The purpose of this commentary is to explore the intersection of creativity, civic engagement, and literacy instruction that takes into consideration real-world concerns. The authors define and consider recent work on creativity and utilize Westheimer's model of citizenship to frame an example of adolescents engaged in both purposeful literacies and civic engagement in a project in which the authors are currently involved. They advocate for providing students with the opportunity to investigate global issues that matter to them while engaging in literacies to address those issues.