July 24, 2020
The City of South Bend Office of Diversity & Inclusion is announcing new tools to intentionally connect with minority business owners and residents. This week the office will begin hosting daily webinars as part of its new Virtual Neighborhood Business Lab program beginning Monday, July 27th at 8 a.m.
The new webinars will be hosted online each weekday morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the Office’s new Facebook page.
“Last week we saw the St. Joseph County Board of Health declare racism a public health crisis. I commend them for acknowledging the impact racism and discrimination continue to have across all elements of society. We’ve got to fix existing processes and build new processes with racial equity at the core,” said South Bend’s Diversity, Compliance, and Inclusion Officer Michael Patton. “That’s why I’m excited for our residents and small business owners to take advantage of the new Virtual Neighborhood Business Labs, which will help build up our minority community and bridge the economic divides that still persist.”
The Office is also opening a new survey to collect information from business owners. Responses to the business survey will be used to develop the new Small Local Business Registry and allow the office to connect with businesses on available grants and business support services.
For more information visit www.southbendin.gov or click here to subscribe to the City of South Bend Office of Diversity & Inclusion Facebook page. To fill out the Small Local Business Registry survey, visit www.southbendin.gov/SLB.