To accomplish our mission of generational change, we demand more from ourselves as an organization. We seek to increase equity for all people in our organization while also grounding our work in the need for racial equity. We know there is a long persistent history of cultural and institutional racism that has created glaring inequalities in our community. Differences in race are closely connected to differences in income, health, education, and the many ways we define well-being and success. We want to ignite change and move racial equity forward at all levels of the work we do. We are in a position of privilege and have a responsibility to our youth, families and staff to speak out about injustice. We are only at the beginning of this journey, and our work toward becoming an organization grounded in equity will be ongoing and a constant state of becoming. Our current Equity and Inclusion Policy, found below, is simply a starting block. We have also established five guiding Values to keep us focused on furthering our commitment to equity and to guide us in achieving our mission. You can read more about our values here. Ultimately, we hope to empower our youth to continue this important work, for they are the change-makers we so desperately need in this world. Equity and Inclusion Policy At Friends of the Children our mission is to break the cycle of poverty for our community’s most vulnerable children. To achieve that mission requires the full and active participation of talented and committed individuals. We are a stronger organization by fostering an atmosphere of inclusion and support. We value and incorporate the strengths afforded by the differences, styles, ideas, and organizational contributions of people of every gender, gender identity, race, ethnic origin, disability, age, religious affiliation, socio-economic status and sexual orientation. We will continually work to enhance our ability to recruit, retain, develop, and engage the full potential of employees at all levels. We seek to increase our diversity to: Reflect the demographics of our population and understand the socioeconomic circumstances of our youth.Ensure every staff member is trained and equipped to provide culturally appropriate service to all the youth we serve.Cultivate growth, learning, and understanding of personal biases.Embrace and promote a culture that encourages and celebrates differences. Statement of Racial Equity We are passionate about increasing racial equity for our youth and organization. To be successful in fulfilling our mission to break the cycle of poverty for our community's most vulnerable children, we address historic and persistent gaps impacting people of color. To do this we commit to: Cultivate best practices and work to resolve racial inequity.Create a climate where all people are valued.Encourage participation and decision making from underrepresented groups in all levels of the organization.Work to create a culture where discourse around racial equity is encouraged and seen as a learning opportunity.Evaluate our practices and adjust when necessary, to ensure we are addressing relevant issues in promoting the fair treatment of all.