Vermont’s population is becoming more diverse and reflective of a global citizenry. One in four people moving to Burlington is a person of color. The We All Belong Program is in its third year working with Burlington area non-profits, schools and city departments to help them create more inclusive workplaces and to more effectively serve Burlington’s ever diversifying community.
Fifteen agencies were selected through a competitive process to participate in the 2012-13 We All Belong training program, and they include:
- Burlington City Arts
- Burlington School District
- Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission
- City of Burlington, Community and Economic Development Office
- City of Burlington, Human Resources Department
- City of Burlington, Office of the Mayor
- ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center
- Fletcher Free Library
- Greater Burlington YMCA
- Local Motion
- National Park Service, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and Saint-Guadens National Historic Site
- United Way of Chittenden County
- Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
- Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties
- YWCA Vermont
A team from each participating agency will gain valuable skills through a unique coaching and training package to support system-level change which includes:
- strategic planning, assessment and skills training related to diversity and inclusion
- coaching in one-one or small groups
- an AmeriCorps member to serve for one year (in select participating agencies). These members provide direct service in addition to supporting the organization’s cultural competency work.
We All Belong partners with CQ Strategies, a Vermont-based consultant team which delivers coaching and training to participants. In 2011-12, the We All Belong program provided 24 hours of cultural competency training to 70 leaders representing 11 organizations, schools and city departments.
Impact
The training received in the WAB Program has broad and long-lasting impact on its participants. Martha Maksym, Executive Director of the United Way of Chittenden County shared, “The We All Belong trainings have been extremely valuable for our staff and Board of Directors. Participating has certainly raised our awareness as an organization about the critical need to become more culturally competent in order to better serve our community. It requires leadership and systems being put in place so the change isn’t dependent on one or two people within the organization but becomes embedded in the organization’s standard operations.”
Charlene Wallace, Director of Operations for Local Motion shared, "The assistance we've received through We All Belong has been invaluable to Bike Recycle Vermont. We've gained skills and insight about how to better serve the diverse communities of people who come through our door every day. There is so much more to being culturally competent than just providing translations of our materials, and the We All Belong program has helped us understand that in a much deeper way."
By participating in the We All Belong program, service agencies become more effective in serving Vermont’s changing demographics, and agency workplaces become more inclusive with staff diversity. Other organizational advantages include:
- improved community relations
- effective cross-cultural communication
- strengthened staff relationships
- heightened employee morale
- implemented practices to recruit and retain diverse staff
- increased strategic and diversified planning
- inclusive customer service standards
- diversified and more engaged Board of Directors
Read and hear more about the impact and experience of We All Belong participants here.