and President Joe Biden are encouraging Generation Z to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2021. Official White House photo: Adam Schultz
The joint White House event with Evans and Kassen comes on the heels of a number of celebrity appearances organized by the Biden administration — each with its own unique, bipartisan message.
Last year, the cast Ted Lasso joined a White House press briefing to talk about the importance of mental health care; after the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022, Matthew McConaughey of Uvalde gave an impassioned speech calling for comprehensive solutions to gun violence; and after the COVID-19 vaccine was released, Gen Z sensation Olivia Rodrigo i Higher level singer Ciara each had her moment to encourage young people to get vaccinated.
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Source: HIS Education