Thank you for joining us on October 29th for the 1st in a series of panel discussions surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion. We value the conversation and look forward to the next discussion on December 2nd. As a follow up we had a few final questions for our panelists and hosts and wanted to make sure to share their contact information along with a video recording of the panel.
Feel free to share the questions, the link, or thoughts from the discussion with friends, family and colleagues.
View the recording of the October panel here:
Below are some follow Up questions from the panelist and moderators:
Adaptive Sports NW
Dave Hanna – Executive Director, Adaptive Sports NW, adaptivesportsnw.org
What has your organization been doing to adjust to everything being virtual due to the pandemic?
Adaptive Sports Northwest has shifted and created a free equipment rental program allowing the complimentary use of highly customized and expensive adaptive equipment. We have also added archery as a new sport, which allows for social distancing and safe protocols for participation. We’ve focused on providing new training opportunities for our coaching staff. We have launched a book club, and introduced an online challenge called “Time 4 Community” in which participants “compete” with each other based on accumulating 15-minute time increments of any physical activity.
Moderator
Richard Maxwell – Community Leader, Multnomah Athletic Club
What are the biggest challenges and opportunities you see in increasing effectiveness and impact when it comes to internal DEI work?
Personally, I see challenges as opportunities. As it relates to DEI there are several barriers, let’s start with culture. It’s imperative that the culture wants and sees the value in embracing diversity. Without an open mind, you’re faced with multiple hurdles. That said, we must recognize that change does not occur over night. There are so many stereotypes that many of us embrace and we must own those to progress. We have to get beyond this and recognize that this is an opportunity to learn about different ethnicities, gender roles and cultural differences. When we open our hearts and our minds and are willing to embrace our differences, we will then increase effectiveness and be more impactful.
Elevate Oregon
Donell Morgan – Executive Director, Elevate Oregon, elevateoregon.org
What avenues or options are there for those who joined the panel to support your program?
There are many ways you can help us fulfill our mission and vision! A neat way to directly impact Elevate youth right now is by joining the Elevate Zoom classroom as a guest speaker or by hosting a career visit. To do either of these, contact our Executive Director, Paul Morris at . To support our work through a financial investment, you can give any time through our website, or find us in the current Give!Guide. Finally, we recommend that you get to know Elevate by following us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter, and then sharing us with your community.
Adelante Mujeres
Carina Quintanilla – Chicas Program Coordinator, Adelante Mujeres, adelantemuljeres.org
What avenues or options are there for individuals to support your program?
While there are multiple ways to become engaged and support Adelante Mujeres, the most effective way currently is through donating. There are a few avenues to support us financially, through monthly giving with our La Lucha (the fight) program supported by classy.org or by donating to the Give! Guide hosted by Willamette Week. The Give! Guide has amazing ways to support a variety of different local nonprofits, so we recommend checking them out.
Adelante Mujeres also has a variety of opportunities for businesses to become involved. If you would like to learn more about business partnerships and how your organization can partner with us in a way that works for us both, please contact Melissa Erickson, .
If you want to support one of our specific programs or have a talent for volunteering, we’d also love to hear from you! To volunteer with Adelante Mujeres please contact Paola Pereira, or visit the volunteer page on our website.
We always recommend that people get started by subscribing to our emails through our website to stay updated on when Adelante’s events are happening and when we have volunteer opportunities.
Moderator
Lisa Bendt – Executive Director, Multnomah Athletic Foundation, MultnomahAthleticFoundation.com
How does your organization engage with youth surrounding the topic of DEI?
At the Multnomah Athletic Foundation, we believe that youth have a unique perspective on the world and inclusion. Three years ago we embraced an equity lens in our scholarship and grant outreach to ensure we provide opportunities in underserved and underrepresented communities. Also, our Youth Grant Initiative program gives 7th and 8th graders the decision-making power in community grant funding. Delving into the conversation about access and the inequalities to possibilities and resources are key components in the criteria that the young people wrestle with. We seek to model and teach inclusion in our everyday actions, conversations and outreach.