Initiatives & Projects
Running Start’s “Political Leadership Retreat”
Mission
Running Start is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring young women and girls to run for political office. Our goal is to increase the number of women in the United States who serve in elected office by planting the seed early that women are needed in politics. Our training programs emphasize that political leadership is an attainable and exciting goal for young women to pursue.
Events
Initiative & Projects
The Young Women’s Political Leadership Program
Running Start is now accepting applications for its 2009 Young Woman’s Political Leadership Retreat.The Young Women’s Political Leadership Program encourages high school girls to channel their leadership into politics. Running Start is hosting our second annual program this July to train high school girls in political leadership skills and to plant the seed that they should run for office. Fifty girls chosen for their leadership potential from around the country will come to Washington, DC for this exciting program. The girls are chosen from public, charter and private schools and we pride ourselves on recruiting a diverse group of young women to attend our program. The program is entirely free of charge, and travel scholarships are available.
The program, which takes place at American University over 4 days and 3 nights, allows the participants to meet extraordinary women leaders of diverse backgrounds and to learn about the importance of having more women in political leadership and of running for office themselves. They learn by doing through the highly interactive sessions. By the end of the summer retreat, they will have gained confidence in their own leadership abilities, and be ready to bring their leadership to their schools and communities. The girls learn about political leadership by working with inspirational women leaders, including Congresswomen and other elected officials and leaders in business, media and the law.
The program trains the girls in important skills necessary for political leadership including:
Public Speaking and Presentation: Students will learn how to structure a speech and adjust to an audience, as well as learning and practicing the importance of posture, tone and answering post-speech questions.
Advocacy: Students will learn the art of persuasive speaking and will practice basic debate and advocacy.
Persuasive Writing: Students will learn critical thinking skills that correlate to the kinds of applications necessary in advocacy and politics. The girls will examine campaign materials, floor speeches, as well as grammatical and literary tactics that are often incorporated into successful persuasive writing.
Campaigning: As a culmination of the program, the students will create a campaign for themselves tying in the aspects learned from the workshops throughout the leadership program, and they will give campaign speeches to the class and their parents.
For more information about Running Start and it’s program, visit Running Start Online.
Running Start / Wal-Mart Star Fellowship Program
College aged Juniors & Seniors
Running Start/Wal-Mart’s Star Fellowship is an exciting new program that brings together college women from across the country to intern on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC! Each semester Running Start will provide housing and place seven college women in offices to intern for a female Representative or Senator. Running Start is looking for female college students who are juniors or seniors to apply. During the semester, the Star Fellow will intern Monday through Thursday in an office on Capitol Hill and then each Friday the Fellow will participate in a political seminar where they will learn the nuts and bolts of politics and the importance of running for elected office. Fellows will learn from top campaign strategists, consultants and other important movers and shakers in Washington.
Thank you to the Wal-Mart Foundation for making this program possible!
Dates for Semesters
Fall Program: September 7, 2009 – December 11, 2009 (14 weeks)
Spring Program: January 18, 2010 – April 23, 2010 (14 weeks)
Fall Program: September 2010 – December 2010 (14 weeks)
Spring Program: January 2011 – April 2011 (14 weeks)
Fall Program: September 2011 – December 2011 (14 weeks)
What the Running Start/Wal-Mart Star Fellowship includes:
- Internship on Capitol Hill: Running Start’s mission is to inspire more young women to get involved in politics, so we are placing our Fellows in female Members offices so they can learn from successful women firsthand. We will help each Fellow find an internship, and they will intern Monday through Thursday full-time. (Specific times will be designated by the intern coordinator in each office).
- Free housing in the District of Columbia: The housing will be in close proximity to the metro system for easy transportation to Capitol Hill & Friday Seminars.
- A $2,000 stipend will be provided for living expenses during the semester.
- Friday Seminar: A requirement for all Star Fellows will be to attend each Friday Seminar conducted over the semester where they will learn about politics. Lunch will be provided at the seminar along with the opportunity to learn about how politics really works from top people in the field. Some of the seminar topics include: History of American Women in Politics, Campaign Fundamentals, International Women in Politics, Political Advocacy, Social Activism, Media Training, Fundraising Fundamentals, Public Speaking & and much more!
- Research Component: Another important requirement for Star Fellows is a research component to be conducted during their semester in Washington. We want the students to understand not only how Capitol Hill works but also why and how the Member of Congress they work for ran for elected office. Each Star Fellow will be required to interview the Member they work for and then write a report about the Member’s progression into a career in politics. The Fellow will also be required to give a presentation about the interview to the Directors of Running Start and their Star Fellow colleagues.
Who they looking for:
- Deeply motivated college women (juniors & seniors ONLY) who are interested in serving a Member of Congress on Capitol Hill, want to learn more about politics, and are interested in researching and understanding the importance of getting more women to enter careers in politics.
- Running Start will be looking for students who have proven that they are motivated in the classroom and in extra circular activities. Priority will be given to students who can demonstrate their involvement with their community and their school.
- Students who have held leadership positions or who are interested in running for elected office should mention this in their application.
Miscellaneous Information:
College credit: Running Start understands that getting college credit while interning in Washington, DC, is a important issue for students. While Running Start does not have a formal relationship with a university or college, their curriculum will be approved by a university professor in Washington, DC, so that student can inquire with their school about gaining internship credit for the Running Start/Wal-Mart Star Fellowship.
Running Start cannot guarantee college credit for this program. Each individual student must work with their university or college to receive credit. Running Start recommends that you speak with your school’s career center and/or academic counselor.
For more information, visit Running Start Fellowship.
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