Published in the Tallahassee Democrat Chronicles, April 24, 2011
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The Tallahassee Senior Center, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Tallahassee Program, offers Tallahassee Active Lifelong Leaders (TALL) to our area’s diverse, actively engaged adults (50+) annually. Participants experience an interactive snapshot of the Tallahassee community.
TALL class 2 met for the first time in early 2009 at the senior center. The group of 16 quickly bonded while discovering what Tallahassee is about during their exciting, yet exhausting, eight-week leadership program.
One of their eye-opening discoveries came from a site visit to the Boys and Girls Clubs. TALL 2 members left the building in south Tallahassee with a sense of pride and gratefulness for what this program was providing to hundreds of children in Tallahassee and surrounding areas.
The group was disheartened to read a recent Tallahassee Democrat article that pointed out a lack of funding threatened to close this much-needed service program. To keep the program alive, Theresa Flury, CEO and president of the Boys and Girls Club of Big Bend, and her board initiated the fundraiser “Give $20; Give Hope.” TALL 2 members responded with a $500 donation, believing in the gift of hope that BGC gives to 400-plus young people of our community.
The mission of the TALL program is to better equip older adults to enhance positive change in the community. TALL 2 classmates demonstrated they took the mission to heart.
Currently, TALL 4 is meeting with area leaders, experts and policy-makers. On-site visits to the area’s cultural, safety, housing, educational, transportation and other public services, and public/private initiatives give them a bird’s-eye view of what’s happening in Tallahassee.
TALL graduates remain active in the community and their contributions include not only charitable gifts, but also furnishing a veterans’ housing complex and other community projects.
Read more: Tallahassee Active Lifelong Leaders respond to community need | tallahassee.com | Tallahassee Democrat http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20110424/CHRONICLE/104240318/Tallahassee-Active-Lifelong-Leaders-respond-to-community-need#ixzz1KXXZ0MDZ