Community foundation aims to train neighbourhood leaders

The Hamilton (Ontario) Community Foundation has launched an innovative new program aimed at training leaders in their neighborhood, developing skills in project management, conflict resolution, grant writing and self-advocacy. In February, the second year of the foundation's Neighbourhood Leadership Institute will offer four-month sessions; at the end of the course, participants could have access to a grant of as much as $500 to help launch their idea.

Inspiration for the program comes from grassroots efforts in several U.S. cities, such as Cleveland, Denver, Milwaukee and Syracuse, said Sarah Glen, co-ordinator of the local leadership initiative. The program can help community leaders make vital progress in projects they're interested in. For example, this past summer the Beasley Neighborhood Association in Hamilton was successful in completing a project that saw an elaborate mural painted on the Beasley Park Centre. The Neighborhood Leadership Institute can help groups such as this by helping to develop the leadership strengths necessary in accomplishing community projects.

(Photo credit sylvianickerson.ca)