Heartland Foundation champions education and empowers people with the aim of building healthy and thriving communities.
The emPowerU program is designed for students in grades 6-8 to encourage creative thinking and collaborative problem-solving concerning challenges and opportunities in their schools and communities. The program values every participant's voice and ideas, having impacted over 20,000 students since its inception in 2007. It consists of three progressive sessions or circuits—Learn, Empower, and Serve—each aimed at enhancing students' leadership, problem-solving skills, and community engagement. Circuit 1 focuses on problem-based learning facilitated by professionals. Circuit 2 transforms the learning environment into diverse communities, assigning students roles to identify and address community needs. Circuit 3 gives students an opportunity to engage in a community service project, culminating in the chance to apply for a Jump Starter grant to fund their initiative. Additionally, Competitive Jump Starters grants offer up to $10,000 for student-led service-learning projects, supporting a variety of community-improvement initiatives in northwest Missouri and surrounding regions.