CEDO announces 15 agencies to participate in We All Belong Program

 The Community and Economic Development Office is pleased to announce fifteen agencies chosen to participate in the We All Belong program is recruiting and fourteen AmeriCorps members to serve in these agencies in the coming year.

Vermont’s population is becoming more diverse and reflective of a global citizenry. 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.  Funded by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, AD Henderson Foundation, and participating agencies, the program is housed in the City of Burlington’s Community and Economic Development Office. 

The fifteen agencies selected to participate in the 2012-2013 We All Belong training program 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

·        In select participating agencies, an AmeriCorps member to serve for one year. These members provide direct service in addition to supporting the organization’s cultural competency work.

Last year, the We All Belong program provided 24 hours of cultural competency training to 70 leaders representing 11 organizations, schools and city departments. We All Belong will continue to partner with CQ Strategies, a highly skilled consultant team that delivered coaching and training to participants.  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.”

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 and stronger, diversified and more engaged Board of Directors.

The We All Belong program is now recruiting Burlington area residents to serve as AmeriCorps members in these agencies to support their community engagement and organization improvements. Fourteen full and part-time positions are available beginning September 1st. AmeriCorps members will receive a $12,100 living stipend and a Segal Education Award of $5,350 that can be used on past and continuing educational pursuits. 

For more information, go to http://www.burlingtonvt.gov/cedo/.

Picture of AmeriCorps Team Leader Jeetan Khakda at January’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Event