University of Missouri Extension Office is offering leadership training through The Neighborhood Leadership Academy (NLA) starting September 13 through November 15.
This program will emphasize community building principles and strategies, project planning, organizational leadership and management practices and personal leadership skills through different seminars, discussions and personal community projects.
These community improvement projects will benefits the participants community or neighborhood. This could be in the form of proposing and implementing a community garden, forming a neighborhood association to encourage more community involvement, planning and obtaining funding for parks or raising funds for school-based cultural enrichment programs.
"Businesses even non-profit organizations, anybody, even just regular citizens would benefit from it because Neighborhood Leadership is about building out the bench of people who are involved in their local community," said Osage, Cole and Callaway County Engagement Specialist in Community Economic Development, Elizabeth Anderson. "Sometimes it can feel like the same people volunteer for stuff again and again and the best way to help with that is by bringing new people in and so this program is all about helping people expand their capacity for those kind of community development activities."
The Neighborhood Leadership Academy participants are actively involved in their neighborhoods and represent communities from all over Missouri. They are usually, but not limited to, neighborhood association members, community leaders, resident volunteers, community-based organization staff, business owners, local government staff or municipal elected officials. Those who successfully complete the program will receive a "Certificate in Neighborhood Leadership" from the Chancellor of the University of MissouriSt. Louis.
"It used to be smaller and regional, but this is the second year it's been Missouri-wide with regional cohorts," said Anderson.
This year will primarily be virtual via Zoom, but there may be potential for some in-person learning.
"I think its really important to get people involved in their communities," said Anderson. "And that doesn't have a one size fits all approach, not everybody wants the same things out of their communities, but you can't make that happen without going through planning and getting people together and that's exactly what NLA is helping people learn how to do."
For more information, visit https://extension.missouri.edu/events/neighborhood-leadership-academy-1619637818 or the MU Extension Facebook page.