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The Wesley Center uses its Methodist background to focus on social-justice issues.

Tom Duke, a Wesley fellow and the director of LISN, said that the program is devoted to completing individual goals in community development.

“[LISN] is a combination of leadership development, community enhancement and community-building programs,” Duke said.

Plans for LISN have been in the works for three years, and the program will likely begin in July or August of 2005, which is when the first class of fellows will be accepted, Duke said.People interested in neighborhood causes will be accepted to the program through an application process.

Phyllis Messenger, director of the Wesley Center, said that the LISN program is open to working with anyone and everyone in the Midway neighborhood.

“[LISN] is aimed at a broad spectrum of individuals,” she said, explaining that a community leadership fellow could be a block-club leader, a small-business owner, a student wanting to develop leadership skills, or even an artist who wants to develop his or her business organizational skills.

Not all who apply for the LISN fellowship need to have strong opinions on specific neighborhood issues, Messenger said. Rather, the fellowship seeks for application those who have passion toward the idea of developing leadership skills or making community contributions.

If accepted into the program, fellows will be able to design their own agenda to somehow help the Midway community.

“Each fellow will be accepted with some particular community development goal or project in mind,” said Duke.

“They can be projects already approved by the community, like housing safety or economic development, or they can be something [the fellow] comes up with.”

Though fellows will have a certain degree of freedom in choosing a project, they will be guided through the whole process from the time they are first accepted until their project is complete.

A steering committee, comprised of individuals from the community and from Hamline University, will assist the fellow, Messenger said.

Right now, the committee meets on a monthly basis, and it is still working out some details on how the oversight of the fellows will work.

Currently, the committee has decided to provide each fellow with one or more mentors, who will guide the fellow through their LISN-funded work.

This process is similar to ones used by other local grant givers, including the Minnesota Regional Arts Council (MRAC).

Not only will LISN fellows receive suggestions from staff and the steering committee, they will also be in close contact with others involved in the program.

“We want this to be as supportive and developmental as possible,” said Messenger. “There will be peer support and mentoring. The participants will learn from one another and from other members in the community.”

Each fellow will receive the money needed to complete the community and neighborhood progress plans they proposed, said Duke, as well as a limited personal salary.

“[Fellows] will get a thousand-dollar stipend for use at their discretion,” he said.

“They will also be entitled to reimbursement for other expenses involved with the program, which may include taking classes, mentoring, transportation, or helping another organization that they are working with.”

The money for each fellowship project was made available by other organizations.

LISN recently received grants from the Otto Bremer Foundation and the St. Paul Traveler’s Foundation,
Duke said. The organization received $100,000 over a two-year period from Otto Bremer, and from the St.
Paul Traveler’s Foundation, it received a one-year $50,000 grant.

Messenger said the project received funding partly due to its careful planning.

“By the time we had a site visit from [the sponsors], it was clear to them that this idea hadn’t come out of someone’s head overnight, so they were enthusiastic [to help],” she said. “It was a very thoughtful and well-researched process,” she added.

Messenger remains hopeful that the collaboration will not end with only the current foundations involved.

“People on the steering committee are connected with other organizations,” she said. “This is just the beginning. We see the circle growing.”

Messenger said she is optimistic about the outcome of LISN.

“I’m very enthusiastic. It is something that has been in discussion for over three years. It has grown out of
working with our neighbors in the community and particularly with the Hamline Midway Coalition.”

Duke has similar feelings.

“I’m really excited about [LISN],” he said. “It’s a good investment in the future of the neighborhood. What will determine the quality of life and vitality of the neighborhood is the amount of people taking initiative in the community.”

And the Midway especially, Duke said, needs help. “The neighborhood is becoming more diverse,” he said. “It’s changing, and people need to be comfortable with that.
“It is really at the grassroots that leadership is an essential characteristic of a good community.”