Empower: Building Leaders, Strengthening Communities
A LOWELL ALLIANCE / COALITION FOR A BETTER ACRE PROGRAm
Our interactive nine-week workshop series provides The knowledge, skills and resources to help create and lead Grassroots change
Empower also provides the opportunity to expand professional and personal networks by connecting with other Lowell activists. Participants put their training into action by planning and implementing a project or projects designed to strengthen their neighborhood group(s), or the city as a whole.
The application for this year’s Empower program is currently open! Please apply by February 23rd using the link above. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to Liz: eanusauskas@ywcaoflowell.org. We are excited to meet everyone that applies to this year’s cohort!
workshop topics include:
Leadership style and organizational skills
How City Hall works - and how to work with City Hall
Communicating your idea and running good meetings
Conflict management skills
Identifying and leveraging community resources
Organizing for change
Project planning and implementation
After the program, Participants will be able to:
Organize people for positive outcomes
Use leadership concepts and skills to become more effective leaders and communicators
Pursue common goals in collaborative partnerships
Improve communication and understanding between low-income residents and mainstream leaders/people in power
Develop and implement effective community-building projects
Create positive change at neighborhood or city-wide levels
Attend workshops focused on topics of interest to alumni
“Empower was one of the most thought-provoking, inspirational and friendly classes that I have taken. It not only allowed me the ability to learn about the intricacies of the governmental, non-profit and in between of my city, but also meet some people and gain networks that I would otherwise not have. And the food at Empower was always awesome! The curriculum may change, your classmates won’t be the same as mine, but the information you receive is invaluable to living in the City of Lowell.”
Program Details
Who can participate?
Anyone who is interested in learning how to create positive change and improve the quality of life in Lowell. Priority is given to those already active in grassroots or informal community groups, who are currently working to improve conditions in their neighborhood(s) and/or can identify and describe community issues they would like to impact.
How much does the program cost?
Empower is free to Lowell residents accepted into the program.
When do Empower workshops take place?
The 2024 program will run on Wednesdays from March 27 - May 22. We offer Empower annually each spring. CBA will offer a Spanish version of Empower in the fall of 2024. Our pilot Empower program was held in Fall 2016.
How do I sign up?
Our 2024 spring program launches in March. The application is currently open and will remain open until February 23rd. You can find the application here: tinyurl.com/EmpowerProgram2024.
For more information or to ask questions before applying, please email Liz Anusauskas.
Who offers this program?
Empower is a collaboration between Lowell Alliance and Coalition for a Better Acre.
“I absolutely loved the Empower training, and have been bragging about it to anyone who will listen. The organizers did such a great job each and every week, and the content and focus of the training was helpful for me, especially in learning about community organizing.”
Group community building projects
After the workshop series, Empower participants continue on with group projects designed to create positive change in the community . Workshops help prepare participants to effectively "pitch" a project idea to other community members. One to two projects are selected by popular vote, and the class form working groups to plan the projects. The projects provide them the opportunity to put their new-found skills and inspiration to create change into action.
spring 2021
Clean-up and Landscaping Eliot Church
Empower participants planned and implemented a project to clean up and landscape an area around a church in downtown Lowell that serves as a day center for many of the city's homeless population.
Fall 2020
Wellness Gift Bags
Empower 2020 participants decided to provide wellness gift bags to residents in need. Participants purchased, donated, and created items for the bags, conducted community outreach to promote the project and select recipients, met to assemble the bags, and organized deliveries. Their hard work and collective effort provided 50 Lowellians with much needed self-care supplies.
Spring 2017
Drum Circle
The drum circle brought Empower participants together to make music and also to share free food and community resources.
Canal Cleanup
Despite the challenges of cold and potentially wet weather, a successful canal cleanup between Hanover and Moody Streets took place in late November 2017. Organizers Lorraine Farmer and Victor Berardi had both noticed neglected canal areas while out on walks, and wanted to make at least one of these sites more beautiful for both residents and visitors. With the help of their working group, they engaged both volunteers and local agencies and businesses nearby, including Jeanne D'Arc, Lowell House, and Lowell National Historical Park. Free coffee helped with the cold weather, and the results of their hard work speak for themselves.
Fall 2016 Projects
Traffic light safety
The Empower group identified an issue with traffic patterns at a busy downtown intersection, which made pedestrian crossing unsafe. After an initial contact, the group learned that City officials had already begun work on this issue. Group members were invited to meet with traffic engineers to review plans and provide feedback, an important outcome in helping break down barriers and understand how the process of change works in inside the government
"Dollar" food bags
The idea of offering a "dollar" weekly shopping excursion, to fill a reusable bag with donated food, proved too challenging to implement, as it was the equivalent of a small non-profit start-up. Sometimes translating a creative idea into reality may exceed the available time and resources of the group, a big consideration when working for change in the community.
Interested in Empower? Let us know!
Fill out this form, and we will be in touch with you as soon as we can.
“If you want to see change, you have to take action.”