Improvements to MEND part 2: Striving to make people feel included

In our second article in our series about improvements made to MEND based on feedback gleaned through a survey in early 2024, we’re talking about the value of inclusion.

As part of our organization’s mission to meet each need with dignity, we strive to make all community members we encounter feel included—whether they’re our clients, volunteers or staff members.

This inclusivity shows in the form of a bilingual and bicultural staff, and the Community Cupboard’s dedication to providing client choice through a shopping model food pantry which prioritizes culturally important foods.

Areas of improvement that surfaced in the survey included more diversity among the organization’s leadership, including on the board of directors.

In some ways, MEND’s policies already reflect the value of inclusion:

• Using a rubric to screen potential board members based on a number of demographic and professional skills, including age, race, profession, geographic location of their home, etc.

• A bilingual pay policy, which provides additional compensation for Spanish-speaking members of staff, recognizing the extra work bilingual staff members do. This in turn means we’re able to provide bilingual services to clients at all our locations.

• Enhanced work/life balance through flexible work schedules to accommodate employees’ varying needs.

• Making our programs conducive for community members to live out their values, including spiritual and religious principles that they embody through volunteering for and donating to Upper Valley MEND.

Building on our existing policies and practices, we're implementing these additional improvements:

·       Engaging with specialized consultants who will help strengthen our policies to better fulfill our mission of meeting each need with dignity.

Providing educational opportunities in inclusive language, cultural competency, recognizing ways our biases can affect the day-to-day lives of coworkers and clients, and related skills to equip our team with tools to create an environment where everyone feels genuinely included and valued. By addressing inclusivity, we hope to continue to make anyone who interacts with MEND—in any capacity—feel like a part of the greater community, and to feel supported in their role as a community member.

 [BM1]I hope we can continue to work with Karen--and I suspect we will--but I’m reluctant to specifically include her since we’re not totally sure what this will look like.