Leadership Development Program for Maryland

-------------- 1.) You are invited ---------------------------------

Hello Sierra Club Maryland Activist,
This is Laurel at the Sierra Club Maryland Office. I want to invite you to participate in Sierra Club's leadership development program (LDP). This exciting program arose from the recognition of our need to bring in, train and keep new volunteers, to improve how we work together to develop plans and accomplish our goals, and to increase the numbers of leaders in all our groups and chapters across the country.

In this time of environmental catastrophe, to meet the challenges of global warming and human pressures, it is crucial that the environmental community build and connect to become a broad social movement. LDP will give us tools to transform the Sierra Club to achieve the great potential we have in Maryland.

LDP is different from other trainings:

1. It trains people together, over time, with support in between workshops.
2. Participants work on their own projects.
3. It’s hands on – you learn a concept and apply it.

LDP in 2008 will require

1. A commitment of 3 weekends Friday night through Sunday afternoon
2. A majority of each entity’s leaders voting to participate or the agreement of those folks at home to support the outcomes you generate. 5 or so people should participate from your excom.
3. About 9 hours of reading or completing surveys
4. Two conference calls
5. Time spent working on your individual and group goals in between workshops - which means applying lessons learned to your own work

The cost is up to $250 which we will work to reduce by choice of venue and that groups or the chapter may subsidize - in addition, National will spend about $500 per participant. Applications are on a first come first serve basis due to a limited number of facilitators available so the sooner we apply to be a site the better.

6 teams maximum can be trained at a time so we will take more than one session  to get all Maryland groups trained .  Already several Virginia and Washington DC groups are applying for Spring 2008. Some of our Maryland groups could apply to get trained then.

We will set up a conference call to hear from and ask questions of people in the 4 chapters across the country who participated as guinea pigs in the pilot project where we developed the curriculum.

Please call  301-277-7111 or email maryland.chapter@sierraclub.org  and check out the websites below for more information about LDP.

It is exactly what we need.

----------2.) On-line info about LDP---------------------

For the clubhouse you need a username and password. Call 301-277-7111 if you have trouble.

Leadership Development Program this coming year:
    http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/go/ldp07-08/

You may also be interested in some of what was involved in the pilot project last year:
    http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/go/leaderpositions/ldp/

and here are some materials that came out of the first research project that Sierra Club did with Marshal Ganz of Harvard.
(Remember that big 3 hour survey?):
    http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/go/leaderpositions/ldp/tools_for_you.asp

-----------------3.) Anonymous Quotes---------------------
These are some of the positive anonymous quotes from the evaluations from the RioGrande Chapter which I think are great testimonials to how people felt about the LDP workshops. 

1. I went to LDP training almost by accident. I am sure you must have tried to contact me through mails, etc. but like most people I am inundated by messages and failed to understand, at first, it's importance. I recommend that LDP contact prospective ExComs and find an agent there to impress everyone with the importance of the training at EXCOM meeting and phone tree to get more students.
2. I am inspired, Empowered and revved up.
3. The information was well presented, we practiced the new skills and what I learned was immediately useful.
4. I didn't think it was possible to obtain and apply so much valuable information in a workshop - it certainly hasn't happened before. We now have more energy, enthusiasm in our group.
5. Outstanding presentations and presenters. Directly applicable to our organization and processes.
6. Clearly much thought went into these goals, concepts, and experiences. Down to earth and practical ideas.
7. I learned ways to cope with problems that I had previously considered frustrating facts of life.
8. Very resource and time consumptive and expensive for a chapter which is in a deficit position...But worth it!
9. This will revolutionize/evolutionize our process.
10. Oh, YEAH!
11. Very effective, very professional.
12. Absolutely - learned how to redirect skills in much more positive way.
13. Absolutely. I now see our situation very differently although that probably wasn't one of your goals.
14. Yes! we learned very specific skills, we had the chance to practice and apply them, therefore we know they work.
15. I hope you can get all this information into a format where it can be effectively applied to the rest of the Sierra Club., We were very lucky to be a part of the pilot project.

Also, one smart man at RioGrande came up to me the last day and said ~
This is the best training I have ever been to. I am going to be involved with Sierra Club now into the future. You all really know what you're doing. - You may not think so because it's like telling a German "you sure keep a clean efficient house"  you're striving for perfection.

-------------4.) One group's success--------------
The Pajarito group in New Mexico is a small group in Los Alamos which held a successful event in the middle of the year, between the 2nd and 3rd workshop. They set what for them was an intimidating goal doing something new. Here's a description of what they did....

"We fulfilled our commitment to put on a party & involve Los Alamos environmentalists and got relatively new and new members engaged. Had a meeting of the 3 core folks and made a plan to present to others. Had a potluck with 10-12 people and formed chairs and committees. Had a meeting 2 weeks later and people had kept their commitments!  People were committed and communicated by meetings and email. Generated a banner, advertising & articles in Best of Los Alamos, newsletter, web, TV, flyers. Had great event with food, alcohol, music, and door prizes. Raised $450 plus $150 donation for food for event.  Between 150 & 200 attended. Brought environmental groups together to network and citizens to be educated and express ideas.16 enviro groups had displays at tables, 13 spoke about their work.  Put up posters about environmental issues for people to gather around and speak to each other about. 8 new volunteers were involved and 3 major volunteers brought in.

We learned that we can do it, that we have capable people who will DO it with enthusiasm, believe, we can organize ourselves. If we can make a real commitment, we can live up to it.  We learned you can trust the bigger team."

Some very impressive learning/changing went on that is not quantifiable. At the last workshop, the Pajarito group set a goal of recruiting 20 new active members for the coming year which I think they will do. There's a lot of change that goes on for that to happen...to even set such a goal.

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