In an effort to create a more-skilled workforce, the Delta Regional Authority has invested more than $109,000 in the STAND Foundation to provide leadership and skills training to residents in the Arkansas Delta.
“There is no resource greater to a community than that of its human capital and the want to contribute,” STAND Foundation Board President Kasey Summerville said in the news release Wednesday. “Whenever this resource is untapped, the community loses. This grant will aid us in our mission to empower burgeoning leaders in undeserved communities.”
With the investment of $109,492, STAND will recruit up to 30 participants at each of its four targeted training sites to participate in the Delta Leadership Project, which consists of a combination of the STAND Leadership Institute and STAND Up Leadership Training Program. The four training sites have been identified as Arkansas Northeastern College, Southeast Community College, Southern Arkansas University and Mid-South Community College.
Training participants will be recruited from within a 60-mile radius of the training sites. The recruiting umbrella means possible participants could reside in Mississippi, Union, Ouachita, Crittenden, Ashley or Columbia counties.
The project hopes to address a shortage in trained leaders, a problem that has been identified by area employers, the release states.
“Having a strong network of local leaders is a critical part of the growth and sustainability of the Delta region,” Federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority Chris Masingill said in the release. “By cultivating the leadership skills of Arkansas Delta residents, we are taking crucial steps toward building vibrant communities and a strong economy for the Delta region.”
The leadership project’s goal is to propagate leadership techniques, important life skills, self-reliance, creativity, conflict-resolution and team-building skills by way of hands-on learning, enrichment activities, speakers, case studies and online training.
The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership congressionally-mandated to help create jobs and build jobs in the more than 250 counties and parishes of the Delta region.
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