Released: March 07, 2008

Project Offers REAL Benefits for Solving Problems Through Leadership 
       Mini-Grants Available For Kansans to Address Community Issues

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- “Get REAL.” That may sound like a teenager’s lament, but is actually a slogan for a new type of leadership opportunity for graduates of leadership programs. This new initiative is called the Rural Engagement and Action Leadership (REAL) Project.

“The REAL Project is a way for leadership graduates to put their leadership skills to work in solving actual problems for their home communities,” said Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at K-State. “We will provide funding and expertise to help solve those issues.”

Up to 10 citizens will be selected for the REAL Project with preference given to those who have completed some sort of leadership development program, such as graduates of a community-based leadership program or a program such as Leadership Kansas or Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL).

Participants will identify a key issue or problem in their community or region which they would like to address. Each participant will receive a $500 mini-grant to work on this issue and will be linked with university faculty with expertise to help. Action plans and implementation are the final step of this process, with resulting positive outcomes in communities across the state.

Those who wish to apply for the REAL Project must submit an application by April 7, 2008 and if selected, participate in a workshop at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene on May 20-21, 2008.

“The REAL Project will empower community leaders and engage the university in addressing local issues in rural Kansas,” Wilson said. “We encourage those who have been involved with leadership programs to apply.”

REAL is a project of a consortium of partners, coordinated by the Huck Boyd Institute with funding from an engagement incentive grant by the Center for Engagement and Community Development at K-State. Partners include faculty in the KARL Program, College of Engineering Recruitment and Leadership Development, College of Business Department of Management, and K-State Research and Extension, plus the Kansas Leadership Forum.

More information, including printable and electronic application forms, can be accessed at www.getrealks.org  or www.oznet.ksu.edu/huckboyd/REAL.htm.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Ron Wilson
rwilson@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News