Unpacking power, privilege and prejudice: Resident volunteers learn to lead with eye on diversity at national NeighborWorks training
Washington, D.C., Oct. 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Oct. 27-30, NeighborWorks America will bring more than 400 resident leaders from across the country together in Charlotte, North Carolina, for leadership training and to create action plans at the annual Community Leadership Institute. Amid growing economic and social disparities in the U.S., NeighborWorks America knows that when you provide resident leaders who have passion and expertise in their community with leadership training, you give them the skills to go back and chip away at the inequities in their neighborhoods.
NeighborWorks America will provide community leaders the opportunity to gather with others and inspire, connect and celebrate the barriers overcome the last two years. Then the Community Leadership Institute Class of 2022 can return home to complete their community project to “make their mark” where they live.
“NeighborWorks America has a deep history in supporting local resident leaders to create solutions to their community’s most pressing challenges,” said NeighborWorks America President & CEO Marietta Rodriguez. “We know communities achieve better outcomes for everyone when residents have a say in community change -- residents who live there and know the unique needs of their neighborhoods.”
Since the first national Community Leadership Institute in 2008, NeighborWorks America has trained over 10,000 community leaders and provided over $3 million to support resident-led community projects. 2018 Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership honoree J’Tanya Adams (Charlotte, North Carolina) will attend this year’s event. She developed a neighborhood hub that includes student housing and community conference space and initiated the founding of Historic West End Partners, a nonprofit that advances the cultural identity of the neighborhood. As a result of Adams’s work, youth have a safe place to pursue their interests and connect with others.
Community Leadership Institute participants responded to the pandemic with projects such as food distribution, socially distanced home or phone visits with vulnerable households, vaccine clinics, and providing laptops and free Wi-Fi to residents.
The projects from last year’s Community Leadership Institute included a training for neighborhood leaders that addressed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color; book drives that provided books written by Black, Brown and Indigenous authors to local schools; and food distribution to residents.
Since its inception, NeighborWorks America has remained committed to showing that communities are positioned to thrive when residents are engaged and involved in their growth and planning. Follow NeighborWorks America on social media (#NWcommunity), tag NeighborWorks America @neighborworks and visit NeighborWorks.org to learn more about how resident leadership and community engagement are at the core of NeighborWorks America’s work.
About NeighborWorks America
For more than 40 years, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp., a national, nonpartisan nonprofit known as NeighborWorks America, has strived to make every community a place of opportunity. Our network of excellence includes nearly 250 members in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. NeighborWorks America offers grant funding, peer exchange, technical assistance, evaluation tools, and access to training as the nation's leading trainer of housing and community development professionals. NeighborWorks network organizations provide residents in their communities with affordable homes, owned and rented; financial counseling and coaching; community building through resident engagement; and collaboration in the areas of health, employment and education.
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