WELCOME DIVERSITY

The following quotation comes from Kendal's Values and Practices Booklet: "Kendal strives to create and support an environment for community members, board, staff, and volunteers that is welcoming to all cultures, backgrounds, and differences. Our commitment to diversity flows from Kendal's Quaker roots. We believe that a spirit of inclusion and culture of diversity enrich and strengthen our communities, people, and services."

Our Kendal at Granville is diverse in that we come from all over the United States, Europe, and Australia. However, we are all white and mostly Christian in culture if not religion. I remember at one of our membership meetings someone asked our director why we couldn't just be happy the way we are. The late Dr. Sylvester said that our lives would be so much richer in may ways, that we would learn from each other and have fuller and more interesting lives. Most of us agree that it is healthy and enriching but what do we do when we live in a homogeneous community like Granville, Ohio?

Three years ago Kendal Corporation asked that each community have a committee devoted to diversity and inclusion. Our Granville committee, made up of staff and residents, started meeting in April, 2008. The first few meetings resulted in this mission statement: The mission of the Diversity Committee is to assist in building community that celebrates and draws from the cultures, backgrounds and experiences of all Kendal residents and staff. We will work together to invite a diverse population and encourage inclusiveness among all community members."
So we planned speakers and events that expanded our knowledge and understanding.

So now, in December we celebrate Hanukka with the ceremonial lighting of the candles at sundown on each of the Hanukka nights. We do this in the lobby which has a big Christmas Tree and manger scenes as well as a Kwanza display. This coming holiday season we plan to learn more about Kwanza and properly celebrate this event. The other days we celebrate are Cinco de Mayo and International Day. We even celebrated the Chinese New Year with egg dishes and Chinese Lanterns. Black History Month, February, was celebrated with exciting African Dance brought to us by an African American Professor and his students from Denison's Dance Department. We plan to observe Gay Pride Month by having a couple come to speak to us who were welcomed as the first gay couple at another Kendal Community. Last fall a professor from Yemen talked to us about the experiences of Muslim families in America. Dr. Shiels, a Professor of Indian American Studies at OSU has made us aware of Indian Mounds near us and introduced us to Native Americans living in the area.

These programs have been very well attended and the comments afterward tell us we need to keep doing what we are doing. We did complete a Diversity Climate Survey, given to us by Kendal Corporation. The response indicated that most people, not all, are in agreement with Kendal's philosophy in this endeavor. So we will continue these interesting programs and enjoy as we learn.