ECC to host program on diversity

Submitted by Prairie Valley Family YMCA

So what are you doing about diversity in your community? And what about your colleagues in business, education, government, places of worship and social service agencies?

Find out what the community is doing both generally and specifically to promote diversity and inclusion at “Hawo’s Dinner Party” from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, at Elgin Community College.

A Diversity & Inclusion Initiative presented by the Prairie Valley Family YMCA, “Hawo’s Dinner Party” is a 30-minute documentary about a Somalian nurse who emigrated to the US and now works in a poultry plant in Shelbyville, Tenn. Howa shares what led her to Shelbyville, how she is coping, and who helped her along the way. The documentary is adapted from “Welcome to Shelbyville,” a documentary about diversity and inclusion in action.

“As one of 10 Ys in the U.S. selected to implement diversity and inclusion programs in our local community, we felt showing this powerful documentary would be a great way to start a conversation about these important issues,” said Rick Reigner, president and CEO of the Prairie Valley Family YMCA, 50 N. McLean Blvd., Elgin.

The presentation and subsequent discussion will be moderated by Dianha Ortega-Ehreth, executive director of the Youth Leadership Academy in Elgin. Ortega-Ehreth is also a Taylor Family Y board member.

Between 2007 and 2009, Ortega-Ehreth was the lead coordinator for the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event, a four-day national conference sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Serving in this and other related roles, she helped train youth and adults across the USA and Puerto Rico on various aspects of diversity. Additionally, she herself has trained with a number of highly-regarded organizations including The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, The Alliance for Nonprofit Management, Crossroads Anti-Racism, and The Kaleidoscope Group.

“I am so glad that the YMCA is offering this unique gathering of community leaders to learn together from each other. My hope is that some ideas and energy will surface from our leaders that will be helpful to the community’s capacity to help people from all cultural backgrounds feel included and valued in all we do,” she said.

According to Silvia Ceja, social services director for Taylor Family Y, an affiliate of the Prairie Valley Y association, “Our goal is to use the follow-up discussion to find out what diversity programs are already in place, what’s working, what’s not working and what the community’s future challenges might be. This should provide each and every one of us with an informative springboard for action.”

The public is invited to participate in the presentation and discussion to be held in the Fox Valley University & Business Center dining room at 1700 Spartan Drive on the ECC campus. Admission is free and light refreshments will be served. Attendees are asked to RSVP by Thursday, March 1, by calling Silvia Ceja at the Y, (630) 503-6571. Email reservations are also being taken a sceja@elginymca.org.