EMBRACING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION AT INVEST IN YOUTH

At Invest in Youth, we embrace the ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion as foundational principles that guide our actions and decisions as we work toward a community of engaged, confident and capable students who actively seek solutions to the challenges they encounter.

Safe and Inclusive Spaces: Every day we work to build safe and inclusive spaces for our staff, board members, volunteer tutors and students. We encourage open dialogue, embrace diverse perspectives and honor the unique identities of all individuals. Our aim is for all to feel not only included but empowered to express their most authentic and true selves.

Culturally Sensitive Programming: We provide tutors with cultural humility training to help them understand and respect the norms, values and beliefs of our students. We understand that culturally sensitive programming should be flexible and adaptable to meet the unique needs of each student and community.

Customized Support: We work with tutors to help them recognize that different students may have different learning styles, and we collaborate with teachers to offer personalized assistance that best resonates with students’ needs.

Reflecting the Diverse Communities We Serve: Our goal is to assemble a team of tutors that comprehensively reflects the diverse communities we serve. We recognize that tutors who share cultural backgrounds and lived experiences with their students can inspire, foster and motivate positive and lifelong change.

Antiracist Commitment: We take an active approach to combat racism at the individual, social and institutional levels by initiating discussion and learning opportunities for all stakeholders. We hold ourselves accountable to challenging and eliminating racism in any form within our organization through regular self-assessment and a commitment to learn from our mistakes.

We acknowledge that this journey is ongoing and we are dedicated to making lasting change within our organization and in the communities we serve. All members of our community are invited to join us in this collective effort toward a more just and inclusive future.