The Multicultural Leadership Program (MCLP) is pleased to announce the four team projects for the Class of 2019. Through their project work, program participants will apply their leadership skills to make a positive impact at local nonprofits that support the community. This year’s projects, selected through a competitive RFP process, are 261 Fearless, Home Sweet Home Ministries, Salvation Army, and the Vladimir Canterbury Sister City Association of Bloomington-Normal.
261 Fearless strives to build an empowering global network of women runners through local running clubs that span Europe and North America. The project goal is to boost membership for Bloomington’s branch of 261 Fearless, so as to create a stronger network of women who feel inspired by running.
Home Sweet Home Ministries supports the homeless by offering shelter, hot meals, clothing and toiletries, children’s programming, case management, and other services to promote independence. This team will research the viability of developing an online marketplace for Home Sweet Home’s Mission Mart, a used clothing and household item thrift store that provides revenue for the organization to operate.
Salvation Army offers various services for McLean County residents, including emergency shelter, transitional housing units, supportive services for families of veterans, and a food panty. MCLP participants will be tasked with developing a training video for volunteers to learn about the history of the agency, receive orientation, and take a virtual tour of the food pantry. In addition, it will be used to recruit volunteers and donors as a means to raise community awareness of the services at Salvation Army.
The Vladimir Canterbury Sister City Association of Bloomington-Normal builds ties with diverse cultures by facilitating exchanges of students, educators, artists, and government officials from Vladimir, Russia, and Canterbury, England. The project goal is to develop a fundraising strategy and a plan to increase international exchanges.
Project teams are assigned based on various assessments in order to build a team made of diverse technical skills, experiences and problem-solving strategies. Project work serves as an incubator through which participants practice the leadership skills they are improving through semi-monthly learning events.