Since Woodlawn United's founding in 2010, its mission has been to serve as a catalyst and facilitator for the transformation and revitalization of the Woodlawn community in Birmingham into a vibrant and sustainable community in which its residents have an opportunity to thrive. The WE Lead was developed to address the Woodlawn Community's gap in access to leadership development opportunities. This 14-week community-focused program seeks to identify individuals who desire to improve their community and give voice to traditionally underrepresented community members. WE Lead fellows will engage in weekly training to learn from political, business, and community leaders. As a cohort, participants will partake in initiatives to address current issues impacting Woodlawn. The program goals for WE Lead Fellows are:

· Increased participation in formal and informal neighborhood leadership.

· Understanding of complex systemic issues.

· Increased resident participation in community-based organizations while serving in various leadership

roles.

· Be connected to a vast network of community and civic leaders.

· An understanding of public/private partnerships and how to leverage funds.

PARTICIPATION QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

Ideal applicants must demonstrate a commitment to Woodlawn and neighboring communities with a desire to serve their community through positions of impact (e.g., volunteerism, advocacy, non-profit boards, etc.). Each session is an integral part of the program, and participants are required to attend at least 90% of the sessions or 10 out of the 11 sessions to successfully complete the fellowship and receive the program financial stipend. Applications are due Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 5:00pm. Apply at: https://woodlawnunited.formstack.com/forms/welead.

The 2022-2023 fellowship program year is scheduled as follows:

• Tuesday, November 1, 2022

• Tuesday, November 29, 2022

• Tuesday, December 13, 2022

• Tuesday, January 10, 2023

• Tuesday, January 24, 2023

• Tuesday, February 7, 2023

• Tuesday, February 21, 2023

• Tuesday, March 7, 2023

• Tuesday, March 21, 2023

• Tuesday, April 4, 2023

• Tuesday, April 18, 2023