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Midlands Class XI Spring 2018

View the participants from this class.

Lila Anna Sauls and Jim Shank, Team Tapestry
(l-r) Mitch Lucas, Give It A Shot! and Virgil Miller, Askable Adults
Bhavna Maker Vasudeva, Diversity Detectives
Stephen Suggs, Diversity Detectives
Dave Solano, Involve Evolve
Megan Dodgens, Director of Diversity Leadership Strategies
Midlands Class XI Spring 2018

Diversity Detectives

The goal of our project is to support equitable and inclusive economic growth in South Carolina by encouraging businesses and non-profit organizations to recruit and hire more diverse people. Diversifying the workforce so that all people have equal opportunities and fair compensation is both the right thing and the smart thing to do for South Carolina’s future. South Carolina has persistent gender and racial income gaps that impede economic growth, economic mobility, and human development. Diverse companies perform better.

Give It A Shot!

As we considered our team’s project for the Riley Institute, we agreed that we wanted to impact the lives of students in our state. Through the expertise of one of our team members representing DHEC, we learned that while our public schools require Tdap for all rising 7th grade students, there are two additional vaccinations that are critically important for our youth that many students do not receive. This leaves students vulnerable for potential health problems in the future.

Involve Evolve

The goal of Involve Evolve is to provide cadets at SC Youth Academy with the opportunity to gain lifeskills that will benefit their future life decisions.

The project consists of two pilot initiatives. The first initiative “Evolve” engages the expertise of Sowing Seeds into the Midlands, a grassroots nonprofit located in Columbia, SC, committed to helping youth ages 13-18 thrive. Sowing Seeds will provide Evolve, a 6-week course that takes a deep dive into effective communication, conflict resolution, and managing emotions. Through interactive exercises and current cultural references, cadets will explore the ways their habits in these areas can affect their relationships at home, school, and in the community. This training is not currently being offered to the cadets but has been identified by Academy leadership as a necessary component to a well-rounded program.

Team Tapestry

“A Day of Conversation: Active Listening and Community Engagement within Our Schools” is based on the national #ReviveCivility program, created by The National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD). The purpose of this conversation is to bring people together with different views so they can talk about the state of the country and how we can bridge divides that make it harder to solve our most pressing problems. Team Tapestry also added a student component – in hopes of fostering civility and active listening skills in our future leaders.

Askable Adults

The South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy’s (SC Campaign), goal is to decrease teen pregnancy in our state, and to that end, it provides training and technical assistance to adults who are working with or caregivers to teens (ages 12-24).

The SC Campaign developed a six-hour long Askable Adult workshop targeted at adults working with teens (coaches, camp counselors, youth ministers, etc.) that provides participants with an opportunity to learn how to improve communication skills to support adolescents’ healthy decisions. The philosophy of the training is that every moment with a teen is precious and an opportunity for positive encounters that have the most benefit for the teen.