GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS!

More then 30 representatives from many of Lincoln, Nebraska's diverse neighborhoods are learning a variety of leadership skills through a new workshop series called "Great Neighborhoods!"

LEFT: Trainees at the first Great Neighborhoods! workshop discuss leadership in the eyes of the "follower."
RIGHT: Reshell Ray leads the class through the topic of managing meetings and groups.

The program targets 15 low to moderate income neighborhoods. Many of these are home to a large number of new Americans who have arrived in Lincoln during the past decade through immigrant refugee resettlement programs. The school district in Lincoln, a city of approximately 250,000 people, now teaches English as a second language to children who speak 53 separate dialects.

 

In addition to increasing diversity, strong neighborhood leadership and active citizen participation are needed to address a number of other circumstances and challenges, such as the high rate of absentee landowners, aging physical infrastructure, higher than average crime rates, as well as massive redevelopment efforts currently being planned.

Great Neighborhoods! participants attend monthly sessions encompassing a variety of training topics: Leadership Styles and Practices, Managing Meetings and Groups, Strengthening Membership, Building Media Relations, Partnering with City Hall, Vision into Action and Fundraising Strategies. The workshops are held on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. Eight trainers specializing in different focus areas are conducting the sessions.

This new Heartland Center program is a collaborative effort with the City of Lincoln Urban Development Department and Neighborhoods, Inc. Major support is provided by the Woods Charitable Fund, Inc.

 

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