Picking the Right Leadership

Recently, someone asked me my thoughts about what characteristics a community leader should possess.  My immediate response was humility.

In order for a person to be a really effective leader, they have to be willing to know their faults, limitations, and weaknesses.  Now, I bet that some people think would have gone in the other direction and said things like "strength", "confidence", and "daring".  While I definitely agree that a leader should have all of those things, I would place the ability to be humble above the others.

Understanding the traits that you don't have allows you to identify and work with those that help compliment your weaker points.  It makes its easier to delegate tasks and empower others to take ownership of what you will need them to do.  It places people into positions of shared powers and allows them to speak more openly and honestly about topics and issues they observe and may have. 

Having this type of equal dynamic is necessary when working as part of a community partnership.  Participants must feel that the role they play is vital to the success and failure of the group and its goal.  Every group is only as important as it members; and the members are every bit as important as its leaders.

Until next time,

-CW

Youth in Washington Height & Inwood Makes Learning A Top Priority (UNIDOS)

Hi all...

Check out this reprinted article from the NYC Prevention Resource Center....

- CW

Fundraiser for Washington Heights & Inwood Youth Council 

Washington Heights/Inwood Youth Representing Agents of Change

The Washington Heights and Inwood Youth Council (WHIYC) is dreaming big and working hard! WHIYC dreamed of creating a free event educating the community about underage drinking and teen pregnancy. They designed flyers and posters as well as speak about personal struggles as teens, how they overcame them, and why teens should make positive decisions for the well-being of their community.

Indeed, they dreamed, worked, and empowered youth to become the agents of change. Now, WHIYC aspires to attend the July 2011 National Youth Leadership Initiative (NYLI) conference in Orange County, California. This conference is sponsored by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA).  The NYLI is a series of intensive workshops that enhances their abilities to tackle problems in the community. WHIYC needs to raise $13,000 (that's $1300 per member) in order to attend the annual conference.  

The Youth Council has participated in flea markets, written letters to businesses, and soon will coordinate a bake sale at a local Christian academy. The conference helps increase their knowledge on how to identify, address and solve the problems in their community. With these new resources WHIYC will be able to implement what they learned and apply those resources to make evident change. Please help them make the Washington Heights & Inwood community a better and safer place with your donations!
 

Interested in donating...click here
 (Write "UNIDOS Fundraiser" in your donation memo/note)

  

For more information, please contact Othanya Garcia, WHIYC President or Daisy Gil, WHIYC, Vice President at 646-353-4321.  

Attend a Karaoke Night to support the WHIYC

Drug Free Bed Stuy Presents....

DRUG PREVENTION WORKSHOP
FOR PARENTS, CAREGIVERS AND INTERESTED ADULTS
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
6:00pm to 7:30

It’s Prom and Senior Class Trip Season! Parents, caregivers, and all those interested in keeping our youth drug-free.
Learn what is going on in the community and in the minds of the youth to protect your children away from harmful drugs

Learn proactive prevention steps that will reduce substance abuse risks for adolescents

Become empowered to influence youth in your life


Workshop presented by Drug Free Bed-Stuy Coalition
and will be held at:

Macon Branch
Brooklyn Public Library
361 Lewis Ave. at Macon St.
Brooklyn, NY 11233

For more information contact:brooklyncircles@gmail.com
or
Christine Fonseca at 212-252-7001

Glimspe of the Future By Looking at the Past

Recently, I had the opportunity to check out a long standing community partnership/coalition in the Bronx as saw firsthand where many of the new group want to end up.  On a sunny and warm afternoon in a quiet and very unassuming building, close to twenty people representing a wide variety of community interests and institutions attended their last coalition meeting before summer break.  Surrounded by shelves filled with materials from several Evidence Based Practices they have implemented in the community, the members of the Throggs Neck Community Action Partnership (TNCAP)  brainstormed ideas on where to conduct a community survey around underage drinking; listened to the local precinct representative report on staff changes that could affect their crackdown on C-summons distributed in the area, and recounted some of the great work that had been accomplished over the winter months such as a Bottle Tagging Campaign during the Holiday season.

As a partnership with more than a decade working together, I was amazed by the genuine enthusiasm shown by its members, many of whom were involved since its formation in 1999.  Despite working independently in local schools, organizations, and civic areas, the members still shared a sense of camaraderie in sharing information and thoughts about how they could make a difference in the community.  As members shared a list of upcoming events, others offered their help and support, saying they would try their best to attend.  It was the air of true friendships and relationships that comes from individuals working towards a common goal.

As I travel across the city and observe new partnerships struggling with the challenges that are natural when trying to figure out the benefits of working with others, it can be a little disheartening to new communities to stay the course as they seek out others to join their cause.  The ability to understand and inspire is a difficult skill and takes time and each person looks for their own reasons to be a part of a partnership.  After all, nobody said this process was easy.  It is a marathon that goes through a lot of hills and valleys and its easy to get turned around on the way.   For the partnerships to have something like TNCAP to model themselves after is a bright spot for everyone.  I applaud TNCAP for everything they have done and the oaths blazed along the way and encourage the new groups to reach out and say hello to the pioneers in the Bronx.

Until next time,

CW

Bed-Stuy Leads the Way!

Your roving Community Watcher is back and this time steps into the community of Bedford Stuyvesant at the Drug Free for Bed-Stuy Prevention Coalition meeting!  The coalition is underway of a leadership transition and has begun to review the roles and responsibilities among current members. As the group decided how they would like to split their duties, they also got down to business to form their next community event.  That event is the Parent Workshop, which will take place at Brooklyn’s Macon Avenue Public Library on Tuesday, June 14^th, start time 5:30 PM until 7:30 PM. The workshop focus is to invite parents from the neighborhood to discuss ways as to what they can do when their children are out of school during the summer months. The topics for the workshop varied from Cracking the Secret Code (Understanding Slang Words for Drugs & Violence) to the Pressure on Being a Teen in Bed-Stuy. The group hasn’t determined a guest speaker as of yet but has enlisted a coalition member to bring her experience and expertise to the table.

And if you would like more information about June 14^th Parent Workshop, please contact Community Development Specialist, Christine Fonseca at 212-252-7001 or cfonseca.acny@alcoholism.org.

And for more information on their next coalition meeting….

Date: Tues, May 24, 2011
Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Place: Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street, 6^th floor conference room
Travel Directions: Click Google Maps

RSVP: Email Deirdre Williams at missdeedee2152@verizon.net

More to come from this Do and Thrive neighborhood.  Now onto the next community!

CW

Time to Figure Out Who They Are

Fresh off the heels of their very successful “Blame it on the Alcohol” youth summit, the Central Harlem Coalition (CHC) finds itself in territory familiar to many coalitions, especially those who are in the beginning stages of the coalition building process. Under their new name and Identity the Central Harlem Coalition is now in a position to build a community-changing, network-building, coalition machine. However, they must figure out the answers to some very important questions. They need to answer some of the identity defining questions that at times can present early obstacles for coalitions in their position.  They must now begin to clarify their vision and mission, membership and recruitment, and develop the very important Memorandum of Understanding.  The coalition has worked hard to get to this point and they are now challenged with the task of building off of and maintaining the momentum that has been established thus far. Although there are many tasks that lie ahead of them, they seem poised to continue this process and begin building the coalition that so many in the community have been asking for.

Until next time,


CW

Harlem Youth Take A Stand Against Underage Drinking (CHC)



Over 70+ kids attended
the Youth Summit
Against
Underage Drinking 



"Even though the title says Blame it on the Alcohol, I have to take full responsibility for what I did."  Those were some of the powerful things that ex-NBA player Luther Wright said to a group of 70+ Harlem teens last week.

Luther was the keynote speaker at the Blame It on The Alcohol: Youth Summit Against Underage Drinking" sponsored by the Central Harlem Coalition and help this past Friday, April 29th. 

As a recovering addict that has turned his life around for the better, Luther casted a large impression (he's also 7'2) on a roomful of kids and adults that gathered to learn about the harmful and negative effects of underage drinking and alcohol abuse, sharing his story of personal struggle of substance abuse, addiction, and redemption.  Following his speech, students engaged in a two-way conversation asking about some of the reasons for his addiction, his fallout and exit from professional sports, and how he is able to cope today with his demons.



A speaker from the DUI panel tells about
her choice to drink & drive



Students were also able to attend two workshops, provided by the Department of Transportation.  The first covered the Physical, Emotional, and financial effects of drinking under the influence.  Students were stunned to learn that one DUI can translate into over $50,000 of fees and payments to a variety of insurance companies, legal and court systems. 

The second was a panel discussion featuring DUI offenders that gave students a realistic view of the impact of drinving drunk, the penal and court system, and allowed them to hear first-hand accounts of what the wrong choice involving alcohol can have on their lives.  

A great job by the Central Harlem Coalition to spread the word about the dangers of alcohol and underage drinking.  

Kudos,

CW