MCLP Announces Class of 2019 Midterm Presentations
The Multicultural Leadership Program (MCLP) invites the public to the Class of 2019 Midterm Community Project Presentations on Thursday, December 13, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. at the Illinois Wesleyan University Center for Natural Sciences, 201 E. Beecher Street, Bloomington, Illinois. Individuals considering applying to participate in a future MCLP class, or submitting a project proposal for a future class are particularly encouraged to attend.
MCLP is a nine-month intense leadership development program which includes learning events twice per month, individualized mentoring, and project work for local nonprofits. Projects selected for the MCLP Class of 2019 are 261 Fearless, Home Sweet Home Ministries, Salvation Army, and the Vladimir Canterbury Sister City Association of Bloomington-Normal. Teams are designed to be as diverse as possible, providing a variety of skills, experiences and problem-solving strategies.
261 Fearless strives to build an empowering global network of women runners through local running clubs that span Europe and North America. Team members Kathy Sawyer, Marianela Diaz and Tura Dover are working to help 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. MCLP participants Karthikikeyan Baluswamy, Lori Marmion, Sarah Moravec, and BreAune Sajna are partnering with the organization to determine the viability of developing an online marketplace for 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 pantry. MCLP participants Swati Khanna, Tiara Randle, Alag Santhalingam, and Julia Zuñiga Alzamora are 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. Court Hruska, Beth Bradford, and Naoyka Griffis are working with the organization to develop a fundraising strategy and a plan to increase international exchanges.
The public is invited to learn how the diversity of these teams enables them to spark visible change in the local community by attending their midterm presentations on Thursday, Dec. 13 from 5 – 6:30 p.m. and final presentations on Saturday, March 9 from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
A social hour and reception will follow each event.