Diversity Committee and the Chamber

Holly Whelan and I have begun participating in the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce’s (SMDCC) Diversity Committee.

The Mission Statement of the committee is as follows: The SMDCC focuses on developing the diversity of our membership, as well as the diversity of the chamber leadership by raising the awareness of diversity issues and working to create a positive environment for business opportunities between minority owned, women owned, and all businesses in the South Metro Denver area.

The overriding goal of the committee is to serve as a resource on business-related diversity issues. This includes assisting minority-owned businesses, helping companies to diversify their work-force, and assisting in marketing to diverse populations. What is most surprising to me about the committee is that it is the only one of its kind in the area. As it stands now, there are no other regional groups or task forces devoted solely to the issues of diversity in business.
So what are we librarians doing on the committee, you ask? Well, there is the clear synergy between the committee’s goals and the library’s many business resources. We’ll be able to assist the committee in its efforts to serve as a resource. We can help find information, leads, stats, etc. We’ll also be joining sub-committees to help organize events. These events will help raise the visibility of the committee, not to mention the visibility of the library and its services for businesses.

The group is somewhat new and seems to be growing. Our involvement on the committee is new as well, so we’ll be learning a lot as we interact with area businesses and participate on projects.

Projects of the committee in 2009 will include a Leadership Breakfast, Business Roundtable, and the creation of articles for the Chamber's quarterly South Metro Denver Business Magazine. I’ll post again with updates as they arise.

Here is a link to the Diversity Committee’s web page (which will be expanded in 2009 too!): http://www.bestchamber.com/groups-committees/diversity-committee.html