TOGETHER LET’S WORK TO Build A STRONGER, MORE RESILIENT NATION.

In 2022, a major network debuts a new show featuring discordant Americans finding common ground with political opposites. Hosted by a cast of moderators skilled in breaking down barriers, the series “complicates” simplistic stories, helping all of us see each other in new, nuanced ways. Videos, music, stories, and family photos reveal what holds us together. The nation is riveted by these encounters seeking measures of understanding. And from understanding, new forms of respect.

This country is one that traditionally polls about politics, about candidates, “for” and “against” issues. But Us@250 wanted to question more deeply. In every year since 2021, we surveyed Americans about their shared hopes, beliefs, and ambitions. What did we learn? Each year, we found we had more in common than previously thought.

National service offers a first-hand experience of shared suffering, shared needs, and shared humanity. In 2021, as part of Us@250, an unprecedented range of organizations created America’s most comprehensive national service program. We grew from about 75,000 Americans committing a year of service through AmeriCorps to more than 2.5 million participating in the program, which is funded for the first time by state and Federal legislation. The program evolves what was once mostly associated with youth into a multi-generational commitment.

Our political system was designed for the majority, not minorities. We are becoming a plural nation. Our political system must reflect this. To channel a wider spectrum of political views, we’ve advocated for a multiparty democracy, including an electoral system that does not punish new parties and encourages candidates to reach out beyond their own. To this end, a coalition of political reform groups pooled time, resources, and funding over five years to secure major electoral reforms in 25 states.

In the years leading up to 2026, images on billboards and on buses, in subway stations and at train stops, reminded America of how we’ve worked together in the past to improve our country. From passing child labor laws to making public high school education free, Americans have a history of banding together across divides to make life more liveable. In 2026, we ask, What else shall we do for each other?

We know so little about each other. When shared, our stories of love and loss, care and challenge, pain and joy, learning and possibility help us see more. In 2026, we celebrated recording #25Million. Inspired by StoryCorps, people downloaded an easy-to-use app and invited family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and people they did not previously know to record a conversation about who we are. Then we all listened in.

We created a rich, gorgeous, poignant photo essay of our country and it became the largest national photographic effort ever attempted by a nation. In viewing this collection—and seeing how it grows and expands every day—many have seen themselves in one another.

When does your American story start? Each person on these shores is encouraged to preserve for posterity their founding story, in whatever form that takes. What choices and sacrifices have been made? What is the legacy of our ancestors today? Every photo, story, and recording will be preserved in the Library of Congress, forever.

In 2026, teachers in U.S. classrooms ask students to write a letter to a student either 10 years from now or 250 years from now, describing their lives, aspirations, what worries them, and what they hope the country will look like in 2,036 or 2,276. The time capsules are sealed, to be opened in 10 and 250 years, but the letters are shared on social media, getting America to richly contemplate the future we must build for our youth.

More than 100 million Americans curated individual soundtracks for America; the sharing of these songs, lyrics, and personal meanings became the new handshakes and hat tips. Americans shared freely and openly, creating new moments of celebration and connection.

Food is a powerful convener and millions of people experienced that power as Us@250 potlocks sprouted up around the country. The invitation: Share a meal with some people you know and others you don’t. Ask each other what you dream for America.