Update on the Ithaca Leadership Inititative March 9, 2009
Hey everyone! Here is the text of an email we sent out recently. It has some updates, and a call for help!
Hello All!
We are writing to (1) update you on the progress of our program, and (2) ask you to help us recruit facilitators.
First, updates. To some of you, these will be news, to others, they’ll be a little dated, so please bear with us!
–Our program’s tentative name is the Ithaca Leadership Initiative. Subject to change.
–OMEA will fund our program. Their current figure is $10,000.
–We are planning to have our program run from August 10-21, and we are in the midst of negotiating housing with Watermargin Co-op.
–We have further developed our mission and gathered lots of resources. A partial version of our mission/plan is listed below.
–Our project was selected as one of 25 “Ashoka Changemaker” projects on the Cornell campus. Hopefully, this will lead to some great publicity.
–We are happily in contact with and receiving invaluable advice from all of you!
–Our next steps are to solidify contact with Ithaca area sites, put together a group of facilitators, and continue to plan exactly what our program will look like.
Second, a request! The following is our advertisement for facilitators. We would be utterly grateful if you could
–forward it directly to any current freshman, sophomore, or junior whom you think would be valuable to and interested in the ILI program.
–forward it to any organizations or listservs that you think would have an interest
–forward it to any other faculty or staff person who might be interested in the program, or know other students who would be interested.
Thank you so much! We are counting on your support, and are grateful for everything you’ve done for us so far!
Best,
Irene
FACILITATOR ADVERTISEMENT
Subject: Volunteers wanted to staff a pre-orientation program on social justice in the Ithaca and Cornell communities!
Dear Cornell Community Members,
OMEA (Office of Minority Educational Affairs) is recruiting current freshman, sophomores and juniors to facilitate a new pre-orientation program, the Ithaca Leadership Initiative, which will run this summer from August 10-21.
With the Ithaca Leadership Initiative, facilitators will join and lead a small group of new students as they
–Learn about social action and social justice efforts in the Ithaca area and visit Iocal sites and organizations so that they can connect to Ithaca and learn about social inequalities in a concrete way, see what real-world, grassroots activism looks like, and discover programs and people with whom they might work in the future.
–Work with faculty members and each other to build factual and theoretical framework, read personal narratives, listen to speakers, and watch films, and engage in personal and interactive activities and exercises in order to better understand issues of gender, sexuality, religion, ability, race, ethnicity, class, equity, and privilege, and to develop understandings of diversity, leadership, and personal identity.
–Gain exposure to social action in the Cornell and Ithaca communities, write personal statements about themselves and their experiences, and develop personal action plans for moving forward as aware and conscientious members of the Cornell community.
Facilitators will receive training, help to shape program curriculum, and ultimately take part in the growing social justice community here at Cornell. After the program, they will have the opportunity to join and define the mission of OMEA committee on social and community justice.
Interested students must attend one of the following information sessions to receive an application, and can contact isl9@cornell.edu for additional information.
Tuesday, March 31 at 5:30 pm in 103 Barnes Hall,
Thursday, April 2 at 7:00 pm in 103 Barnes Hall,
Friday, April 3 at 3:00 pm in 103 Barnes Hall.
Thank you!
