Leadership and Life Skills

Community Action Partnership believes education is the antidote to poverty. We host workshops and classes throughout the year, with topics including budgeting, weatherization, leadership, parenting skills and stress and anger management. Below is a brief description of our leadership and life skills classes; for more information, visit Need Help.

Weatherization:
Learning to conserve valuable heat and cooling is an important skill for moving toward economic stability. Weatherization classes are offered to families who enroll in our utilities assistance program, as well as the general public. For more information, read our Utilities Assistance section.

Budgeting:
Community Action Partnership has worked with local banks and financial institutions to offer classes on budgeting and money management, including a recent series that concluded in March of 2009 called the “Big Dream Workshops.” Budgeting and financial literacy are also included in our targeted coaching program.

Step Up to Leadership: 
This 12-week class develops leadership skills for individuals interested in deepening their community involvement or joining a non-profit Board.  Classes include finding your community interests, roles/service on community boards, and processes for board meetings. Each class attends a graduation ceremony, and each participant is offered the opportunity to give a brief presentation to the group about how they’ll use their interests to make a difference in the community. There are no income guidelines for this program, although individuals under 125% of Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible for a stipend to cover childcare and transportation costs. For more information about Step Up to Leadership, contact Les Currie at 816.233.8281 x 132 or lcurrie@endpov.com.

Parenting Skills:
Positive parenting is closely linked with school success, and Community Action Partnership offers parenting classes throughout the year for Head Start families and the public. Topics include communication, positive discipline and stress management. Parenting skills are also part of our Life Improvement and Family Training (LIFT) classes.

Stress and Anger Management:
We offer classes on stress and anger management at the Missouri Career Center, a partnership between our agency and the State of Missouri. For more information, call the Missouri Career Center at (816) 387-9675.

Visit Need Help for more information about our leadership and life skills services.