Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Columbus Humane

“I promise to be kind to all creatures within my reach and to protect them as far as I can from cruelty and ill-usage.” This Columbus Humane pledge dates back to 1884, just a year after our organization’s founding. A lot has changed since then, but one thing will always remain the same is: we must be kind to everyone within our reach and protect them from cruelty in any form. Columbus Humane stands for kindness and respect for all living beings and we are staunch advocates for protection of the Five Freedoms:

For Columbus to be truly humane, all of our friends, neighbors and families must have these freedoms and they simply do not. The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Work Group at Columbus Humane was created in an effort do our part to make Columbus Humane. That means recognizing bias, extinguishing injustice, defending victims of cruelty and holding each other accountable for our actions.

COLUMBUS HUMANE Inclusion POLICY

Columbus Humane recognizes and values the contribution of people with differences in capabilities, experience, cultural backgrounds, and perspectives and actively invites all voices to be heard.
Diversity encompasses gender, age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, experience, disability, religious and cultural backgrounds as well as other dimensions such as veteran status, lifestyle, and family responsibilities.
We recognize implicit bias and value self-reflection, openness, active listening and a commitment to continual learning.
We actively look for opportunities to invite rather than exclude, engage rather than retreat.
We understand that to serve the entire community, we must actively acknowledge, respect, and respond to the diversity of the community.
Our mission is more likely to be realized when the gifts of all people are valued, embraced, and maximized.
We support each other in pursuit of our mission and in taking actions to do the right thing.

Accessibility is Essential

Columbus Humane introduced an accessibility toolbar to our website because we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be able to access online content, regardless of disability or difference in spoken language. Learn more about this new tool through the button below.

Accessibility

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Book Club

Led by the DEIB Work Group, Columbus Humane started a book club in effort to make our organization more knowledgeable and sympathetic to the experiences of our friends, family and neighbors. The DEIB Book Club reads and discusses books featuring people of color and other marginalized communities to learn from each other and eliminate our own internal bias. The goal of this book club is to learn from each other in a judgement-free safe space in effort to recognize bias and extinguish injustice.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and belonging Resources

Why Pronouns Matter
Project Implicit: Test your implicit bias to reveal unconscious attitudes and beliefs about age, disability, gender, race, sexuality, and other characteristics.
Awake to Woke to Work, from Equity in the Center, includes a glossary, a comprehensive list of resources, and a framework for how to look at the levers that influence and support a nonprofit's race equity culture.
Diversity Toolkit: A Guide to Discussing Identity, Power and Privilege with ideas for “DIY” facilitation that can stimulate conversation and learning.
RespectAbility offers a series of free resources for creating an inclusive culture for people with disabilities, from recruiting, accommodating, and promoting employees with disabilities to ensuring that events are accessible and language is welcoming.
Racial equity tools is a library of resources designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity.
Disability Visibility Project is an online community dedicated to creating, sharing and amplifying disability media and culture. Learn more to champion disability culture and history.