Stoneleigh Youth Partner Philly BOLT is featured in Next City for its work supporting neighborhood organizers through the School for Grassroots Leadership.
For Jalil Meekins, a resident of the Germantown neighborhood, the city’s “best-kept secret” isn’t a speakeasy or hole-in-the-wall eatery — it’s PhillyBOLT.
The nonprofit organization, founded in 2021, runs the School for Grassroots Leadership: an eight-month program that Meekins calls “one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had.”
The PhillyBOLT program has produced three cohorts of graduates, quickly becoming a quiet powerhouse for grassroots organizers across the city. So far, it’s trained a total of 32 community leaders, equipping them to expand their work — from developing fundraising plans and budgets to navigating tough situations and building lasting networks.