Offering a downtown leadership program provides an opportunity to engage active, energetic young people in downtown revitalization efforts and to gain their input in creating a more desirable downtown for their demographic.
The Downtown Akron Partnership in Akron, OH, established its Emerging Leaders program in 2010. The group, which aims to increase the number of people investing socially and economically in the city center, includes members 35 years of age and younger from a variety of businesses and organizations.
In 2014, the Emerging Leaders group took on several downtown projects, including Kickstarter fundraising for a 700-foot-long mural, and working with the Partnership on their annual Downtown Akron Restaurant Week.
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