About Us
JMU School of Strategic Leadership Studies (SSLS), directed by Dr. Margaret Sloan, was awarded a grant by 4-VA to fund and develop a leadership course for community veterans and coinciding with the Fall 2022 semester. 4-VA is a collaboration between Virginia universities that is powered by 4 initiatives — Collaborative Research, Course Sharing, Course Redesign, and Degree Completion.
The Community Leadership Course for Veterans (CLCV) is intended to leverage veterans' existing leadership skills they acquired during their military service and share these skills within their community. The goal of the leadership course is to design and prototype a community impact project to support the veterans in Harrisonburg-Rockingham County. CLCV is made up of veterans and veteran affiliates who have the drive to develop more programs in our community that help veterans come together in the civilian world.
Fall 2022 Pilot Course
Community Leadership Course for Veterans
During the Fall 2022 semester, veteran and military-affiliated participants met biweekly in Lakeview Hall with veteran guest speakers from the local community, JMU Valor, JMU SVA, and the general military veteran community. Our CLCV team worked for 16 weeks to design a community impact project to support, engage, and connect local veterans.
The sessions guided the participants in the art of identifying a theory of change, framing a community need, conceptualization a logic model, and preparations required to implement a veteran-led community impact project. Current veteran support platforms are deemed outdated and do not align with the current needs of the newest generation of veterans. Thus, low-barrier events like Simon’s coffee shop meetups and Mark’s hiking initiative encouraging health and wellness merged to create Boots + Grinds.
Community Impact Project
Boots + Grinds was the first step to meeting other veterans in the community. Class participants and veterans, Mark Sackett and Daly Simon wanted to design a low-barrier initiative that they could start this semester. This event is not something offered in the local community and takes advantage of the proximity to Skyline Drive and the resources available in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
Boots + Grinds (BG) is a low-barrier initiative to create connections with veterans in our community. The military has a unique ability to create lasting bonds and define a brotherhood/sisterhood, not through words, but through shared experiences and action. When our veterans enter the civilian world, it can be difficult to find a similar comradery that can produce such strong bonds.
BG aims to provide a safe space for veterans to meet other like-minded individuals through coffee and a hike. The hike leverages the proximity to Skyline drive and promotes the health and wellness of our veterans. As our initiative grows, we hope to inspire the local businesses in our community to participate in providing low-barrier ways to connect our local veterans.
