Newsletter 3-3
April - June 2007
Connections for Community Leadership Links:
Program Areas:
- Connections for Community Leadership Home
- LeaderLINKS
- Leadership Development Training
- Supports and Connections
- Informed Communities
- Proud and Powerfull
- CONNECT
Other Links:
- Information for Participants
- Information for Partner Organizations
- Disability History
- Models of Disability
- Model of Leadership
- CCL Newsletter
- CCL Publications
- Contact Us
Communities of Power Links:
New this Quarter | Last Quarter Highlights | Featured Leader | Upcoming Events | Subscribe
New This Quarter
Informed Communities
The purpose of Informed Communities is to educate people with disabilities, friends, families, and advocates about public policy issues that affect the disability community by providing forums throughout the state. At these forums, attendees will hear from the “experts” on a public policy issue and will work together to create an action plan to address the issue in their community.
The first forum is scheduled for July 20, 2007 in Kalamazoo and the topic is home ownership. Far too often, people with disabilities don’t even know that owning their own home is an option. By attending this forum, they will learn that owning a home is possible and that there are several programs to assist people in following that dream. For more information and to register, please contact Melinda Haus-Johnson at 1-866-532-2669 (toll free) or leadership@prosynergy.org.
Funding for Leadership Development Initiatives
CCL has small amounts of funding to support local leadership development initiatives. This year we received 19 applications. After review, CCL will be funding the following programs:
- Social Justice Retreats – Leaven – Conduct outreach and provide scholarships to people with disabilities to attend a variety of social justice retreats.
- We Lead! Kent – ARC of Kent County – Use the We Lead! Curriculum as written.
- We Lead! Huron County – Huron RICC – Use the We Lead! Curriculum adapted to an eight week program for young adults aged 18-30.
- Road to Freedom – Pathways Community Mental Health – 12 week skill building program that will promote the Road to Freedom Bus tour.
- We Lead! Oakland-Macomb – Disability Network: Oakland/Macomb – Use the We Lead! Curriculum for high school juniors through post-secondary aged students.
- Leaders for Action – The Disability Network – Community housing leaders will collaborate, investigate, education, and legislate with the Flint Housing Commission.
- Camp Central – Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District – A teen summer camp with local community service.
- Consumer Leadership Training – Peer Choices – Leadership training for CMH consumers and Drop-In Centers.
- Leadership Institute Program – Michigan Association for Deaf and Hard of Hearing – Leadership program for deaf and hard of hearing high school students ages 16-19.
- Young Adult Project – Washtenaw Association for Community Advocacy – Advocacy training for students ages 18-26.
Proud and Powerful
CCL is asking people with disabilities to send us your thoughts, your work, your stories, ideas, examples of experiences, events, and activities you are proud of which give you a sense of personal value and power. We are interested in gathering such personal pride and power intellectual paraphernalia to share with others with the goal of inspiring leaders and showing the world what a difference people with disabilities can make. By submitting your work, you agree that your submissions can be shared publicly through our newsletter, website, CONNECT E-zine, and other publicity materials.
Proud and Powerful submissions can be made by:
- Email: leadership@prosynergy.org
- Fax: (517) 333-2677
- Mail: Connections for Community Leadership, 780 W. Lake Lansing Rd., Ste 200, East Lansing, MI 48823 (submissions will not be returned)
LEAD ON: A Guide to Starting a Student Organization
This handbook is written from a student’s perspective and is a guide on how to start a student disability organization on a college/university campus. The handbook includes information such as writing a mission statement, how to plan an event, the roles of group advisors, how to deal with conflict, and much more. The guide is currently available in print for $10 and is available free of charge on our publications website.
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Last Quarter Highlights
CCL Receives an Award
We are so proud to announce and humbled that we received the LINC Community Award for support of youth leadership for diversity and inclusion. Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion presented us with this award at the Leadership in the New Century (LINC) Conference in March.
On the Road Again
Staff of CCL is continuing our statewide outreach campaign. We are looking to expand our network of partner organizations, learn about more leadership opportunities, and find more people with disabilities who want to be leaders. Melinda Haus-Johnson recently visited several organizations in the Upper Peninsula and will be spending the majority of the summer conducting outreach throughout the state. We would love for you to join us in our outreach efforts. There are several ways that you can help get the word out: 
- Distribute brochures to emerging leaders and/or organizations interested in becoming partners
- Put information about CCL in your organization’s newsletter
- Place a link to CCL’s website on your organization’s website
- Notify CCL of leadership opportunities and organizations in your community
- Request a CCL presentation for your group or organization
Leadership Development Seminars
CCL staff facilitated two Leadership Development Seminars for organizers promoting disability leadership. The seminars covered a model of leadership development, how to develop leadership skills, and an introduction to the We Lead! Curriculum. Despite the snowstorm, we had a great turnout in Gaylord on April 12th and an even larger number of attendees in Marquette.
Connecting to Your Community
Community Connections held a conference for high school students in special education in Southwest Michigan. CCL staff traveled to Benton Harbor to present a workshop on Pride and Power. The workshop assisted students with disabilities to understand disability culture, pride in self-identifying, and how to be leaders in their own lives and communities.
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Featured Leader
This quarter we would like to feature a partnership between CCL and Michigan State University Extension (MSUE). MSUE offers a variety of Multicultural
Education Programs that focus on increasing awareness of several areas of prejudice, discrimination and oppression, including racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism and ableism. Participants are encouraged to reflect on how they’ve learned to think about human differences and on the widespread tendency to view differences within a monocultural view of “better than/less than” thinking. We applaud MSUE for its excellent job of including disability as part of diversity and multiculturalism. For more information about MSUE and its Multicultural Education Programs visit the Michigan State University Extension website or contact Karen Pace at (517) 432-7628 or pacek@msu.edu.
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Upcoming Events
4th Annual Disability Pride Parade
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Chicago, Illinois
The overall mission of the Disability Pride Parade is to change the way people think about and define “disability”; to break down and end the internalized shame among people with Disabilities; and to promote the belief in society that Disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity in which people living with Disabilities can take pride. For more information about the parade, visit the Disability Pride Parade website.
Are you interested in attending, but worried about the cost of travel? CCL can assist with funding. For more information, email leadership@prosynergy.org or call 1-866-532-2669 (toll free).
Road to Freedom Tour
The mission of Road to Freedom Bus Tour is to alert Americans to the need for Congress to keep the promise of the ADA by restoring the protections that have been eroded over the years. Michigan welcomes the Road to Freedom Tour on the following dates:
Sunday, August 12 in Lansing: 12 pm – 3 pm
A press event at or near the capitol will be followed by a fun, family picnic celebration of the ADA’s 17th Birthday at River Walk Park. For more information, please contact Marsha Moers at the Capital Area for Independent Living (517)241-0393.
Monday, August 13 in Flint: 11 am – 12 pm
The Disability Network will host a media and community leadership event in Flint celebrating the ADA and supporting the ADA restoration Act. For more information, please contact Mike Zelley at (810) 742-1800.
Monday, August 13 at the Mackinac Bridge: 3 pm – 7 pm
A picnic is being planned near the bridge. While the bus is not scheduled to stop, a group is planning to show support by greeting and waving the tour across “Big Mac”. For more information, please contact Amy Maes at the Superior Alliance for Independent Living (SAIL) (906) 228-5744.
Tuesday, August 14 in Marquette: 12 pm – 3 pm
Several organizations are joining together to celebrate the ADA’s 17th birthday and welcome the Tour. A picnic will be held in downtown Marquette with food, music, fun, information from local organizations, and the Road to Freedom Tour. For more information, please contact Amy Maes at the Superior Alliance for Independent Living (SAIL) (906) 228-5744.
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Subscribe
To subscribe to the CCL newsletter, please send an email to leadership@prosynergy.org with "Subscribe" in the subject line. If you need to receive the newsletter in an alternative format such as large print or plain text, please note that in the email or call 1-866-532-2669.
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Connections for Community Leadership is funded by the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council.
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