The Mighty Oak Youth Project Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Statement

At The Mighty Oak Youth Project a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace is one where all directors and volunteers, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education or disability, feels valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for involvement and advancement in all of our programs. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.

We’re committed to modeling diversity and inclusion for the entire soccer landscape in Washtenaw County and beyond, and to maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all.

To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, The Mighty Oak Youth Project strives to:

• See diversity, inclusion, and equity as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our organization and the communities we serve.

• Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and continually update and report organization progress.

• Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.

• Advocate for and support board-level thinking about how systemic inequities impact our organization’s work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.

• Help to challenge assumptions about what it takes to be a strong leader at our organization, and who is well-positioned to provide leadership.

• Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.

• Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, committee, and advisory bodies.

• Lead with respect and tolerance. We expect all those involved with the organization to embrace this notion and to express it in program interactions and through everyday practices.

The Mighty Oak Youth Project abides by the following action items to help promote diversity and inclusion in our organization:

• Pursue cultural competency throughout our organization by creating substantive learning opportunities and formal, transparent policies.

• Generate and aggregate quantitative and qualitative research related to equity
  to make incremental, measurable progress toward the visibility of our diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts. Once the content is curated it will be added to our website so others can access.

• Improve our cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the diversity of American society.

• Pool resources and expand offerings for underrepresented constituents by connecting with other arts organizations committed to diversity and inclusion efforts.

• Develop and present sessions on diversity, inclusion, and equity to provide information and resources internally, and to members, the community, and the arts industry.

• Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity. Challenge systems and policies that create inequity, oppression and disparity.