The Leadership Dayton class of 2016 is leaving its mark on the Dayton region

The Leadership Dayton class of 2016 is leaving its mark on the Dayton region with two large icons designed to bring awareness to the Reaching New Heights to Transform Care Capital Campaign at Dayton Children’s.

These 400 pound shooting star and hummingbird statues have been placed at Austin Landing and The Greene. Each icon represents “things that fly”, and have been placed in community spaces in an effort to raise awareness of Dayton Children’s historic fundraising campaign that will transform care for local kids.

The two latest icons were adopted as the Leadership Dayton class of 2016 project. Each year, class members of Leadership Dayton, a program of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, choose a project that will leave a lasting impact on the Dayton region.

Snap a pic and share about #TransformCare

Get involved and share about the icons! Every month we will choose one post that tagged us to feature on our social media channels!

1. This summer visit The Greene or Austin Landing and find the hummingbird or shooting star icon.
2. Snap a pic with the icon
3. Post the picture on social media and be sure to tag @DaytonChildrens and #Transformcare #LeadershipDaytonChildrens

Example posts you can use:

I’m proud to support @DaytonChildrens as they #TransformCare for kids in our community

@DaytonChildrens is helping to #Transformcare for kids in our community! This icon at The Greene/Austin Landing represents that! How cool!

The new @Daytonchildrens patient tower will be themed “things that fly.” This hummingbird/shooting star is just one of the icons that will be featured! #Transformcare

What a great partnership between Leadership Dayton and Dayton Children’s ! #LeadershipDaytonChildrens

Guest blog by Leadership Dayton, Class of 2016

Leadership Dayton has been such a whirlwind of experiences. Our class of 47 diverse individuals got to know each other during an intensive opening retreat weekend, and started the journey of getting to know our region and its issues over the year. From the very beginning, the responsibility to conduct a class project – a project that would make a difference in the community, bring us together as a team, and teach us a little something, too – was made clear.

So, with each month, as we learned about a new facet of our community – arts/culture, history, education, justice, healthcare, human services, WPAFB, diversity, and the future of our community – we always had in mind how we could leverage the combined talents of our class to make a difference in one of those areas.

On a tour of Dayton Children’s, our host for healthcare day, we were all struck by how bright and cheerful it was. While some children (and their families) are going through what will likely be the most difficult time of their lives, Dayton Children’s offers a beautiful – and even fun – environment where they provide world-class health care through an exceptionally caring staff. Seeing all the stunning, carefully curated art that covers the walls, our first thought was to serve by adding to the collection: could we make something that would brighten a child’s day when they saw it?

We all understand the importance of collaboration and working together for the greatest impact. We wanted to support Dayton Children’s without duplicating their own (more qualified) efforts. We approached the Dayton Children’s team with our ideas and an open mind, asking – how can we help?

Turns out – they were ready to launch a project and needed some help. Beautiful icons, each themed on “things that fly,” were to be included in the new patient tower. And, in advance of placement, they would be out in the community to raise awareness about Dayton Children’s Reaching New Heights to Transform Care Capital Campaign. Art and advocacy? The Leadership Dayton Class of ’16 was in!

Dividing and conquering, we split into teams of design, implementation, community outreach, social media, and a steering committee. We also had team members step up to host special fundraising events – painting parties and drone flying lessons – where our entry fee helped support the cause. Designs were drawn and pitched, paints were purchased, and over two weekends, we tackled the actual painting of the icons (where we split even further into globbing paint on, skilled detail work, and clean-up crew). Our community team started spreading the word about the opportunity to host an icon in advance of the new patient tower opening, and our social media team captured all the action in photos and online.

While the artistic element is a fun, childlike reminder of the importance of having such a quality healthcare center dedicated to healing our region’s children – this project is equally about letting the wider community know about the important role that Dayton Children’s plays in the overall healthcare. Their Center for Child Health and Wellness is leading special projects to make our children healthier overall – they have launched major initiatives tackling problems with asthma, obesity, and safety. Our region deserves quality healthcare for our youngest residents, and Dayton Children’s is not only there in times of trouble – but they’re there to ensure that our kids have more healthy and happy times as well. The Leadership Dayton Class of 2016 was excited to learn about Dayton Children’s this year, and we hope this project does just a little bit to spread the word further in the community.

Now, the Class of 2016 has just graduated and there are 47 new members of Leadership Dayton. You may see us out at the Greene or Austin Landing (our two first icon hosts) taking selfies and family photos with our icons. You should, too! Tag it: #LeadershipDaytonChildrens and #TransformCare to celebrate the collaboration!

About Leadership Dayton

Leadership Dayton was established in 1976 and is a program of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. The mission of the program is to identify, educate and motivate a network of community leaders, to increase the individual’s capacity to serve the Dayton region, and to advocate continual engagement in support of the Dayton region. The program is chaired by Dr. Susan M. Hayes, Ph.D.