United Way of Southern Nevada (UWSN) believes in ensuring that every student has the opportunity to succeed and thrive. Our long-time partner, Leaders in Training’s (LIT) vision of empowering first-generation college graduates from diverse backgrounds to be the next generation of leaders who end systemic and structural inequities in every sector in every community is aligned with United Way’s student success goals. We are so proud of the work that they do to empower students in our community that we have funded the program since 2017. We have had the honor to work with the founder of Leaders in Training, Erica Mosca, since the early beginnings of the program to ensure this program is available to local students.
In the beginning of the Leaders in Training program, they were considering closing down after four incredible years of supporting local students. Due to not being able to raise the funding required to run the program and support full-time paid staff, they were faced with the possibility of discontinuing the program. Things started to take a turn for the best when Leaders in Training received grant funding from the Windsong trust and United Way of Southern Nevada. These two grants allowed Erica to dedicate herself to running the program full-time and to move out of the elementary school portable they had previously called home at Futuro Academy.
This was able to propel LIT from a program to a full-fledged nonprofit organization that is now serving hundreds.
“Thank you UWSN for being a huge reason LIT exists today,” Erica says. “Now employing Alumni members like Jorge Martinez and Postsecondary members like Veronica Rico, the UWSN has been a full-circle and reciprocal relationship from our community, for our community.”
Leaders In Training is just one example of the nonprofit organizations that United Way of Southern Nevada is able to grow and support through the donations provided by our community. Through your support, we can provide nonprofits the support and tools they need to give Southern Nevadans the tools they need to succeed. Together, we are giving future leaders and their families the opportunity to make a difference in our community for years to come through providing leadership development, career readiness, and supportive service referrals.