About Gilbert Leadership
Founded in 1991, Gilbert Leadership brings together individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to develop their leadership potential and to expose participants to the issues impacting the Town of Gilbert. Gilbert Leadership was developed by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce to promote civic leadership and broaden the skills of current and future town leaders. The program provides knowledge to effect change and broaden citizen involvement with the town government and community programs and critical needs. The program is nine months long and includes presentation by community leaders and community tours that allow for first-hand experience with Gilbert’s residents, businesses, and institutions.
Class Service Project Overview
The culminating experience for every Gilbert Leadership class is the planning, organizing, coordination and completion a service project within the boundaries of the Town of Gilbert. This project must provide a lasting and impactful enhancement to the Town of Gilbert and serve someone or some other organization that could not perform the selected service or project themselves.
Class XXVII Community Service Project Overview
The Gilbert Leadership Class of XXVII made a great effort to reach out and engage with the Town of Gilbert, its residents and various non-profits that call Gilbert home to identify the nature of our class service project. During that process we had the privilege of meeting with, hearing the mission and collaborating on a plan to enhance the services and impact of HD South.
HD South strives to serve as a vibrant cornerstone of an inter-generational community that celebrates the past, inspires unity of our community, and cultivates life-enriching collaboration, (more information about HD South can be found below). To better serve that mission Gilbert Leadership Class XXVII will be working to raise money, collect donations and complete the work needed to enhance the outdoor space at HD South. The class will work to provide a paved seating area for educational presentations, an engaging wall art mural that highlights the history of the Town of Gilbert and aesthetic and safety adjustments to landscaping to provide a fun and safe experience for all visitors.
About HD South
Originally opened as Gilbert Elementary School in 1913, HD SOUTH is the oldest building still standing in Gilbert and is the only one on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the next several years, the museum made great strides to become one of Arizona’s premier community history museums. In 2010, the Society began searching for a new direction that would sustain them over time. The staff and board of directors held many strategic planning sessions and conducted many meetings with community stakeholders. Realizing the lack of arts and culture in Gilbert, the Board of Directors expanded the mission of the organization in 2016 to include more than just history. While the Society will always preserve and showcase the history of Gilbert, the decision was made to begin the transformation into an arts and culture center.
The name Gilbert Historical Museum now only described a portion of what the organization was doing. So the search for a new doing-business-as name began. Because of the special and unique location of the building at the south end of the vibrant and popular Heritage District, the name HD SOUTH seemed to be the perfect answer. In October 2017, the Society officially began using the new HD SOUTH name with the tag line, “Home of the Gilbert Historical Museum.”
How to Support
In order to make this possible we need your support! Individuals and organizations alike can donate funds and/or materials to complete this lasting and impactful project that you yourself can come and enjoy. Every little bit helps and Gilbert Leadership Class of XXVII is committed to providing a point of pride for the Town of Gilbert.
If you are interested in donating funds-
Checks can be made payable to the HD South (501c3).Our team is willing to pick up checks from you directly as well.
Donate online:
- https://hdsouth.org/donate/one-time-donation/
- Donors must select the: Gilbert Leadership option when putting in their information.
In order to purchase the needed supplies and meet our project completion deadline monetary donations that can be received by February 15, 2019 are greatly appreciated.
If you are interested in donating materials and/or services please reach out to Jenna Kahl at jenna.a.kahl@gmail.com and she can assist you in identifying what would be a good fit for this project. Some items and services that have already been identified are:
- Concrete and pavers
- Landscaping and tree stump removal
- Paint and paint supplies
- Food and water for the volunteers on the day of service
Questions?
If you or your organization have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to Jenna Kahl at jenna.a.kahl@gmail.com or 623-570-3351.