Daily Archives: May 9, 2021

Readers may recall back in February, I announced my intention to create a community advisory board at the Enid News & Eagle.

I was thrilled that more than a dozen people reached out to me for consideration on the board. Over the last several weeks, I have had the opportunity to personally visit with most of them. Even though it took longer than I planned to put together the advisory board, I am pleased to announce that five individuals have been selected to serve in this role for the next 12-18 months.

An announcement about the new board will be forthcoming soon, but I wanted to let readers know why the Enid News & Eagle is asking members of the community to work with us in providing the best news, entertainment and marketing products possible.

I want to thank everyone who reached out with interest. Every person I visited with talked about how much this community means to them, and they agree that having a strong local news product is important to the community. Some of the applicants expressed concern or criticism about local news coverage.

This is exactly what I needed to hear because I strongly believe that when people criticize or get mad at the local newspaper for whatever reason it is because they actually have a passion about the newspaper. Its personal to them.

Think about it. How many times have you been upset or angry at business, but you never complained or told them your concerns? You simply stopped patronizing that business.

The news business can sometimes be complicated, and in the case of news coverage, its impossible to please everyone. We understand that, and frankly, have to let some criticism roll off our backs. However, most every concern or criticism I hear can be addressed in some form and improvements can be made.

We have been intentional in selecting this first board to represent various demographics and communities. We want diverse perspectives and people who are willing to listen to each other and provide great ideas.

Our goal is for the community advisory board to be a reality check of sorts for our newspaper. Just as we all operate in our own bubbles in our daily lives, the newspaper business can also operate in a bubble. Our community advisory board will help show us ways to reach beyond that bubble. They will act as informal advisers for us.

We are excited to get started with this new endeavor. As always, if you have ideas or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me at callen@enidnews.com.

Allen is publisher and editor of the Enid News & Eagle.

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COLUMN: Community advisory board will add ideas for news coverage - Enid News & Eagle

OAKLAND, Calif., May 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California today announced $300,000 in community investments to nonprofit organizations that advance the health and well-being of youth and communities of color. The funding supports initiatives focused on youth development, social justice, and health equity.

Twelve organizations six in the San Francisco Bay Area and six in the Inland Empire region of Southern California will each receive $25,000 for a range of initiatives, including art programs, mentorship, technology training, housing, and social justice activism.

The announcement coincides with today's National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, as well as May's Mental Health Awareness Month, and builds on the work of Blue Shield's signature BlueSky youth mental health initiative. Blue Shield created BlueSky because youth mental illness is a pressing issue that demands early intervention: it's the number one reason California children are hospitalized, and half of all lifetime cases begin by the age of 14.

"These organizations are taking on hard challenges and finding new, innovative ways to inspire Black, Hispanic, Asian and foster youth to live their healthiest, most productive, and fulfilling lives," said Kimberley Goode, senior vice president of External Affairs, Blue Shield of California. "As a nonprofit health plan whose goal is to help improve the health and well-being of all Californians, Blue Shield is honored to collaborate and provide our support.

"Local nonprofits are key to building a healthier California as they work to break down barriers to well-being and economic opportunities and reduce stigma around mental health," Goode added. "Blue Shield selected this diverse group of organizations, who are trusted experts, working on the ground in their communities to drive meaningful change."

The organizations receiving funding are:

San Francisco Bay Area

Inland Empire Region

"Most foster youth in California have no source of income when they 'age out' and are expected to make it on their own," said Dontae Lartigue, CEO and co-founder, Razing the Bar in San Jose. "We have to be proximate, intentional, and be able to invest time in young people -- the way we would provide for our own children. When we do this as a community and as a system, that is when young people will thrive. We are grateful for Blue Shield's support to help us reach even more youths in need."

"This funding couldn't have come at a better time," said Pepi Jackson, president of the Riverside County Black Chamber of Commerce, which supports the Building Resilience in African American Families organization. "It will immediately help usto increase the character building services we provide to our young girls and boys who live in some of the most vulnerable communities in the Inland Empire. Thank you, Blue Shield!"

Blue Shield Takes Action for Mental Health Awareness Month

In addition to funding these community organizations, Blue Shield of California is engaged in several initiatives during Mental Health Awareness Month that are aimed at raising awareness about resources and reducing stigma. Activities include:

Today's announcement and the BlueSky program also embody Blue Shield of California's shared commitment to youth mental health with our state and local government partners. Our investments can synergize with Governor Newsom's $400 million state budget proposal for Medi-Cal to fund infrastructure and capacity to increase the number of K-12 students receiving school-based behavioral health services.

Since Blue Shield's BlueSky initiative launched in 2019 it has funded more than 6,700 youth counseling sessions in 20 middle and high schools in San Diego and Alameda Counties, and supported Youth Mental Health First Aid training for more than 2,000 educators statewide.

About Blue Shield of California

Blue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of its family and friends that is sustainably affordable. Blue Shield of California is a tax paying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Shield Association with over 4.5 million members, over 7,500 employees and more than $21 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $150 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation in the last four years to have an impact on California communities.

For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visitnews.blueshieldca.com.

Or follow us onLinkedIn,Twitter, orFacebook.

CONTACT:

Mark Seelig

Blue Shield of California

510-607-2359

[emailprotected]

SOURCE Blue Shield of California

http://www.bcbs.com

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Blue Shield of California Provides $300,000 to Support Youth Development, Social Justice, and Health Equity in Communities of Color - PRNewswire

The Henrico community thats proven the most difficult to vaccinate is the one that sits within eyesight of the regions most successful vaccination hub, where more than 150,000 doses of vaccine have been administered.

That irony, though, may not be surprising.

The communities adjacent to the Richmond Raceway, where Henrico and Virginia Department of Health officials have been holding mass vaccination events for more than three months and which just this week surpassed that 150,000-vaccination mark, are among the most vulnerable in the county.

Overwhelmingly, residents of Census tract 2008.05 (a 1.9-square-mile area that extends from just south of Laburnum Avenue near the raceway north to encompass the raceway, St. Luke Apartments and the Forest Lawn Cemetery, among other pockets of homes) are young, single, poor and Black, according to U.S. Census American Community Survey data from 2019.

More than 41% of the 3,700 or so residents there are living below the poverty line, earning an average of just more than $22,000 annually per capita. Two-thirds of residents are 39 or younger. Eighty-five percent of those 15 or older are single. About 87% are Black.

Taken separately, most of those demographics present clear challenges for health officials seeking to vaccinate as many people as possible.

Together? They create a perfect storm of vaccination resistance even if that resistance isnt entirely intentional.

A shift in strategy

The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts serve both localities, which include a total of 130 Census tracts (64 in Henrico, 66 in the city). The Henrico tract that includes the raceway is the only one in the county that ranks among the bottom 20% for vaccinations within the RHHDs territory, according to data provided to the Citizen by the districts; the others are all in Richmond.

That reality that people within walking distance of the raceway are being vaccinated at a lower rate than those in every other Henrico community exemplifies the challenge facing health officials as they move into the next phase of vaccinations.

Henrico residents who wanted to be vaccinated as soon as possible now have had that opportunity. RHHD officials had offered vaccination appointments to nearly everyone on their pre-registration list a week ago. Now, they must be proactive and strategic in how they reach out to those who havent yet gotten a shot.

They hope that increasing access to the vaccine will be a good starting point but that doesnt just mean physical location of vaccination sites. After all, physical proximity isnt an issue for residents who live near the raceway, but time and availability might be.

With so many single adults and such a high percentage of children living in the raceways Census tract an estimated 30% of its population is younger than 16 working parents struggling to make ends meet simply may not have the time or ability to schedule a vaccination during a work day even if they want to.

Those who are younger than 16 arent eligible to be vaccinated yet anyway (though emergency use authorization for children and teens 12 to 15 could come within days for the Pfizer vaccine). That reality may be partly to blame for the low vaccination totals among residents near the raceway in particular, too.

Walk-up appointments, like the ones available on select days through the end of the month at the raceway, Virginia Union University, George Wythe High School and 342 CVS locations in Virginia, among others, should make it easier for some to get the vaccine.

But theres also still vaccine hesitancy statewide and nationally among some in the Black community, leery of previous vaccine and medical mistreatment of the community throughout U.S. history. In Henrico, Blacks account for nearly 30% of the population but only about 19% of all vaccinations, as of April 26, according to RHHD data. By contrast, whites compose about 54% of the population bu tmore than 61% of those who have been vaccinated.

RHHD community health worker Ivy Bell has heard other explanations while working in local communities to administer vaccines about why some people are choosing not to get the shot.

The most shocking was people who were wanting to get it but were listening to other people who didnt want to get it on why they shouldnt get it, Bell said. A number of others told Bell they were waiting to get the vaccine to ensure that it was safe.

But, she said, some younger people were interested in being vaccinated.

They were asking were they old enough to get it, she said.

In general, though, plenty of young, healthy adults simply havent made vaccination a priority because they are at a much lower risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 if they get the virus. In Henrico, only about 10% of those who had been vaccinated through April 26 were in their 20s, according to the RHHD. (The median age of residents of Tract 2008.05 is about 28.6.)

Addressing social vulnerabilities

In addition to the Census track surrounding the raceway, officials from the RHHD have flagged 11 other tracts in Henrico as areas of vaccination concern either because they rank high in social vulnerability categories that put residents at greater risk for negative consequences from the virus or hinder their efforts to be vaccinated (6); have experienced a high COVID-19 case burden (3); or both (2).

One of the latter two tracts sits adjacent to the raceway tract, just to the west; the other is a bit farther east, also along the Richmond-Henrico line (north of I-64 and south of Creighton Road, bisected by Dabbs House Road).

RHHD officials are spending time in each of those Census tracts in Henrico (and in 27 in Richmond), working to have conversations with residents to answer their questions about the vaccine.

Some folks really appreciate that one on one, wanting to talk to a person in person, said RHHD Health Equity Director Jackie Lawrence. We always try to pair our staff in communities with folks who have cultural relativity. In some communities, door-knocking is ok. In other communities, its maybe not the best to knock on doors.

In the latter instances, officials may visit laundromats or other places that attract people instead, she said.

We know that hesitancy is a big player here, Lawrence said. By no means is the health department trying to force anyone or persuade anyone we want to provide information, so that way people can make their own decisions.

Weve found that when people have way more information, we notice a shift. We believe [information] is the main pillar of empowerment.

At the same time, health workers continue to encounter a steady stream of misinformation as they talk with people.

There is so much going on that is not factual, Lawrence said.

She and RHHD Nurse Manager Amy Popovich encourage people who have been vaccinated to share their experiences honestly good or bad with those who havent been.

If today someone is not ready, thats ok, Popovich said. You can invite them back to talk to you later about it. If folks are not ready, there will be time later, too.

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In the shadows of Richmond Raceway, vaccination irony becomes evident | The Henrico Citizen - Henrico Citizen

May8, 202115+ min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The United States is currently facing an important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. Many of us see the news and ask how we can help. What are the steps that each of us can take to help heal our county, in our own way?

Authority Magazine recently ran an interview series asking close to fifty influential business leaders if they can share their 5 Steps We Must Take To Truly Create An Inclusive, Representative, and Equitable Society.

Here are some highlights of these interviews.

Image credit:Authority Magazine

The challenge with DE&I initiatives is that most organizations want the quick fix or what I call the just add water approach. To be effective and authentic, one must do the work to better understand the challenges that we face with race in our country. To answer the question more directly, context is key. We all have bias we bring everywhere, but these steps can be important for eliminating roadblocks for DE&I:

1. Ensure leaders arent perpetuating the sense of inequity, discrimination, or systemic challenges.Often, employees of color have white leaders. If we can come to terms with the fact that we all have bias and challenge these notions about who is being burdened versus helped, we can go far.

2. Examine your organizational purpose and align DE&I strategy to that.You need to build the why. Be clear about what you want to accomplish, and why. For example, at CUNA Mutual Group, we believe a brighter financial future should be accessible to everyone. Inclusion is built into our purpose.

3. Build a baseline level of training and education for front-line leaders.This dictates how DE&I is embraced and will most directly address how systemic racism is dismantled in the community. If youre trying to build an anti-racist organization, it starts with front-line leaders to influence overall culture.

4. Be deliberate about your recruiting efforts.Move beyond the usual suspects and think about where diverse talent that without your usual pedigree might be, because those pedigrees probably dont have enough diversity.

5. The most important step of all is to have a CEO who is on board.Having a CEOwho is a champion for DE&I andbelieves it is linked to success and isnt afraid to talk about it,sets the tone for DE&I to be successful.

Image credit:Authority Magazine

1. Change hearts as well as policies. Racism is a social norm, a cultural attitude, a personal opinion. It cannot be legislated or regulated. But it can be changed.

The fight for same-sex marriage equality offers a powerful example. In that movement, reformers deliberately set out to first understand where most people in America stood on LGBTQ marriage. National polls in the 2000s showed that while a handful of respondents were adamantly opposed to gay marriage, whether for ideological, religious or other reasons, the vast majority did not have a strong opinion. They werent for it or against it. Many said they didnt understand why gay people wanted to marry. So, the Freedom to Marry campaign and its allies set out to convince this silent, if confused, majority of persuadable people to support their cause through widespread social media campaigns and targeted efforts to change the attitudes of influential individuals. Dismantling deeply-rooted social and cultural norms is more challenging than changing laws or regulations. But it is possible.

2. Have a national strategy and a federal strategy. The most successful movements of the 21st Century focused on state and local policy reform, and only later attempted more sweeping federal changes. This worked for anti-smoking crusaders, gun rights proponents, and gay marriage advocates alike over the past two decades, even though these different causes appealed to opposing political parties. Advocates and allies for Black lives should focus their firepower on state and local policy reform now, while they have the nations attention and empathythey can generate the momentum needed to achieve nationwide changes in the future. But if, instead, the movement pushes for sweeping federal changes too soon, they could squander this historic opportunity.

3. Data doesnt matter, emotions do. People respond to events with their reptile brains, its primal and subconscious. But even the most well-intentioned advocates rely too often on statistics and try to use data and numbers to argue for their cause. For instance, people in America knew as early as 1964 that smoking was dangerous to your health thats when the US Surgeon General first warned about cigarettes, but it took more than several decades of non-smokers rights and tobacco control advocacy and social norm change campaigns to prevent youth smoking and cut adult smoking rates to their current historic lows. It wasnt because the data wasnt available or known. It was the way advocates and people with lived experience of smoking-related diseases shared their stories that change happens.

In this moment of racial reckoning, the more leaders can create places for people to share their personal stories with race and racism, the more understanding and empathy will grow. CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit organizations, churches, and more can promote the sharing of stories to build affinity for causes.

4. Break from Business as Usual. Business can be a vector for change, not just a donor to causes or a target of activist ire. And whether by choice or by default, companies today are becoming more involved with social movements, with seemingly every corporate CEO now speaking out against racism. Companies can play roles in social movements that are much more complex and far-reaching than self-promotional advertisements or corporate statements promising racial solidarity. Corporate leaders who want to demonstrate support with Black Lives Matter can start by reforming internal policies around hiring, retention, promotion, and pay equity, and also reviewing their supply chain through a lens of diversity and inclusion, among other ways to take meaningful action against racism.

Image credit:Authority Magazine

1. Expand our view.I believe the first step in this journey is recognizing we see the world very narrowly and all of our experiences are not universal. We cant even begin to have a conversation about equity until we acknowledge where there are inequities.

2. Learn to unlearn. There are assumptions, behaviors, and patterns of thinking that we all have internalized and need to unlearn. Working toward inclusion will require us to interrogate the various ways we craft policy and distribute opportunity. Until we have the framework to implement a more inclusive way of thinking, we will continue to perpetuate the same outcomes.

3. Name the oppression.You can not solve a problem that you can not identify. We must get comfortable naming systems, policies, and people that have contributed to the marginalization of some communities. We must be honest about the issues to create the right solutions.

4. Make restitution.The past is always with us in the present. We need to reckon with our history if we want to make our nation whole. This request often is interpreted as asking people to atone for the sins of their ancestors, which is not the case. We do, however, need to critically examine the lingering impacts of our early history and work to neutralize them.

Image credit:Authority Magazine

1. Embrace vulnerability. Seven years into my career as a public accountant, I had just had my second child and was thriving personally and professionally. One of my managers took me aside and told me that having any more children would hurt me from progressing in my career. Two months later, I was pregnant with my third child and now I am the CEO of John Hancock. These types of experiences really stuck with me and reinforce the value of making sure my employees (and really anyone) feel they are in a judgment-free environment and can bring their whole selves to work, or anywhere else.

2. Recognize accomplishments. It is important that people are recognized for their accomplishments and rewarded as such, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, age, and ability. I would never want someone to credit my gender for my success. I want people to recognize that I got to this position for being me, for working hard and for doing the best that I can.

3. Create space for diversity of thought. People think differently. Thats a good thing. Being able to recognize the value in different perspectives is key to creating an inclusive environment. Diversity of thought gives us the opportunity to see new and innovative ideas and understand different ways of doing things, and it comes from having people of different races, genders, sexuality, geography, work experiences, etc. at the table.

4. Join forces with others. At John Hancock, we benefit from having many thoughtful community partners and we participate in industry groups like the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, American Council of Life Insurers, and CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion. This allows for consensus-building beyond our own walls to help drive systemic level changes that are needed.

5. Listen and learn from experts. We have benefited greatly from a guest speaker series during our remote work that has brought in third-party voices and experiences to help keep our team engaged. From a NASA astronaut to a presidential historian listening to and learning from those outside our team is so helpful to broaden our perspective.

Image credit:Authority Magazine

1. Ongoing investment of resources. In order to open doors and support the shifts that we need to see in leadership, we have to make diversity and equity a fiscal priority. To this end, education is one of the most critical areas we must invest in.

2. Commit to the long game. I mentioned earlier that the challenges and frustrations that we are seeing did not happen overnight. Many have committed their lifes work to advancing equity, inclusivity, and justice. If we are going to sustain progress here, we have to be just as committed to long-term monitoring, evaluation, and course correction when needed.

3. Change culture and practice. We live in a society where things like inequity, bias, and various injustices are systemic and deeply embedded in our very identities. While very difficult, changing this from a cultural, policy, and practice stance is necessary if we are going to create an inclusive and equitable society. I think as the conversation has turned to being anti-racist, we are headed in the right direction here. Ibram Kendi, author of How to be Antiracist clarifies the concept:To be antiracist is a radical choice in the face of history, requiring a radical reorientation of our consciousness.

4. Open the door and share the stage. This is about sharing power, opportunity, and influence. Too often diverse voices are muted, resulting in one-sided dialogues that are not representative of the most heavily impacted communities. Sometimes opening doors to advance diversity means actively seeking out expertise and skill in spaces where we might not typically look.

5. Face the difficulties with hope and optimism. Make no mistake, what we are facing today is difficult. It is heavy work and emotional labor is real. To get through the tough times, it is important to remain focused on the goal which is a thriving society where everyone is valued and equity is the rule, not the exception. We are not aiming for a utopian ideal, but instead an attainable reality. Tapping into the creative potential of building equitable systems reminds us of why the labor is well worth it.

Image credit:Authority Magazine

As a global convener of the worlds space community, we launched our Center for Innovation and Education at Space Foundation with the mission to provide greater access and opportunity for current and future generations of space contributors. Our approach is an all-inclusive strategy through collaborative partnerships that develop and deliver innovative and economic programming to build a sustainable workforce.

At the hub of the Center for Innovation and Education is our Workforce Development Roadmap, which lays the foundation for building the space workforce today and into the future. The roadmap consists of five core principles that address key issues in building a diverse and inclusive workforce. These principles can be readily extrapolated to build a representative and equitable culture in broader communities.

1. Awareness of space impact and the breadth of workforce opportunities. Raising space industry awareness and workforce opportunities has been a focus of Space Foundation since the beginning. There is a misconception that the space industry is for a select workforce of astronauts, scientists and government contractors. This could not be further from the truth. Today, there is an opportunity for everyone, in virtually every community in the world, to participate in the space economy. How? People with a STEM background can build rockets, yes, but there are also opportunities for entrepreneurs to commercialize space-based technologies, for artists to create new designs, and for skilled trade workers to perform fiber laser welding. The future of space is extending into commercial technologies that not only benefit the aerospace community but also improve life here on Earth.

2. Access to jobs, careers and business ventures for all people. I have seen that it isnt just enough to be aware of opportunities in the space industry: We need to make those opportunities accessible. I remember a time during my 12 years at NASA, the Kennedy Space Center reached out to a local community college to train technicians to apply tiles on the space shuttle. This was not a skill that was taught at the college. It was a need, and through collaboration with the college, the skill was eventually taught and accessible to anyone interested in the space industry. Today, the space workforce is a collaboration of communities, public and private companies, government agencies, entrepreneurs and small business suppliers, educational institutions, and space enthusiasts. By partnering with like-minded organizations, Space Foundation is opening the door to expanding access to all people interested in the space economy.

3. Training for lifelong learning of sustainable skills. In todays workforce, careers are not linear or set by unchanging parameters. Workplaces are more dynamic, and technology changes the way we work at an unprecedented pace. Traditional education is not keeping up with the needs or the workplace, and employers are not providing the continued job training workers need in light of evolving technology and automation. Department of Labor Statistics and Pearson surveys show that 64 percent of workers are in favor of job-hopping, often to pursue new challenges and higher salaries that are commensurate with their skill level. The average employee tenure is four point two years. This number drops to just two point eightyears for employees ages 2534. Employees around the globe report a need for further education every two years because their jobs have changed. Training for me has been a lifelong pursuit, and likewise, Space Foundation endeavors to enable lifelong learners, from students to professionals at any stage of their careers. Through grants, sponsorships and partnerships, we provide a wide range of multimodal training, including hands-on camps, field excursions, self-guided online webinars, and collaborative regional workshops and virtual events for training as well as plans for reskilling or upskilling to grow and retain a vibrant space economy workforce.

4. Connections to a vast space network of people, businesses, and resources. Gaining entry into most fields is bolstered by ones network and connections. This is a major stumbling block for most underserved groups, and we at Space Foundation are working to open up our network and communities to new demographics. Heres how: Space Foundations annual Space Symposium is the leading international event for the space industry, attracting 15,000-plus representatives from the military, civil and commercial space sectors to examine space issues from multiple perspectives, promote dialogue, conduct new business ventures and partnerships, and focus attention on critical space issues. Space Foundation extends scholarships to teachers, students, young professionals, and space commerce entrepreneurs in order to build their networks. The New Generation Leadership program connects promising young professionals (ages 35 and younger) to space professionals that can provide real-world career advice, guidance, and job roadmaps. The new Swigert Society Young Leaders program connects tomorrows leaders with philanthropists who want to make substantial innovations a reality by providing funds that will jump-start promising efforts.

Image credit:Authority Magazine

1. Creating a safe space. The introduction of the topic and establishment of rules of engagement. Its important for a structure to exist as many of these discussions can and will explore traumas and challenge beliefs considered cultural norms. A good starting point is banning the phrase thats how weve always done it from conversation. How youve always done it previously by virtue of this discussion hasnt exactly promoted an inclusive, representative, or equitable society has it?

2. A discussion on the definition of racism and how institutional racism works. Inclusion addresses more than just the race issue, however, racism as a whole and institutional racism specifically is an excellent case study in how to silence and limit the progression of oppressed peoples. Remember the boiling water and pot lid analogy? Institutional racism is that lid.

3. Acknowledging culture clash in which the dominant culture cannibalizes or forces out diverse cultures (in hiring, evaluating, promoting, showcasing, etc of employees). Many organizations, unfortunately, will embrace DE&I efforts as an exercise to check off the box; where they will potentially hire a diverse staff, maybe create some affinity groups and have a yearly event with food and music and consider themselves done. These actions however can be interpreted as a sort of dog and pony show leaving the underrepresented feeling slightly offended. A good example of this is when democratic lawmakers wore African kente cloths to announce police reform legislation earlier this year. It was a publicity stunt that left many offended. In corporate organizations, this is difficult to address but necessary. Standards around dress, appearance, who gets promoted or hired, who gets a leadership role, etc are often exclusive in that to be embraced or accepted you have to speak a certain way, dress a certain way, look a certain way, prepare your hair a certain way, and sometimes have a name that is easy to say lest you be forced to accept a nickname. It makes the statement that you either assimilate or get out. That you should be grateful for being given this opportunity and not that we value you because of what you bring to the table.

4. Listening. Letting the underrepresented share their experiences, anxieties, fears, etc without interruption or fear of retaliation. This is something that may take time and span many sessions simply because a considerable amount of time is going to be required to undo trauma associated with having to fit in, be appropriate,"feeling the need to code-switch, etc. It can also be uncomfortable as sharing these experiences can be triggering on both sides of the table; as the dominant culture will feel the need to explain, defend, or justify, and the underrepresented may feel like its a losing battle not even worth engaging in. These sessions will likely require a moderator who is detached from the organization and who is willing to be provocative enough to pull some of the answers out while maintaining order to be effective.

5. Response and accountability. Letting members of the dominant culture react, respond, ask questions, hold each other accountable, and look for ways to dismantle organizational norms that stem from racism. Some would argue that its not something that can be solved overnight, and in some instances, I might agree. However, the speed at which you move to address these issues is going to correlate to the energy behind making it a priority and getting it done. When you hear the titles CEO, CFO, COO, you likely will immediately think of a middle-aged white man. Inversely when you think of the title Chief Diversity Officer, or Diversity and Inclusion Officer youll likely imagine a black man or woman, relatively young and full of energy. This is the type of programming that needs to be dismantled. Why are we surprised to hear that major brands with household names have c-suite executives who are black men, or women of any race?

Image credit:Authority Magazine

1. Listen. It is important to listen to peoples views and hear what they have to say. For example, after George Floyds murder, we held an all-staff forum for employees to share how they were feeling and to share their experiences. We wanted to create a safe space where people felt they could express their fears and voice their frustrations. We also set up a D&I steering group and a task force to lead this work.

2. Engage. Involve people as part of the solution. In Special Olympics, our athletes are the leaders and teachers of inclusion. They are Global Ambassadors, Health Messengers, Board Members and play an active role in all aspects of the organization.

3. Respect. Respect, value, and appreciate the talents and contributions of everyone. We have a unified school program where students with and without intellectual disabilities play sports together. Through this experience and the power of play, students without disability learn about the skills and talents of students with intellectual disabilities, and through this experience, they are more respecting and understanding of difference.

4. Act. Actions speak louder than words. We must not just talk about how we are going to be more inclusive, each of us must be part of the change that we wish to see and not stand on the sidelines and wait for someone else. We need to be active participants. Through our Global Youth Engagement Program, Special Olympics has inclusion leadership projects that create an opportunity for young people around the world to convene through local summits in their own countries and regions to learn and grow from each other.

5. Commit. The journey towards inclusion requires long-term, focused attention and everyone must be committed to staying the course in building a more equitable and diverse society for all.

Image credit:Authority Magazine

1. Know your why. Be willing to do the self-work to establish your own North Star, and ensure you are genuinely driven by a desire to leave our society better than you found it in whatever aspect or field that may be. Once you know your why and how to effectively leverage your natural gifts in your pursuit, be willing to sacrifice your comfort and push through barriers to drive change.

2. Respect others. See those who differ from you as equally talented and deserving of opportunities. There is so much intersectionality between our experiences that I feel there is always something I can learn from someone else no matter their age or station in life. The basic recognition that someone knows something that you dont is reason enough to respect them.

3. Practice empathy. Listen to one another. Dont dismiss stories of inequity. Although you may not be able to relate to the specific challenges of someone whose life experience may have differed from yours does not invalidate that experience. Take a moment to walk in their shoes.

4. Never stop learning. Constantly work to educate yourself on past issues and the history of our nation. Dont rest on your laurels and take everything that you learned in school or see online as fact. Crosscheck sources, research authors to understand their lens, and read books on various topics that challenge your thinking and perspective. Education is the antidote to racism and oppression. We are all products of our experiences and what weve been exposed to. Expose yourself to knowledge.

5.Help people solve problems. We as a nation are only as strong as our weakest link. We all must be willing to examine our systems to ensure opportunities are equally accessible for all. As Americans, we are ALL on the same team and need the best of the best to excel in all avenues. We have to see problems and barriers to success as our common enemy and not one another.

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1. Educate yourself. I may not be a racist, but I have most definitely done (or not done) things that perpetuate policies and frameworks that have helped racism thrive. I recently finished reading White Fragility and How to be an Antiracist. I was dumbfounded by how little I understood the issue.

2. Open your mind. As a 60-year-old white man of privilege, I cant possibly understand or appreciate what it means to experience racism. I am a gay man, so I have some secondary appreciation of some of the issues, but Id still have to characterize myself as naive, to be sure.

3. Listen and ask for help. I am deeply grateful to our employee resource groups for their advice and counsel on what to do and how to do it.

4. Empathy rules the day. Before you can possibly appreciate whats happening, you have to have truly acknowledged the feelings of others, and only through those expressions of empathy can the kinds of open conversations happen that will ultimately drive change. This was especially true the day after Rayshard Brooks death in Atlanta. We have a large facility in the city, and many of the employees there are Black. They needed to hear that we cared, that what happened was utterly unacceptable.

5. Commit to change with accountability. We published equality.namely.com as our commitment and we intend to revise it over time in partnership with our employees to drive long-term, systemic change.

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1. Inclusion.There is something special about inclusion, being a part of something, building something together. Everyone wants to feel a part of something and have that sense of belonging,"sort of like a brotherhood/sisterhood. For example, every couple of months, I host a Women, Conversation, and Cocktails, where I include several area business owners, as well as aspiring business owners. This is a forum where we discuss challenges, as well as the perks of being a business owner as well as how to effectively navigate through the challenging start-up years.

2. Strategy.In an effort to execute or to be successful in life, you must develop a strategy or blueprint that spells out how you are going to get there and the steps involved to get there. For example: As part of being a fitness coach, in order to help my clients gain maximum results and confidence, not only do I have to guide them one on one with every step of coaching, but I develop strategies that will help them continue to be successful, such as developing and customizing meal plans, work out routines, etc.

3. Diversity. We have to be mindful and take into consideration the many different cultures that breed talent. For example, when trying to be innovative, creative, and think outside the box, many challenges arise. I believe in motivating and encouraging my clients and partners to be open-minded by thinking outside the box in an effort to find solutions to the many challenging issues we face today.

4. Representative. You have to brand yourself and live by a code of ethics, which is all we typically have as humans first, then businesswomen/men second. As a representative of ethics, its importantto be honest and transparent no matter what you do. Its important that my client, team, and partners trust me. For example, to build trust, you must exude high standards, morals, and ethics. The trust comes into play, when I value my partners on the same level as myself, Im open, I listen, and I value their opinions no matter what when it comes to building, branding, strategy, etc.

5. Equitable society. In any industry, you never stop learning and educating yourself, what I mean by this is that, I oftentimes, find myself going to one of my many mentors, or my many other toolkits of resources for the answers sometimes, because I dont always have them. You have to trust your community, your circle, your vested colleagues, and partners to discover and learn the most valuable best practices.

We must be transparent, open, and willing to not only be a voice but hear the voices of those who have a strong desire to be included or belong in such brother/sisterhoods. We have to be the voice when our society isnt strong enough to be a voice. We have to be the blueprint for our culture and generation by demonstrating how to effectively build an innovative and creative, sustainable business from the ground up. As a coach, I mentor women who want to become entrepreneurs. But many are afraid of stepping into their greatness because they worry about being judged or not having the support of friends and family.

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1. Have discussions with people who are different than you. This means talking to people who have different opinions than you and talking to people about what those opinions mean. These discussions are not about proving you are right: They are about educating and informing yourself and others. Do a lot of that. You will also find those conversations are way more interesting than the same old conversations with the same like-minded people.

2. Every fight is worth it. If you feel like something is an issue, have the fight and get through it. Do not hide those emotions, do not push them down, and do not walk away from the problem. I am known for being someone who will have arguments with people in my office and this isnt because I dislike them or think they are wrong. It is because I believe we need to have a steam valve for our anger. Fights help us work through things. We need to learn how to have them and then move past them. Conflict and friction are not bad things. Complacency is though. I cannot tell you how many arguments I have had that I felt convicted about but ultimately was wrong and left the conversation changed for the better and learning. I also promote having disagreements in my team and working through them.

3. Hire lots of people unlike yourself. You are you. Thats awesome but hire other people who are not just like you. These people bring new ideas, new talents, and new perspectives to the table for you to ingest. Thats important. Without a diverse group of people,you miss things. I have a number of employees in NYC. During the global healthcrisis, they were going through way different emotional and social issues than we were in Texas. Having them on the team meant I was able to see how things were happening across the country and problem-solve for our business in very different ways than if I just had a Texas only view on the crisis.

4. Push the envelope. Its not enough to do whatever people are saying you should do today. Do one better. Figure out what other people need to do. Yes, we need to hire more diverse people. But, we also need to ensure our education systems are training more diverse hires and we need to ensure kids arent hungry so they can go to school and get good grades. And, to do that, we need to make sure that kids are taken care of in their homes and their communities. So, yes, we can hire more diverse people but also we need to do the work of the future and make sure we are creating a safe, more just, and better educated America.

5. Step down. If you are a business leader who does not think it is your job to create a better world for your employees and your community, step down. Dont hide. Dont think you can ride it out. Step up or step aside because the best business leaders arent the richest, they are the ones who run businesses that change the world.

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1. Equality.Champion equality, even in its lowest forms, and speak up whenever you see something that is unjust.

2. Empowerment. Empower marginalized groups so they can acquire the resources to build themselves up and attain a greater standing within society. This may include supporting organizations aimed at uplifting members of these groups, as well as spending/buying from these groups as well as spending/buying from these communities.

3. Education. Educate yourself and the people around you so that your interactions, attitudes, and behavior towards people from marginalized backgrounds are intentional and enlightened.

4 Communication. Integrate with these communities so that you fully understand their stories, cultures, and experiences.

5. Promotion.If youre in a position to uplift others, be sure to promote and recommend individuals from underrepresented groups. This will go a long way towards leveling the playing field and ensuring equality of opportunity.

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1. Listen. Try to actively identify an issue by hearing what is important to others. We were producing action sports events for several years where women were primarily on the periphery. We spoke to many female athletes about their frustrations around having little to no voice or respect.

2. Think. Understand the circumstances and determine how you can help make a difference. Our platforms were events and content creation, so we wrestled with how we could use those assets to make a difference.

3. Plan. Devise a plan of action to institute change. We developed the idea behind the Super Girl Pro Series as a platform for the women in action sports and decided to commit both time and resources to the project.

4. Motivate. Inspire others to support your vision as nobody can make a significant change on their own. We spoke with hundreds of top athletes, brands, media partners, and venues about the idea and created a network of key partners to help us bring the whole Super Girl Pro Series concept to life.

5. Act. Be bold and take action. It took several years and considerable financial resources to actually execute the plan, but we committed to the venture (despite the high risks) because we knew it was incredibly important to lead by example.

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1. Bring on investors who will give you a representative POV. As I said above, I believe diversity starts at the cap table, and recruiting investors of color/women can be a powerful way to ensure you do this. I started by ear-marking at least 30 percentof my round for this type of investor. And then I made it known, to whoever was willing to help, that that was a key metric for me.

2. Make it part of your core business thesis. From my work in social entrepreneurship, one of the key takeaways was that impact should be tied to your business at its core. For example, Toms Shoes gave a shoe for every shoe they sold. Impact and revenue went hand in hand. Similarly, find a way to make a strong case for how diversity impacts your bottom line (and vice versa).

3. Pick a diversity metric and constantly measure it. Theres a famous quote by Peter Drucker that says what gets measured gets managed."Select a metric that makes sense for your organization and then create a cadence to measure it (regularity) and share it publicly (accountability).

4. Once you have a diverse team, obsess about how to help them thrive. Some advice I got early on was to find the areas where diversity typically breaks down (for example: pay gaps) and actively create systems to fight those biases. For example, in early-stage startups, theres often not a formal process for compensation (and sometimes not even a clear pay scale). As such, forcing yourself to create one (even if youre just creating it for yourself) is a good way to gut check the offers youre making. Then create a cadence for everyone around promotions and bonuses so you give equal opportunity to everyone on your team rather than just the loudest voices.

5. Find people to hold you accountable. Sharing weak metrics might feel daunting or unproductive. Find a group of people who can hold you accountable, even if its behind closed doors. Just make sure theyre willing to ask you hard questions if youre not performing against the goals you set.

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1. Ask questions. Dont assume someone else in the room doesnt have the answer you need. Ask questions that promote brainstorming and involvement from all stakeholders. Some of the best ideas are simply questions that have never been asked of the right person.

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18 Business Leaders on Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Society - Entrepreneur

Yehyun Kim :: ctmirror.org

Mansions are lined up along Oenoke Ridge in New Canaan. The area is zoned for a 4-acre, single-family home.

On a sunny spring afternoon in 2016, Richard Freedman went on a bike ride through New Canaan.

The housing developer was fresh off a disappointment. He had applied to build housing for low-income people in Westport, but his plan had just been rejected.

As he rode through the hillsides that afternoon where mansions with gated entrances were separated from each other by four acres and stone walls Freedman wondered whether civil rights groups or developers would ever find a way to change zoning laws so that more than one housing unit could be built on these huge lots. The properties take up most of the town and largely shut out those who need affordable housing.

New Canaan is one of the states most affluent and racially isolated communities, and Freedman had been turned away from building affordable housing there a few years earlier.

Its obviously a public street, but you feel like youre intruding on the private lands of an aristocracy, Freedman, a resident of Stamford and president of Garden Homes Management, said about his ride through town.

Then, as he rode along Oenoke Ridge, he thought to himself that he could easily fit 10 separated two-bedroom apartments into each mansion.

House after house after house, theyre the size of hotels. Thats how big they are. Theyre bigger than some of the apartment buildings I own, he said. Then, it finally hit me: If the zoning lets you build a house that big for one family, why cant you build a home the same size for more than one family?

When he returned home, he called Erin Boggs, a civil rights attorney who focuses on housing desegregation and the leader of Open Communities Alliance, and shared his epiphany. The duo then shared the idea with the fair housing development clinic at Yale Law School, and a coalition was formed to attempt to dismantle single-family zoning in a state with some of the most racially isolated communities in the country.

The idea was simple: Let developers build two, three or four housing units in the same size structure, as long as they meet all the other requirements for single-family homes that dont need special permission.

The remedy that they proposed is brilliant in its simplicity, said Timothy Hollister, a land-use attorney who has made a career out of shepherding through the courts affordable-housing projects in uncooperative towns.

Boggs, Freedman and the Yale professors and law students had a long list of towns in Connecticut that essentially prohibit anything but single-family homes from being built. When it came time for the team to decide which towns zoning laws to challenge, they focused on one that stood out in stark contrast to its neighboring city: Woodbridge.

In Woodbridge, one out of every 79 housing units is occupied by a low-income resident, compared to one in three in New Haven. The share of Black or Latino residents living in this suburb is one-third the share living throughout the state. In the last 30 years, just three two-unit homes have received a permit to be built, compared to 281 single-family homes.

This outcome is by design, the lawyers firstargued nearly eight months ago when they asked the towns planning and zoning commission to scrap its single-family zoning and allow them to build a four-unit house on a 1.5 acre lot that is zoned for a single-family home and, more importantly, to completely overhaul local zoning regulations to allow the towns fair share of affordable housing to be built.

Thats a feature, not a bug of the towns finely-tuned zoning codes that prohibit multi-family housing and require 1.5-acre lots for single family homes nearly everywhere in town, they wrote in their application.

On Monday, the zoning officials in this suburb, which has been controlled by liberals for years, began discussing whether it was time to rethink what type of housing the town allows to be built ahead of the June 9 deadline to vote on the application. While three of the seven-member panel said they were open to exploring and discussing how to amend the request to throw out single-family zoning in town, no decisions were made. At several points during the meeting, however, it became clear the sticking point for several commissioners including Robert Klee, the chairman of the panel who was was the states commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection from 2014 to 2019 is the impact such changes could have on the environment and the water supply.

The application has drawn the attention of local and state officials throughout Connecticut, since the attorneys are prepared to appeal the decision in court.

Were not going anywhere, said Boggs. We are committed to addressing the fact that Connecticut has exceptionally exclusionary zoning. Were committed to looking at all of the repercussions of decades of intentional government policies that have created segregation and limited choices for low-income Black and Latino families.

This case has implications for other Connecticut towns with similar zoning restrictions, if the courts ultimately determine Woodbridges regulations have led to discriminatory housing practices.

This approach was taken by fair housing advocates after the General Assembly has declined, year after year, to change state laws so that more affordable housing can be built in well-off suburbs and this year seems to be no exception. Legislation that would have allocated a so-called fair share of affordable housing for each town to develop failed to make it out of the Judiciary Committee. Another bill removed a provision that would have allowed two-, three- and four-unit homes to be constructed around some train stations and town centers without needing special permission before it was voted out of the Planning and Development Committee.

With momentum for changes dissipating at the Capitol once again, efforts to kill the Woodbridge proposal have mirrored campaigns that have popped up elsewhere where affordable housing is proposed.

An online campaign to raise money to fight the proposal quickly raised over $20,000 to hire attorney Tim Herbst, the former first selectman of Trumbull who ran for governor in 2018 and hasnt ruled out running again in 2022. Donations to hire him came in from several Republican state representatives, a former Republican leader of the state House of Representatives and officials from nearby towns. A flyer was also mailed and circulated that two of the zoning commissioners during their last meeting characterized as fear mongering.

Theres a lot of history there. And history makes people uncomfortable. Politics makes people uncomfortable, and change makes people uncomfortable. And we definitely heard that in the comments that we heard from people. I do think its regrettable that there was an entity, particularly [that decided] upon themselves to sow fear in our community, said Commissioner Yonatan Zamir.

The Woodbridge zoning officialshave until June 9 to decide whether to allow multi-family housing to be built in town.

A number of local residents have written the board or spoken at public hearings to ask that they deny the application. Several acknowledged the towns lackluster history of allowing diverse housing stock to be built, including Herbst, who is representing a dozen residents in town. But they urged the members to wait before deciding. A panel was recently set up to create a plan to allow for more affordable options in town, and that panel should be able to finish its work so the zoning commission has more options to consider, they said.

This commission is not required to feel intimidated to respond quickly in developing a regulation, Herbst told the panel on April 5.On behalf of the town of Woodbridge, the citizens of the town of Woodbridge, and quite frankly, on behalf of the citizens of the state of Connecticut, were watching this very closely and counting on all of you to do the right thing: Summarily deny these applications and get to the drawing board.

I dont think that the commission should feel like theyre backed into a corner and have to vote yes to this application. I would ask the commission to wait, said Nicole Dunzell, a Woodbridge resident, at that same meeting.

But another speaker during the public hearing, Constance Royster, shot back.

Many of the folks who testified have said that these young lawyers didnt have a right to bring this matter before this body and before this town, she said. And Im reminded that 60 years ago plus, others did the same thing to my aunt, Constance Baker Motley, born and raised in New Haven, and other lawyers for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. [They said] that they had no business coming to Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, to integrate their community. I remind this body, and the town, that you heard from plenty of Woodbridge residents who support this application [and] putting this decision off is quite bothersome. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Residents and some of the zoning commissioners have expressed outrage that those asking for zoning overhaul are describing the town as racist.

You[r application] essentially called Woodbridge a bunch of racists, town commissioner Paul Schatz said in February.

The team from the Yale clinic and Open Communities Alliance, however, has said the town has had decades to do the right thing and that its inaction has had an impact on who can live in Woodbridge. While not explicitly racist, the zoning rules are having a disparate impact on Black and Latino people, they said.

Karen Anderson, a Yale Law School student, spent hours reviewing the towns zoning decisions dating back to the 1930s.

Woodbridges zoning restrictions over the decades have driven up housing costs, and these high costs exclude many Black and Hispanic families and keep Woodbridge whiter and wealthier than the surrounding region. And so, when Woodbridge stays the same, Woodbridge stays segregated, Anderson said. It doesnt have to be this way.

During the panels meeting on Monday to deliberate on the application, now that the public hearings are over, some of the commissioners seemed open to some changes, but they have serious reservations with how multi-family housing will affect the environment and the public water supply. Roughly half the towns land is located in a watershed.

Development in watersheds can cause risk to that communal water supply, said Klee, the chairman of the panel and the states former environment commissioner. If you are building in a watershed, you are putting that aquifer, the broader water body at risk.

Yehyun Kim :: ctmirror.org

A house on the corner of Orchard Road and Newtown Road in Woodbridge. A proposal has been brought to build a four-unit home on the single-family lot.

Probably the primary concern that Ive carried in the back of my mind throughout all of this is what is the effect going to be? asked Zamir.

State law requires any application to build in watersheds to notify state public health and environment officials for review, and the team from Yale and Open Communities Alliance is asking Woodbridge to trust those regulators to do their job and not add another layer of approval by the zoning board for a project to move forward.

Theyve made a compelling case, and Im not saying Im 100% convinced that they have or not, because Im not an expert on water, but I did not hear any state-supported or consultant-supported information presented to me that said, If you do this this way, its going to be a disaster. I heard insinuations that this could potentially be a disaster, but nobody convinced me that theres a disaster waiting to happen, said Zamir, expressing frustration that state guidance has been minimal on the impact individual multi-family development projects can have on water supply.

But Klee said he sees value in having local review, too.

When you focus in on what theyre asking for, and what they highlight, there seems to be more opportunity for us to have increased diversity of housing stock, increased types of housing in different parts of our community, said Klee. I think there is [value] in having the planning and zoning commission be more in the mode of planning for that development and sort of looking at that entirety of a zone particularly in our zones that are watershed areas that takes into account, Wait a minute, maybe we dont want to leave it all up to an outside entitys determination. We want to be involved.'

The panel plans to meet again next week to continue deliberations.

Editors Note: Richard Freedman is a donor to the CT Mirror.

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How one bike ride inspired a case that could upend CTs zoning laws - The CT Mirror

May 8, 2021

Todd Kleppins(93)journey toward youth mentoring initially had very little to do with youth. After helpinghis churchteam with the city tobuild astate-of-the-artskate park on their propertytoconnect with and serve the youth of theircommunity,Todd was surprised to see each day that,among the 100-plus kids who flocked to the park, there was never an adult in sight. This promptedhimtoactivelyencouragethe congregation to sit on a park bench and see if a kid would come upandtalk with them.

A fewweekslater,I had a lady in her mid-80s come up and talk to me, Todd remembers. She said that she took my advice and within the first half-hour of sitting there, she had three middleschool boys come up and talk to her. It was a stark symbol of the starvation for meaningful adult interaction that he had witnessed amongteensinyouth ministry. That was where God said to me, Time to wake up.Its a totally different world.

Todd began to reflect on his ministry goals, asking God how he might better meet the needs of the kids in his community. His prayer and research began to move himfrom his role as a youth pastortoward youth mentoringthe uncommon image of an 80-year-old woman engaging with middle school boys still fresh in his mind.

Over the next few years, Toddsteppedsteadily intohis new calling, eventually landing in the role of Director oftheChristian Association of Youth Mentoring(CAYM), an organization that provides mentorship training to churches interested instarting mentorship programs.It was soon after that he wasreunited with Brian Vaughan(91), a fellow Corban graduate and current CPA with a practice outside of Portland,Oregon.

I had always kind of followed what Todd had been doing through the years, Brian says. Todd and Brian were teammates on the Corban mens soccer team back when they attended the University. Even before they had considered mentoring as an official ministry course, it was on the soccer pitch that they had first encountered its impact.

Corbanprovidedmy firstrealexperience with discipleship and mentoring, Brian says, remembering thespiritualaccountability shared among teammates.When I look at my own personal growth as a believer, its tied to those individual relationships where someone was coming alongside of me, investing in me, and pushing me.

When Todds work with CAYMsent him toward thePortland areafor a series of meetings, he stayed with Brian, whovolunteered someconsulting and strategic planning advicefor CAYM.Brian posed theideaof amentorshipmodel thatwasnttiedspecificallyto asinglechurchorpastor. As opposed to going into a community and doing the training to launch a program with one church that wont have any carry over, why dont we form an executive leadership team, go into that communityandbring all the churches together so that they canalltake ownership of that program in their own community?Briansuggested.

Todd and Brian took the idea and ran with it.I always thought that I was the big visionary guy, Todd says,and then I get around Brian and this guy pushes me way out of my comfort zone, and I love it.Fast forwardtwo-and-a-half years and Forge Youth Mentoring is helping churches and individuals make an impact throughout Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii, with plans to expandfurther.

Forges unique approach, helpingtoidentify and support organizations and individualsandequipping communities with the capacity to serve beyond the borders of a single church, has been a major reason for its quick expansion.One of our main focuses is that church staff already have way toomuch on the plate, Brian says.So, lets not add anything to it, but lets help take the members of their congregationswhoare ready for mentorship and plug them into the secular community.

Forge accomplishes its mission by networking with multiple churches,connecting withpeopleinthese congregations,andmatching them withat-risk youth.We want to come inandhelp pastors provide a ministry, but we can do all the work, and let God claim all the glory,Toddsays.My hope is to stir up the average person in the pews.The cool thing about mentoring isthatit pulls a lot of peoplewhodont normally serve. You dont have to have special skills or a dynamic testimony. You just have to be willing to let God use you.

For Todd and Brian, the need for more dedicated involvement from the church community has never beenmore dire.We adults simply do not understand that the world is completely different for kids today in light of adult connection, Todd says.We thinkthatkids todayhave the same adults we did, and the truth is they just dont. With 42-55% of kids being born to unwedsinglemothers, coupled with the ever-present effects of divorce, Todd sees a growing void for todays youth. Not only are they missing a second parent, but they are missing all the extended family that comes along with them.

The problemhasonlybeenexacerbated by societal trends and patterns of abuse that often stem from the same sort of long-term relational brokenness Forge is trying to address. In a society where everyone is scared of lawsuits, teachers and coaches are pushed awayfromthe personal connection they used to have with kids because its dangerous, Todd says. I believe the average kid has less thanthreeadults that they feel they can trust enough to turn to.

Brian sees youth mentorship as the root treatment to this relational epidemic, transcending generational gaps.We adults have a really difficult time doing discipleshipwith each other, he says.Were afraid of it.Through youth mentoring, Brian and Todd hope that reinstating a pattern ofbiblical discipleship early on, with intentional interaction at its crux, will lead toward healthier adult-to-adult relationships in the future. Its a starting spot because,ifayouth has a mentor in their lives, when they get older, they mayfeel moreable to come alongside another adult later on in life.

Even though Forge has only been running for two and a half years, Todd and Brian have already begun to see the incredible impact that mentorship programs can have on a community, for mentees and mentors alike. And it begins with the church.I look at it as an amazing opportunity for the church to lead the way in shaping the future, says Todd.And these kids want it. Its not an issue of wrangling upenoughkids to be mentored. There are thousands of kids in every community who want meaningful connections with adults.Their efforts have already begun toverifythe formal findings that kids are twice as likely to stay in and succeed in school while staying off of drugs when given a dependable adult influence in their lives.

The process has been rewarding for adult mentors as well.Weve seen that adultswhobecome mentors actually begin doing more ministry in the church after they became a mentor than before,Brian says.We love to see adults also find their purpose and redeem their pasts and use them to help kids overcome theirchallenges.

With adults and youth benefitting from church-guided youth mentorship, the secular world hasbegun totaken notice.Forges workhas beenrecognized bymultiple secular outlets, includingHarvard Universitys Leadership Institute for Faith and Education,for the groundbreaking waysthey have been able to help equip andmobilize program leaders and mentors, particularlyfrom Hispanic communities.

Through theirministry, Forgehasoffered another avenueto heal divides between sacred and secular communities in the towns and cities where they serve.This is a way for us to go into communities and instead of doing something in a separate building or handing out food one day of the week,wegetto make avisible,material change in the lives of people in the community,Brian says.

As a result,Forge now hassecularschools and agenciesactivelyseeking help from theirpartner churches, requestingmentors for their kids in public schools.The church has the opportunity like never before to lead the way, Todd says.When we go into a community and offer a mentoring program and we say we are teaming with the churches, that means the churches are solving the greatest problem in that community. Theworldgetsto see theChurch as the ones solving problems, not causingthem.

Looking toward the future, Brian and Todds dream is to expand further into Oregon and Idaho, down the I-5 corridor into Salem and Portland, where Brian lives. If theres a community that says,Were interested, were there, Brian says. Wewere able tolaunch on the island of Maui during COVID. Why could we not make it happen in Salem?

Because Forge Youth Mentoringcan offer their services at a third of the cost of most other agencies, they see incredible flexibility for God to be able to direct them to new connections and new communities as needed. One ofthose new connections is an old connection for Brian and Todd, as they look to partner with the University that first impressed the prominence of mentorship on their hearts.

It would be great if we could team with Corban gradswhohave their own churches that want something like this in their community or for their congregations, Brian says. And we dont need their resources. We dont need their staff, or their monetary contributions. We just need them to partner with us and encourage their people from the pulpit,and we will take it from there.As Forge looks to expand toward Salem, Todd hopes that soon they will alsobe able tooffer internshipsand service opportunities to Corban students, fostering in them apassion forlifelong discipleship.

Every day,Todd encounters fearfulness from adults who believe they have nothing to offer. Weve bought way too much into the media telling us that kids dont want us around, he says. But when a sweet old lady can sit at a skate park and have multiple middle schoolers come to her, you know thats not true. What do they have in common? She doesnt skateboard, and they dont crochet. But these kids are desperately looking for someone who has life experience who can show them how to get the most out of life.

For Brian, the calling is clear. Ifweclaim to be followers of Christ and do whatHes done, then who are our 12 today that we are training to go out and find their 12? he says.

For Todd, the formula is simple. Take one hourout of your weekand have funsharing whatwhatyoulove todo, he says,fishing, gardening, cooking, or just walking in the park. God wants to use your story to shape their story by telling His story.

If you are interested in discovering more about Forge Youth Mentoring or want to find a way to get involved, visit their website athttps://forgeyouthmentoring.org/

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Forging New Connections: Alumni Todd Kleppin and Brian Vaughan Start Forge Youth Mentoring Ministry - Corban University