Online meeting will ‘make sure their voices are in the room’ for Whatcom racial equity
Chuckanut Health Foundation, which is helping Bellingham and Whatcom County establish a Racial Equity Commission, is holding an online event to gather community input and show how similar panels work nationwide.
“To build an effective commission, we know we need to include as many people as possible in the development process,” said Kristina Michele Martens, one of two local residents leading the effort to establish the countywide board.
“We believe that the best and most effective way to create community solutions to systemic issues that impact our marginalized community members is to make sure their voices are in the room where the opportunities and ideas are being discussed,” Martens said in a statement from the Chuckanut Health Foundation.
Called a Community Visioning Summit, the interactive event is scheduled to be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 22.
For more information and to register and get a link to the virtual event, go online to the Chuckanut Health Foundation.
There will be sites around the county where people can participate if they don’t have internet access.
Guest presenters include representatives of the United Way of Greenville County (South Carolina) and the Racial Equity and Economic Mobility Commission; the Groundwork Leadership Institute of Salem, Oregon; and the King County Office of Equity and Social Justice in Seattle.
“Developing the Racial Equity Commission proposal is part of the foundation’s work toward the organization’s vision of every child getting a healthy start, every person receiving the care they need throughout their lifetime, and bringing people together from across a diversity of lived experiences and perspectives in Whatcom County to create meaningful change,” the Chuckanut Health Foundation said in a statement.
