From its flagship adult program to the ever-expanding network of area high schools participating in its three youth programs, local nonprofit Leadership Toledo has a far-reaching impact on the region.
“Anyone who cares about our community and wants to be a person of impact should participate in Leadership Toledo,” said board member Sara Best, who graduated from the program in 2009. “[Class members gain] just a better sense of the community as a whole and how all the key elements are interrelated and must be collaborative. It’s a chance to see a bigger picture and you recognize, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s so much good going on in Toledo.’”
The program is also great for networking, said Best, who is director of the Board Catalyst Institute at Aly Sterling Philanthropy.
“It’s great exposure for companies,” Best said. “I got to meet a lot of really cool people. It created a great learning environment.”
Leadership Toledo’s annual fundraising breakfast, set for March 15, is expected to draw more than 600 community leaders. Best will speak along with Executive Director Dave Schlaudecker, Director of Community Impact Kristina White and Notre Dame Academy student Jenny Kim.
“Because we charge no tuition for any of the youth programs, it’s imperative we raise the funds necessary to offer the students in every one of our high schools in the Northwest Ohio area the opportunity to participate,” Schlaudecker said.
A portion of funds raised by Restaurant Week Toledo, held Feb. 2 through March 2, was donated to Leadership Toledo’s youth programs.
Best’s 15-year-old son, Noah, a sophomore at St. Francis de Sales High School, is part of this year’s Youth Leadership Toledo class.
“Like a lot of the kids in the program, he’s a high achiever, gets good grades, is good at sports and a natural leader, but I can tell he is being pushed outside of his comfort zone quite a bit,” Best said.
“They are really learning how their life fits inside of a much bigger picture and how to maximize it. I see him chewing on this stuff and applying it where he’s never thought of applying it before and that’s a good thing.”
Leadership Toledo offers four programs: one adult program and three youth programs.
Students in Action
Students in Action (SIA), a component of the national Jefferson Awards for Public Service, recognizes area students for community volunteer work.
Since starting in four local schools as a pilot program in 2008, the program has expanded into 31 schools. Participating students have logged 213,000 service hours this school year.
“One of the things I think is really neat is a group of our Students in Action school leaders formed a council to get together about once a month to talk about what they’re doing and share ideas,” Schlaudecker said.
“That was their idea, their initiative and it was new this year. It’s not about competition amongst schools. It’s about all the schools getting together to do the best they can to serve their communities.”
Lake High School senior Trevor Walsh and Maumee High School senior Grant Buehrer came up with the idea for the advisory board after talking with White.
“For its first year, it’s definitely been a big step forward,” Walsh said. “It’s a growing process. It has its flaws, but every meeting we’re bringing up something new and eventually we’ll have a strong board that’s meeting on a regular basis that will create a bigger impact on SIA and at those different schools.”
Walsh, who is helping organize Lake’s first schoolwide service project in April, got connected with local nonprofit Food for Thought through SIA and now serves weekly.
“When I first started the program I knew I wanted to volunteer. I just didn’t know how,” Walsh said. “If there’s any school that doesn’t have SIA, I think they need to get it. It really is a great program and it really is getting kids involved.”
St. Ursula was recently chosen to represent the Toledo region in Washington, D.C., at this year’s national Jefferson Awards. Springfield High School represented the region last year, finishing third. The year before that it was Lake.
“I was totally blown away. It’s a huge honor,” said Kevin Shannon, St. Ursula’s director of campus ministries. “Service has always been a part of our school. It’s who we are; it’s what we do. Like Leadership Toledo, we believe very strongly it’s key that young people have leadership roles in doing service. To be recognized for something that is so important to us, on a national level, is amazing.”
St. Ursula senior Marla Kumor said her favorite part of serving is “seeing the looks on people’s faces when you help them out.”
“A little act for them can change their whole week,” Kumor said. “You don’t always know the impact you’re having on them, but it’s something.”
“[Helping people] gives you a feeling that you actually did something with your time as opposed to just sitting at home or hanging out with friends,” added St. Ursula freshman Colleen Matthews. “It’s more of a lasting feeling.”
SIA schools often see a “culture shift” occur, with service becoming something students want to do rather than have to do or introduces them to service for the first time, Schlaudecker said.
Students in Action/Youth Jefferson Awards expanded into Toledo Public Schools in 2011. Waite High School principal David Yenrick said Waite has always been a community service-oriented school.
“We’ve always tried to instill giving back to the community,” Yenrick said. “I was always raised that it’s better to give than to receive and I think it gives students a good feeling of self-esteem when they do something good. We’re celebrating our 100th anniversary next year and the theme is “100 Years of Loyalty, Tradition and Service,” so we think highly enough of service that it’s included as one of the three words to describe our school.”
The drive to serve stays with students after they graduate, said St. Ursula President Mary Werner.
“It’s laying the groundwork of what these girls will do in the rest of their lives,” Werner said.
Youth program
Youth Leadership Toledo (YLT) is a nine-month program for select high school sophomores that focuses on developing leadership, teamwork and problem-solving skills with an emphasis on exploring and resolving issues faced by the local community. This year’s class includes 53 students from 32 regional high schools working on eight service projects. Since 1998, 697 students have participated.
“What we see is a tremendous amount of individual personal growth,” Schlaudecker said. “They come to understand and appreciate their talents to be leaders.”
Kim, a 2012 YLT graduate, said she gained confidence and met a group of diverse but like-minded students through YLT.
“It was an amazing opportunity to meet more people from other schools who were passionate about the things I’m passionate about, like helping others,” Kim said. “That was what really drew me in. They’ve pushed me to be better at what I do and inspired me a lot.
“Not every single leader is going to be the same. Leaders can be outspoken or soft-spoken,” Kim said. “YLT pushed me to strive for bigger leadership positions in school rather than settling for the safe route.”
Schuyler Stupica, a sophomore at Notre Dame and member of this year’s YLT class, said she enjoyed the program from the start.
“I realized that I am a part of a very unique and empowered group of teenagers,” Stupica wrote in an email. “The first meeting was so enjoyable that the minute it ended, I already started looking forward to the next one. It was really refreshing to see so many teenagers energized to make a difference in their community, and I know I am going to learn a lot from my YLT class. I know this is going to be an amazing and unique experience, and I can’t wait to see how my leadership skills improve because of YLT.”
Kurt Elfering, a sophomore at St. Francis de Sales, said he’s learned etiquette and job interview and public speaking skills through YLT as well as met new friends.
“Everyone who has the opportunity to do it should definitely do it because it’s an awesome experience,” Elfering said.
YIPEE
Youth in Philanthropy Encouraging Excellence (YIPEE) is a program for high school juniors and seniors who are graduates of YLT. Twenty-seven students from 17 schools have spent the school year identifying issues and raising money to donate to local nonprofits. Last year, the program raised $17,500; this year’s goal is $20,000.
YIPEE offers a chance to apply skills learned in YLT, Kim said.
“It seems kind of impossible that the fundraisers we planned have as much impact, but they do. The small things kind of pile up. It’s been an eye-opening experience,” Kim said. “It’s rekindled the love and passion I have. It’s neat to see how much it’s going to impact other people and these few hours we give every other week will change so many people’s lives. It’s just so powerful.”
Adult program
The adult program is a nine-month curriculum that hones leadership skills with an emphasis on exploring and resolving local issues. This year’s class has 45 participants representing 39 organizations and working on projects with seven local nonprofits. Since 1980, 1,351 adults have participated in the program.
Kimberly Minke, a professor of psychology at Owens Community College and a member of this year’s class, said the program is a perfect complement to her role as director of Owens’ Leadership Academy.
“There’s a lot of parallels between the two programs,” Minke said. “Ideas have gone both ways. I’ve been able to bring things from the Leadership Academy to Leadership Toledo and things I’ve learned in Leadership Toledo I’ve been able to take back to the Leadership Academy.
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” Minke said. “It seems that each meeting we’ve had just exposed one new treasure in Toledo after another. Leadership Toledo is learning about all the jewels we have in our community.
“It’s a lot of time and involvement, but it’s been so worth it,” Minke said.
Applications to join the 2014 Leadership Toledo class are now being accepted. The form can be completed at www.leadershiptoledo.org or by calling the office at (419) 241-7371.
For more information, visit www.leadershiptoledo.org.
