LEAD SAN DIEGO CONTINUES COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY SERVICE
Six Nonprofit Organizations Benefited from IMPACT San Diego Class of 2013 Leadership Action Teams 

LEAD San Diego annually renews its commitment to community service through its Leadership Action Team Initiative, the service-learning component of its 10-month signature program, IMPACT San Diego. 

This year, 56 talented, community service-minded individuals were not only equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively lead on a wide range of civic and community issues, but also had the opportunity to help local nonprofits that serve low- to moderate-income or traditionally under-represented communities.

IMPACT participants were grouped into Leadership Action Teams (LATs) which were deployed to lend their help and expertise on individualized projects for partner agencies. By harnessing the talents, energies and resources of its class members, LEAD makes substantive, positive changes in organizations that impact San Diego’s underserved communities in meaningful ways. Oftentimes, LEAD participants remain involved with their LAT partner agencies in volunteer capacities long after their projects conclude. Since 2003, 60 area nonprofit organizations have benefited from the efforts of LEAD San Diego LATs.

The following are the partner nonprofit agencies selected for the 2013 IMPACT Class:
 

Catholic Charities - The Tomorrow Project provides individualized work-readiness training opportunities for homeless and very low income women within the context of a business/product assembly environment. In the project, homeless women participate in the production of a line of gourmet food products, including soups, rubs, rice and baking mixes. LEAD’s LAT will develop a sales and marketing plan for The Tomorrow Project, a program of Catholic Charities’ Homeless Women’s Services Department.

Educational Enrichment Systems (EES) creates opportunities for the underserved to become future leaders through quality early education. To ensure EES has the financial stability to fulfill this mission, the organization has begun offering tuition-based preschool slots to local families whose incomes exceed the limits for subsidized preschool. The expertise of LEAD’s LAT will help EES establish a fee-for-service program as a means to preserve and expand its availability to low-income families.

Emilio Nares Foundation provides families with information, life-enhancing programs and support to empower parents to become proactive patient advocates and focus on the needs of their children during cancer treatment. LEAD’s LAT will develop a marketing plan for the organization, including a plan to help sell the Loving Tabs shirt, a medical garment designed to resemble a standard T-shirt that provides easy access to attach medical devices to the patient’s chest. Sales of the Loving Tabs shirt will help subsidize the Foundation’s programs to assist families with children who are battling childhood cancer.

Feeding America San Diego (FASD) exists to feed the hungry, to advocate and to educate. In four years, FASD has grown from distributing three million pounds of food in the 2007-08 fiscal year to more than 21.5 million pounds in 2011-12. LEAD’s LAT will assist FASD in the development of a three-year strategic plan (fiscal years 2014-17) that maps out goals and objectives and positions FASD to serve as an effective member of the hunger relief community.

North County Trade Tech High School is a unique career technical program designed specifically to reduce the frequency of high school dropouts and engage at-risk students in a rigorous and relevant learning program designed to prepare them for college, apprenticeships and careers in the green building, architecture and engineering sectors. Building on the success of the program, LEAD’s LAT will develop a comprehensive strategic plan to support replication and/or dissemination of its innovative learning model.

San Diego Rescue Mission, founded in 1955, believes in the inherent worth of every homeless man, woman and child. To help meet the changing needs of San Diego’s homeless and needy populations, LEAD’s LAT will perform a feasibility study to investigate the operation of a free, on-site day care center for homeless children aged 0-5 years. The objective of the center is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for San Diego Rescue Mission clients’ children so their parents are able to attend school or work.

Results of the Leadership Action Team projects were presented at the IMPACT San Diego project showcase and class graduation on Friday, June 7, 2013.

If you know of a deserving organization in our region that would benefit from a Leadership Action Team initiative next year, please email Sherrie-Lyn Thompson, Vice President, or call 619.280.5323.