The Values, Ethics, and Social Action (VESA) minor at Allegheny College has been an academic program since 1999. This article describes the unique strengths of VESA and some of the institutional and conceptual challenges faced by the program and presents details of practices employed to meet these challenges in order to sustain this community engagement program. One of the most promising practices is to align the program firmly with the recent strategic plan for the college. The VESA program embodies the mission of the college, demonstrating how civic participation is a valuable foundation for liberal arts institutions. (Contains 6 footnotes.)