Glastonbury MLK Community Initiative awards scholarships to SUMMER NEXUS, a leadership development program sponsored by Leadership Great Hartford and ANYTOWN, a diversity camp sponsored by the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.
SUMMER NEXUS:
Summer Nexus is a leadership development program sponsored by Leadership Greater Hartford. High School students from throughout the greater Hartford region interact with their peers and community leaders in workshops that enhance skills in public speaking, diversity awareness, conflict resolution, decision making, personal finance and college preparation. Attendees learn about themselves as leaders and gain maturity and confidence. Teams of participants have the opportunity to give back to the community through a community service project they plan and implement.
ANYTOWN:
Students who attend Anytown have an opportunity to learn about building a community based on respect, understanding, and inclusivity. Through interactive games, workshops, and discussions, participants explore the thoughts, opinions and experiences we all share on topics such as prejudice, discrimination, and hate. Through this dialogue, the students are taken on a journey to create a model for an ideal community in which members do not just tolerate, but celebrate, each other’s differences.
It is the goal of ANYTOWN to equip the students with the knowledge and skills to transform their home communities into places where individual differences are seen as positive tools that bring people together instead of keeping them apart. Through our support of these students we are developing advocates in our youth for the development of an inclusive community.
Scholarship recipients met with the Glastonbury MLK Community Initiative group in fall, presented a brief synopsis of their experiences at the MLK Celebration Event, and generated interest in Summer Nexus and Anytown within the greater Glastonbury community.