From Bridging to Uplifting

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The new D&I Digest is out! This illuminating newsletter has curated videos, podcasts, webinars, articles and other resources that will help bridge connections and uplift us.

New this quarter is “StoryPods,” a podcast of the stories of us. Hear three generations of voices of the County’s Public Works Department in this first episode.

Check it out now. (The D&I Digest displays best in Chrome or Microsoft Edge.)

Creating a County That Fosters Inclusiveness and Belonging

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Greetings from the Office of Equity and Racial Justice (OERJ) Team, 
 
Thank you to all who were able to join the Diversity & Inclusion Executive Council on Nov. 15 for a town hall on condemning hate-filled speech and creating a place of belonging. Your thoughtful comments are especially appreciated.  

It is our goal to use this space each month to share insights about the work we are doing and how it threads into creating a county that fosters inclusiveness and belonging. Before we can do that however, we feel it is necessary to acknowledge the reverberating array of emotions being evoked by two highly visible cases garnering national attention in recent weeks, one of which has since reached its conclusion. First, the jury in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse reached a verdict of not guilty on all counts. Rittenhouse was accused of killing two unarmed men and wounding another man during a protest against police shootings in Wisconsin in August 2020. 

The second case involves the ongoing trial of three men charged with the murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia in February 2020 while he was jogging through their neighborhood. 

The emotions evoked by these cases are compounded by the recent racist incident and continuous escalation of threatening language at Board of Supervisors meetings in the past year. These types of situations have the capacity to cause stress, anxiety and/or mental and emotional pain for many in our community, especially for those who experience bias and racism as part of their human experience in their daily lives. They are painful reminders of our nation’s complex history of systemic and structural racism.  

We and County leadership acknowledge that we operate within a flawed system. We are actively working to dismantle structural and systemic racism within our organization. While we may not have the capacity to change the past, we can make a commitment to take an active role in condemning racism and hate while creating belonging in our organization and in our community. 

One simple thing we can all do is to approach one another with empathy and compassion in what we do and say, every day. We also urge each of you to be mindful in taking care of yourselves, however that may look for you. Additionally: 

Take care,

Team OERJ

Holiday Shopping for a Cause

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Get into the holiday spirit and share a smile. Shop on AmazonSmile and a portion of the sale can be donated to the County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO).

AmazonSmile functions the same as Amazon, but the online retailer donates 0.5 percent of the product price of eligible purchases to a charity of your choice.

Using AmazonSmile is easy and automatic once you set it up.

1.       Go to smile.amazon.com (different from the regular Amazon link).

2.       Sign into your Amazon account.

3.       If it is your first visit, select a charitable organization. Type “San Diego County Employees' Charitable Organization” or “CECO” as your charity. You can also visit this link and CECO will already be chosen for you as your charity.

4.       Shop as you normally would. (You will see eligible products marked as “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on the product detail pages.)

5.       Save AmazonSmile to your web browser favorites. Shop from this link during the holidays and beyond.

There are several other ways to support CECO throughout the year. Make a biweekly donation via payroll deductions for as little as $2 per pay period. See CECO pledge instructions. Or you could make a one-time donation by contacting your CECO Department Representative.

Donating to CECO has a huge impact on the communities that we work and live in. As the charitable arm of the County that is employee-managed and volunteer-based, CECO has distributed more than $7 million to local nonprofit programs and County employees experiencing a financial crisis since forming in 1956.

Just this year, $128,271 in grants were awarded to 86 nonprofit programs included Alzheimer’s San Diego, Blind Community Center of San Diego, Coastal Roots Farm, Crisis House, Developmental Services Continuum, MANA de San Diego, NAMI San Diego, Solutions for Change and Union of Pan Asian Communities.

See your donations at work.

PerkSpot: Get a Jump Start on Holiday Shopping

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The holidays are right around the corner. Shop for loved ones on PerkSpot and save big! You can find discounts on gifts for the whole family. Get deals on everything from apparel to zoo tickets.

PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts through more than 400 service providers and retailers. Go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to register.

Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite.

Recognizing Transgender Awareness Month

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By LGBTQ&A Employee Resource Group

November is Transgender Awareness Month, a time for education, advocacy and celebration of the community.  

On Nov. 2 the Board of Supervisors honored local advocate Connor Maddocks with a Board Proclamation for his work in the community. Connor retired from the LGBT Center as their Project Trans coordinator, where he organized resources for and educational programming about the transgender community.  He has also volunteered with San Diego Pride and supported work by a number of other local and national organizations.  

While we celebrate the efforts made to support our community, we know there is much more to be done. Tragically, 2021 has already seen at least 46 transgender or gender non-conforming people killed by violent means* across the United States, the majority of them BIPOC transgender women. 

Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, an occasion to honor those who have lost their lives to violent hate crimes. Locally, there will be a candlelight vigil at the County Administration Center’s Waterfront Park at sundown. The LGBTQ&Allies ERG arranged for the CAC to be lit in the colors of the Transgender Pride Flag to mark the occasion. The visibility this lighting provides is a small step to bring awareness to a grim reality for one of the most vulnerable populations in our society.  

It is incumbent upon all of us with privilege to use our power to do more.

To learn more about intersectionality and the realities of transgender people, read the words of some of the County’s own employees in this article.  

If you want to get involved, please visit these organizations: