Public Policy Leadership Training recognizes past participants

New session begins July 17

NorthWay Community Trust and The Public Policy Project will present an eight-month Northside Poverty Advocacy Training program beginning Thursday, July 17. The group will meet twice a month to focus on effectively addressing policy decisions, proactively organizing around legislative issues and building working relationships with other low-income residents from around the state who are working to end poverty in Minnesota. To enroll or for more information, contact NorthWay, 612-521-4500, Loren Niemi, 651-271-6349, or James Trice, 612-722-1677.

On June 23, NorthWay held its first community recognition event in honor of 40 individuals from the 2006-2007 NorthWay Public Policy Neighborhood Leadership Training program at Babalú Latin Caribbean Restaurant in Minneapolis. The keynote speaker was Mahmoud El-Kati, a well-known community elder and educator, who spoke on the importance of community commitment and open communication with all in the community.

Program participants praised Loren Niemi and James Trice of The Public Policy Project and Wesley Walker of NorthWay for their valuable insight and influence. Guest speaker Tamara Ward, an early participant in the program who became a trainer and a member of the NorthWay Board, gave closing remarks on the importance of active involvement and continuing leadership and training in the community.

Five participants continued and became trainers in the program. In recognition of their commitment, NorthWay gave the 2008 Village Awards to trainers Cynthia Fernandez, April Foster, Sandy Johnson, Deborah Lewis and Tamara Ward, and presented Terrance Large and Francisco Castillo, the owners of Babalú, with the 2008 Appreciation Award for their community support.

The celebration was coordinated by Loreda Berry and Cynthia Fernandez, both participants in the first session held in 2006.

Be a billboard

The Northside Marketing Task Force (NMTF) is selling t-shirts sporting the North Minneapolis logo. Both black and white shirts in L and XL are available for $10. Anyone interested should contact Allan Malkis, 612-521-4500.

Do you dream of starting your own business?

To strengthen the vitality of North Minneapolis, FREE classes and trainings to help entrepreneurs launch or develop new businesses will be held beginning Wednesday, July 23. The 8-week session will be held from 6-9pm at NorthWay Community Trust, 1501 W. Broadway.

The Great Street Projects is presented by WomenVenture in partnership with US Bank, funded in part by the City of Minneapolis and hosted by NorthWay. For more information, call WomenVenture at 651-251-0724.

Get financially fit

From Debt to Assets: Four Cornerstones of Financial Literacy is a FREE 4-class program held on Tuesday evenings (August 12, 19, 26 and September 3) from 6-9pm at NorthWay Community Trust. All those interested are invited to participate. For more information or to sign up, call Shawna at WomenVenture, 651-251-0710.

Replication Collaborative takes next step

The Replication Collaborative (Subzero Collective, Minneapolis Downtown Council, Grassroots Public Policy Institute and NorthWay Community) continues to explore the feasibility of establishing a Manchester Bidwell Center for Arts and Technology model in North Minneapolis. The feasibility study, a 12-16 month process, assesses community capacity and opportunities to support the development of the Twin Cities Center for Arts and Technology. At a May 19 meeting, community partners agreed that NorthWay should coordinate the feasibility phase, act as fiscal agent and report back to the community. Collaborative partners are currently seeking funding for the $150,000 investment to enter into an agreement with the National Center for Arts and Technology Replication Team.

For more information or to be added to the e-list, contact Lance Knuckles, Outreach Program Manager at 612-521-4500 or lknuckles@northwaycom.org.