[0:00] welcome to the 2023 2024 annual Council

[0:04] presentation presented by the office of

[0:06] racial Equity inclusion and belonging

[0:08] the past year has been a transformative

[0:10] one filled with initiatives and events

[0:12] that strengthen our community and

[0:15] promote equity and inclusion this review

[0:17] kit saw for our last report ended the

[0:19] summer of 2024 last May our inaugural

[0:22] Bloom and Bloomington program lunch with

[0:24] 10 interns in the city of Bloomington

[0:27] and some with corporate Partners Mall of

[0:29] America and larkman hoffin we celebrated

[0:32] their achievements last August these

[0:35] internships provided valuable work

[0:37] experience and networking opportunities

[0:39] setting a strong foundation for future

[0:41] careers in August we also partnered with

[0:44] the police racial Equity action team

[0:46] hosting a community barbecue that

[0:48] included a manyi recruitment session for

[0:50] future officers the event was fun and

[0:52] engaging and a great way to build trust

[0:55] and interest in law enforcement careers

[0:57] later partnering with the city's of

[1:00] Richfield Eden Prairie and Egan we

[1:03] celebrated welcoming week as part of

[1:05] this celebration we partner with loriza

[1:07] radio station the Minnesota Department

[1:09] of Vehicle services and onito Minnesota

[1:12] to deliver a program segment on driver's

[1:14] license for all providing crucial

[1:16] updates to Spanish speaking communities

[1:19] later we supported the women's employee

[1:21] research group and their leadership

[1:23] panel which provided insights and

[1:24] inspiration for aspiring female leaders

[1:27] later in October we partnered with the

[1:30] Bloomington chamber to recognize

[1:32] National disability employment awareness

[1:34] one additionally our staff presented at

[1:37] the iap2 conference there they shared

[1:40] the Innovative work of the welcome to

[1:42] Bloomington design committee we wrapped

[1:44] up the year supporting the edg's

[1:46] passport panel this panel shared

[1:49] immigrant stories and celebrated

[1:51] cultural diversity we were proud to

[1:53] participate in the first ever CI public

[1:56] sector racial Equity dividends index

[1:59] report Bloomington scored high in the

[2:01] areas of leadership budget Public Safety

[2:05] and public policy January saw us join in

[2:07] partner cities for the national day of

[2:10] racial healing Workshop it featured

[2:12] renowned speakers who inspired us to

[2:14] continue our work towards racial Equity

[2:16] we also lunched the welcome to

[2:18] Bloomington program today we've engaged

[2:20] 50 new residents many of them who are

[2:23] now actively participating in City

[2:25] activities we continue to expand the

[2:27] program Realtors are now provid in

[2:30] welcome gifts at closing sessions

[2:32] containing City swag information on

[2:35] local resources and coupons to shop at

[2:38] local businesses this initiative helps

[2:41] new residents feel welcome and connected

[2:43] to the community none of this work is

[2:46] possible without the support of our

[2:47] dedicated community members people like

[2:50] Elise balarama who goes above and beyond

[2:53] by canvas and neighborhoods with flyers

[2:55] and bringing extra snacks to meeting and

[2:58] also inviting friends and family to

[3:00] introduce new residents C has devoted

[3:03] countless hours to fostering a warm and

[3:05] inclusive community in February we

[3:07] supported the love wins event for our

[3:09] newest ERG prism celebrating love for

[3:12] all we also supported BB's Black History

[3:15] Month Pioneer and change makers event

[3:18] honoring those who have made significant

[3:20] contributions to our community March

[3:22] marked the lunch of our supplier

[3:24] diversity initiatives ensuring our

[3:26] procurement processes are inclusive we

[3:29] also o took on new

[3:31] responsibilities now handling housing

[3:33] discri complaints and partner with local

[3:35] agencies to provide essential resources

[3:38] to affected community members we are

[3:40] proud to announce that in March we

[3:43] successfully completed the rigorous

[3:45] audit by wel in America and met all of

[3:47] the core requirements to become a

[3:49] certified welcoming City this

[3:52] achievement underscores our unwavering

[3:54] commitment to creating an inclusive and

[3:56] weling environment for immigrants the

[3:59] the audit process was extensive

[4:01] involving months of plinary research and

[4:04] leading up to a 3-day audit with over 20

[4:07] hours of in-person interviews with staff

[4:10] community members and local

[4:11] organizations moreover Bloomington will

[4:14] be the first city in the state of

[4:16] Minnesota to achieve this prestigious

[4:18] designation we wrapped up our mental

[4:21] health popup events these events

[4:23] centered culturally responsive mental

[4:24] health practices in order to nalize and

[4:27] destigmatize talking with one another

[4:29] another about individual or Community

[4:31] Mental Health needs in partnership with

[4:34] Thea and Brickfield we have engaged

[4:36] approximately 321 community members

[4:39] normalizing and destigmatizing mental

[4:41] health conversations across Generations

[4:44] this work is facilitated by our partner

[4:47] marn's table speaking of mental health

[4:49] this may the mental health and

[4:51] disabilities ERG hosted a successful

[4:54] event bringing joy and awareness to

[4:57] mental health issues and of course what

[4:59] summer without Bloom interns this year

[5:02] the program is back and better than ever

[5:05] expanding the number of interns and

[5:07] employers Bloom and Bloomington strives

[5:10] to support and grow a more diverse and

[5:13] accessible Workforce for the community

[5:15] by matching young people with employers

[5:17] and local government nonprofit and

[5:20] private sectors our interns are doing

[5:23] impactful work the second annual June

[5:26] celebration Drew hundreds despite the

[5:28] rain it featured giveaways Community

[5:31] Building face painting and spread

[5:34] significant Economic Development this

[5:36] event supported by grants from Blue

[5:38] Cross Bruce shield and in partnership

[5:40] with the city of Bloomington Normandale

[5:42] Community College and the Church of New

[5:44] Life highlighted our commitment to

[5:46] celebrating cultural heritage and

[5:48] promoting Community engagement City Hall

[5:50] was bustling with activity a testament

[5:53] to our Vibrant Community additionally we

[5:56] welcome new staff we welcome isella mola

[5:59] as a a full-time office support

[6:01] specialist Elizabeth tossman recently

[6:03] joined as the new assistant city manager

[6:06] and Arion Williams is our new Equity

[6:09] inclusion program manager their

[6:11] expertise and dedication are invaluable

[6:14] to our mission in closing the

[6:16] transformative work our team is doing

[6:19] directly impacts the city's mission of

[6:21] cultivating an enduring and remarkable

[6:23] place where people want to be we're

[6:26] grateful for community support and

[6:28] engagement for more information about

[6:30] work or if you're looking to get

[6:32] involved please visit our website

[6:34] together we're building a more Equitable

[6:37] and inclusive Bloon