People want to make a difference. But too often, those who are most affected by public policies are least able to change them. The working poor or those on welfare are caught up in day-to-day problems, busy coping with the crises before them. Often they are intimidated by power or unaware of the avenues of access. Children, who will be the leaders of tomorrow, grow up without learning how to take part in the public process. The Foundation is providing funding across its programs to foster leadership skills and encourage participation in the public debate. Training sessions and programs help groups identify goals and the decisionmakers they want to reach, create clear and informative messages, negotiate with the news media to get the desired message out, and identify advocates among policymakers. Organizations have also learned how to create a publicity infrastructure to deliver their messages. With this support, individuals and groups are exercising leadership skills and increasingly speaking up on public issues. In the Violence Prevention Initiative's Community Leader Fellows Program, a cadre of leaders has raised public awareness and educated policymakers about the issue of gun violence. Leaders from several Native American tribes collaborate on policy issues affecting community wellness and -- for the first time -- met with Senator Diane Feinstein to educate her on the impact of welfare reform on their tribes' health. The Foundation is also supporting programs to involve young people and help them exercise the skills to participate and lead in their communities. Teens are gaining confidence in themselves through projects such as Students Run LA, in which 1,300 high school-age youth trained for and participated in the Los Angeles Marathon. The results were significant changes in their school attendance, achievement and life skills, and a higher graduation rate. Other teens have been recruited to serve on Foundation advisory committees, and a mentoring program in the Children and Youth Community Health Initiative will give young people the skills, resources and opportunities to become major players in improving community health. Jim Shultz, executive director of the Democracy Center in San Francisco, describes leadership as a bottom-up empowerment process. "First, individuals and groups build the capacity to help themselves," he said. "Then they acquire the tools to help others directly. And finally, as public leaders, they are able to influence policymakers to make more intelligent decisions about the lives and health of the disadvantaged."