WCU’s Center for Leadership vies for Pepsi Refresh grant this month

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Western Carolina University’s Center for Leadership is asking the surrounding communities for help during the month of April to win a grant through Pepsi, the soft drink company, to bring new programs to students.

WCU’s Center for Leadership applied for a $50,000 grant from Pepsi Refresh Project, an online grant program that makes available millions of dollars for projects that are intended to improve communities, with recipients selected through an online democratic voting process. To win the grant, WCU’s Center for Leadership is asking members of the campus community to visit Pepsi’s Web site at www.refresheverything.com/wculeadership and vote each day until Friday, April 30, said Mike Corelli, associate director for WCU’s leadership programs.

“We need to be in the top 10 to win the award, and voting is the only way for us to climb in ranking and be selected as a recipient,” said Corelli. “If we win, we would receive the award within a month and would have to use the funds within a calendar year.”

The official title of the center’s proposal is “Develop 10,000 leaders in Cullowhee, N.C., for tomorrow’s challenges.” “We decided to apply for this grant through Pepsi because of the nature of the Refresh campaign and the opportunity to have funding that will be used to make a difference in the lives of our students at WCU,” said Corelli.

If WCU’s Center for Leadership wins the grant, it will implement new programs such as LeaderShape, an interactive program that builds leadership skills for students, faculty and staff. “With the guidance of LeaderShape facilitators, participants complete a blueprint that identifies the goals, relationships and action steps that are essential to the project’s success,” said Corelli. “We also hope to bring national speakers to campus who are influential to our students, faculty and staff.”

Corelli credited leadership center graduate assistant Lindsay Whitney for her role in helping to get the proposal off the ground.

For more information about WCU’s Center for Leadership, contact Corelli by e-mail at corelli@email.wcu.edu or by telephone at 828-227-3618.