A program designed to promote professional and leadership opportunities for individuals earning low-to-moderate incomes is being introduced locally, coordinated through Central Missouri Community Action, Audrain City-County Health Unit, Missouri Association for Community Action, Missouri State Community Services Block Grant office, and University of Missouri Extension.

Entitled "Step Up To Leadership," the program's curriculum is intended to develop applicable leadership skills and life-long learning tools among participants. Included among its many lessons is diversity training, participation with non-profit and for-profit boards, public speaking, the organizational Robert's Rules of Order methodology, budget reviews, conflict resolution, grant writing, legal matters, and writing resumes and press releases.

The program is free-of-charge, offered to any qualified individual interested in making a difference in the community, improving their personal situation, and willing to attend all 12 sessions of the course. Application for entry into the program – which includes assistance from other local enterprises, including Audrain Medical Center and the League of Women Voters of Mexico-Audrain County – is due Friday. Applications can be obtained at the CMCA Audrain County Family Resource Center at 3626 South Clark in Mexico. The program itself begins June 19 at Mexico First Presbyterian Church, with sessions conducted each week from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

A light dinner will be served during each meeting, and a $20 stipend per meeting is also available to assist participants with childcare and transportation costs. Leadership graduates who participate in a community organization or group may be eligible to apply for a mini-grant, ranging from $100 to $500 to support their group.

"The boards that I sit on are constantly looking to hear from all socio-economic levels in the community," stated ACCHU Administra-tor Kevin Lowrance. "And the voices that aren't being heard are the ones that in a lot of ways are most important. So this program allows the people that are in lower socio-economic levels to develop necessary skills. And it provides them with the opportunity to facilitate change in the community, and better themselves and others in that socio-economic class."

"During the 'Step Up To Leadership' workshop sessions, I met ordinary people, just like me, who all had special skills or passions they wanted to share with others," stated Gail Reynoso, a 2004 graduate of a pilot workshop of the program, and currently victim advocate for the Coalition Against Rape and Domestic Violence of Callaway County. "Together we found our voices ... and began to understand that we had as much to offer communities as anyone else. I cannot say enough about what the 'Step Up To Leadership' workshop did for me. I wish it had been available to me years before it was. The benefits ... are long-lasting and far-reaching. Building leadership in our communities is the key to a strong and secure future."

For more information about the program, contact the local CMCA office at (573) 582-7864, or ACCHU at (573) 581-1332.