The Diversity Council is filled with amazing people doing great work within my community. I have attended several of their training opportunities in which I have learned how to support others who are not as privileged as myself. With their guidance I am learning how to become a leader within my community and work towards making improvements to benefit us all. It is inspiring to see how much the education they provide can truly begin to bridge gaps and create positive change.
I am amazed a the DIversity Council's consistent presence in the community through special exhibits, schools, and professional forums. They constantly refresh and build on thier services they provide. Not only do they believe in inclusion and diversity their organization is living tesetimony of putting their beliefs into action. Their edcuation on race and diversity issues is now being delivered to the business and legislative leaders in our community. Their leadership and collaborative efforts with other profit and non-profit organizations in the community made it possible for the RACE Exhibit to be brought to Rochester. Their In addtion, their staff truly represents the faces of the community. The Diveristy Council truly puts their belifs into action.
In 2010, the Mayo Clinic sponsored the national exhibit "RACE: Are We So Different?" in Rochester, MN in partnership with the Rochester Public Library and many nonprofit organizations. I volunteered to be one of 177 facilitators trained by the Diversity Council to lead discussion groups. The Diversity Council managed 6,750 students and 900 adults who toured the exhibit.
This organization is doing wonderful work in the field of building a more inclusive community and bring awareness to the social justice issues that Rochester community members face. They are using cutting edge techniques in bringing people together!
The Rochester Diversity Council part that I work in is with the schools grades K-12. Where there is a different presentation to each grade. The topics deal with Diversity of people, Bullying, How to meet a new person in class.
The students do all the discussion we only facilitate the conversation and provide the questions for the group to answere and present to the class, the group maybe 2 students to as many as 6 students.
We have presented the SPARK program to schools for the past 10 years all over MN.
Thanks for thr time to comment
Ron Machacek
Volunteer Scheduler
The Diversity Council is my favorite non-profit organization in Rochester because they do so much to help build a truly welcoming and inclusive community. The DC offers a positive vision for our future, and works to achieve this vision through education. The Diversity Council's programs educate people at all stages of life to respect their fellow human beings. I am participating in the Corporate Training program and the K-12 Spark! workshops program; I think both of these programs have and will provide tremendous benefit to every member of our community.
I helped with the RACE exhibit at the Rochester Public Library. Along with the wonderful training i received and a real incentive to spend time myself at the RACE exhibit, I met other visitors who were ready to learn.
I am sure that Rochester, with its great diversity, will continue to benefit from the Diversity Council's involvement with this and other events and programs.
The video "Living together [videorecording] : a history of prejudice in Olmsted County produced by the Diversity Council and held in several local libraries has been most useful in my community role. This video shows the groups of people who have been discriminated against from the 1850's (Dakota) to the present (Somali). This video also contains several views of Rochester from historically significant bluffs that are still very important to Dakota and Native American peoples, as they were 150 years ago.
Additionally, when needed I receive very helpful expert advice from Diversity Council staff (usually Kay Hocker) as I proceed in the Rochester Park and Recreation Steering Committe for a city park on a bluff, known to be Dakota burial grounds. Here, my roles include working with many Native American and white people (and the groups they represent) to recommend plans for this park. The value of this land and its appropriate use varies considerably given the ethnic group I am speaking with. Kay's guidance has been great.
The Diversity Council is a beacon of hope, a constant light showing the way to a better future for ourselves and our children. I work in a healthcare setting, so I use a healthcare metaphor to describe the Diversity Council. The programming they provide for our community is similar to a vaccine - they are helping to rid the disease of racism and other social injustices. They were a principal force in making the RACE exhibit come alive for our city and for thousands of others in the surrounding communities as well. I also receive regular emails, which are alwasy smart, even witty, and enrich my day by providing educational materials to help me be a better advocate for social justice where I live!
This organization has done such great things for Rochester, MN and the surrounding community. As a gay man in a rural and conservative are, it is nice to know that the Diversity Council has always been there to support my struggles. They reach out to the community and provide guidance and education which is needed by the community.
My "exposure" to the good works of our Diversity Council extend back at least 15 years, to when our children were in elementary school. The Council provided diversity trainers to the Rochester public schools, and the several I encountered in those years accomplished the challenge of being both high-quality professionals, and great, multi-generational communicators. Best of all, they (and most other staff and/or volunteers we met with affiliation to the D-C) have over time imparted to my wife & me the importance of empathizing with and "seeing the cultural Other" among us. Thanks!
Recently Rochester Diversity Council published a list of 12 books that would increase reader awareness of diversity issues. [I actually received mine on FaceBook where they do a lot of information dissemination.] I've now read most of the books and have a personal and professional heightening of awareness. I've talked with Diversity Council staff about possibly starting a community book club based on these excellent reads.
I've been touched by the work of the Diversity Council of Rochester, MN several times:
-as an employee of a small college campus in Rochester, I've experienced trainings provided by the Diversity Council. The trainings are always well constructed and practiced. The Diversity Council is able to present very complex material without sugar-coating it.
-the Diversity Council has been a leader in educating our City Council on Social Justice; this education often leads to new and revised ordinances that create a safer and stronger community for all.
-the Diversity Council's SPARK curriculum educates thousands of school-age children every year; this is the finest thing they do.
-they keep those interested in Social Justice news updated through Facebook.
-the Diversity Council is well-managed with capable and realistic leadership.
The Diversity Council has played a critical role in the City of Rochester. I was blessed enough to be part of a training program for youth that they spearheaded and then I got to Pay it Forward. What a great group of dedicated individuals!
The Diversity Council of Rochester, MN is amazing. I volunteered for the RACE exhibit. Through this experience, I was able to receive training about race and the implications that race has in our country. I was then able to take my new knoweldge and help middle school and high school students talk about their experiences and thoughts after visiting the RACE exhibit. In addition, I volunteered at the RACE exhibit and was able to greet visitors and answer their questions.