Diversity Exchange

Once again, AABNG supports the Chicago Cares Celebration of Service

In 2008,  the African American Business Networking Group (AABNG) focused on two activities in celebration of the accomplishments and goals of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Chicago Care Celebration of Service and Martin Luther King Day)

For the second year in a row, the AABNG supported the Chicago Cares Celebration of Service. Members from Aon and Combined Insurance joined forces with more than 3,500 Chicago Cares volunteers in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Saturday, January 19th. This event represents Chicago's largest day of service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Our team served as Roadies to help ensure that the other volunteers were properly registered, provided lunch and given clear directions on project assignments. We knew that being a Roadie was not glamorous and it required an early morning wake-up (not to mention venturing out in the subzero temperatures), but that just made our efforts that much more important. The hard work of your co-workers made this record-setting event happen! More than 58 projects were completed that day by the various volunteers.

I would like to extend a special thanks to all of the AABNG team. For your patience, willingness to brave the weather and positive attitudes, you have my  deepest appreciation.

The morning ceremony was a very passionate and empowering symbol of unity and commitment that began with the Kenwood Academy Concert Choir and concluded with an eloquent speech and soulful song by the world renowned Civil Rights Activist, Reverend Walter Fauntroy. Rev. Fauntroy is best known for his coordination of the 1963 march on Washington where Dr. King delivered his I Have a Dream Speech. Today, Rev. Fauntroy is president of the National Black Leadership Rountable (NBLR), the national network vehicle of the Congressional Black Caucus that he founded in 1977.

I hope that our experience with this event will inspire you to join Chicago Cares in service throughout the year! As you may know, Chicago Cares offers more than 170 hands-on, interactive volunteer service projects each month. Visit chicagocares.org and complete a short online orientation to get started. You can then choose a project that fits your interests and schedule!

Aon has been a very strong contributor to the success and growth of Chicago Cares and our very own Patrick G. Ryan is Founder and Executive Chairman of the Chicago Cares Advisory Board. The 15th Annual Chicago Cares Serve-a-thon will be held on Saturday, June 14, 2008 and I hope to see you there.

On Monday, January 21st, several Aon locations held various events in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Combined Insurance Service Center located at 5050 N. Broadway displayed a video tribute that included a replay of the complete I Have a Dream speech to a background of some great photos of Dr. King, his family and some key events of the period. The 5050 building AABNG members partnered with the Asian Pacific Island Networking group (API) to provide a display of various African American novels and biographies while giving ice cream to celebrate the dream. Participants were asked to share their dreams in preparation for the upcoming Black History Month activities and a chance to win one of the African American Novels raffled that day. The AABNG members at the Aon Center gathered during the lunch hour to discuss what Dr. King's efforts meant to them and what steps can be taken to further the dream. The team focused on the inspiration of his message and the opportunity to make a difference at work and within the community.

Brian A. Coleman
Director
AABNG Special Events

Volunteers from Chicago Cares: Left to Right (Brian Coleman, Talethea Best, Kim Waller)

Social Entrepreneurialism: Part Two

At the end of two very long days of meetings and visits, my host, Gail Scott,  informed me that we had one more stop before dinner—to see some amazing high school students.

“Sure,” I said. What I really wanted to do was check into my hotel and catch my breath if not a few zz’s, but I put on my game face—which is hard not to do with Gail, one of those indefatigable optimists. On top of that, as the mother of two teenagers, I knew I might have to work a lot harder to engage a group of teenagers in conversation. Or so I thought.

One World Now is a unique organization that uses cultural competency and leadership development as a tool to improve global tolerance and to support inner city high school youth. The students fortunate enough to participate learn Arabic or Mandarin Chinese after their typical school day ends—and then they get to live and study abroad in Morocco, Beijing, or Egypt. 

I listened in awe to these students tell me how they never thought they would get to leave their city let alone their country. Now that they had tasted global exposure, all wanted to continue to soar either through a “gap year” abroad (founder Kristin Hayden’s next big dream for One-World Now) or by going to college. One of the students had already dropped out of high school at sixteen—to enroll in college where she would be challenged more.

As I listened to these students describe their experiences, it was hard to remember that not one of them had grown up in the privileged world of private schools or vacations abroad. Their horizon had changed because one woman cared enough to launch a not-for-profit business that would change the world for hundreds of others. Kudos, Kristin.

Corbette Doyle
Chief Diversity Officer

Social Entrepreneurship: The Business of Doing Good

I went to Seattle last week for a trip planned long ago by Gail Scott, the head of our west coast People with Disabilities network. The visit humbled me—and not just because of the courage and beauty I saw everywhere I turned. What hit me almost as hard was the passion and focus on the business of doing good. How incredibly cool, how unique. Not.

As Ron Gibbs of the Rehabilitation Enterprises of Washington explained to me, all the businesses I had visited were examples of social entrepreneurialism, a concept so alive and well in Seattle, they had their own association—and he headed it up.

Sound a little too-70’s for you? Then take a walk with me as I retrace the path Gail took me on last week.

First we toured an NAID certified shredding service (see picture at top left), an outsourced packing and assembly business, and a daycare center (see picture at bottom left) that takes the concept of mainstreaming children to a whole new level. All of these businesses fall under the umbrella of the Northwest Center, an organization that transforms the lives of people with disabilities by helping them maximize their productivity and independence, two gifts most of us take for granted.

What was so special about these businesses? Each of them serves and/or employees a percentage of people with disabilities that far exceeds the average—up to 80% in one of the businesses. Is it any surprise that the WA state unemployment rate for people with disabilities is only two-thirds of the national average which, by the way, is a whopping 70%.

According to the New York Times, people with disabilities now represent 18% of the US population—the largest minority in the country. I’d say it’s time to take a page from the Northwest Center and figure out how each of us can foster social entrepreneurialism in our communities.

NOTE: While unique in my experience, these organizations are only the tip of a vast iceberg of organizations around the country and around the world focused on teaching people to help themselves. Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to a few of the other business ideas and entrepreneurs I met in Seattle.

Corbette Doyle
Chief Diversity Officer

Gay Marriage Legal in New Jersey?

Over the last few years, public support has grown significantly for gay marriage.  This is an exciting time for GLBT families everywhere with the New Jersey Supreme Court's decision that denying marriage to gay couples is unconstitutional.  Though it stopped short of requiring marriage be extended to gay couples, it is requiring that the state provide some remedy equivalent to marriage even if it is not called "marriage".  To learn more about today's decision, go to http://www.lambdalegal.org/binary-data/LAMBDA_PDF/pdf/726.pdf [no subscription required] or see analysis at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/25/nyregion/26marriagecnd.html?hp&ex=1161835200&en=51e657f351dfce95&ei=5094&partner=homepage.  To learn more about Lambda Legal's Marriage Project, go to http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/issues/record?record=9

Marriage provides for stability and legal protections that are often otherwise not available; it also creates wider benefits for the economy.  A recent article from DiversityInc.com explains how marriage is good for business (to the tune of $2 billion!).  Obvious benefits like an increased demand for wedding receptions and events but also not-so-obvious benefits such as a reduction in "hidden" costs to business such as a gay employee declining a promotion because their partner is not provided the same relocation job-search benefits as a spouse.  You can read a summary of the study at http://www.diversityinc.com/members/22312.cfm [requires subscription] or see the actual study itself at http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/MarriageEqualityontheEconomy.pdf [no subscription required].   

Mike Roberts
Director, Professional Services GPG & US GLBT Lead

Gay Games: The Awards Keep Rolling In!

I'm pleased to share with you that Rafael Medina from our Los Angeles office won a Gold Medal in wrestling and Brian Cahill from our Philadelphia office won a Bronze Medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay swimming competition.  Please join me in congratulating our newest medal winners from the Games!

Mike Roberts
Director, Professional Services GPG and US GLBT Lead

Gay Games VII Wrap Up

Thursday was Aon's day to run the Golf Event.  The day started out with massive downpours of rain with wind and lightning, bad enough to close O'Hare for several hours.  However, Aon volunteers were there starting at 6:00 AM awaiting better weather and a start to the day's competition.  That happened a little after noon and continued into the evening while participants made up for lost time.  At the much-delayed awards ceremony, some very happy golfers won the traditional gold, silver and bronze medals.  Aon employees didn't win any but there's always next time.

Saturday, the Gay Games concluded with the Closing Ceremonies.  The show featured a range of individuals from Richard Daly, Mayor of Chicago, to the artist Cyndi Lauper.  For more information about the closing ceremonies from CBS Television, click this [free] link: http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_203231640.html. The Games are a celebration of culture and sports, and a key motto of the event is to do your Personal Best.  Anyone was welcome whether GLBT or straight.  For some "eyewitness accounts" of being straight and competing at the Gay Games, click the [free] link here http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0607210103jul21,1,5263298.story.   

Another great thing about the Games is that a participant not need "qualify" for a sport during registration as the Games are open to anyone.  This policy made the Games more accessible to people who had never formally competed or to those who struggle with health challenges such as HIV.  To read more about how the Games dealt with HIV+ competitors, click the following [free] link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=47817&nfid=rssfeeds.  For a summary of the challenges, issues and successes of the Games, click the [free] link for the Chicago Tribune article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0607230039jul23,1,7636609.story.

A special thank you to Scott Cummings (US Central Region GLBT Leader), Regan Lewis (former US GLBT Leader) and Nichole Marshall (Aon's US Community Affairs Director) for coordinating and making sure the event was a success.  They deserve a huge round of applause for their time, energy, and commitment.  And also kudos to Aon for its commitment to the Games!  (If you missed the innovative and striking Aon advertisement for the Games, check out the attached PDF file.)

Download aon_gay_games_ad.pdf

And no story about this week's Games is complete without telling you about the future: 2010 will see Gay Games VIII held in Cologne, Germany.  See you there!

Mike Roberts
Director, Professional Services GPG and US GLBT Lead

Update on Gay Games VII - Chicago

The Games are going really well with significant press coverage of the sports and cultural events throughout the week.  The Games also attracted record breaking corporate sponsorship.  Indeed, the business community's response to the Games has been outstanding with over 300 sponsors having contributed $13.5m of the total estimated $20m needed to run the Games.  You can see Aon mentioned and read more about this (free) at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0607150286jul15,1,4734653.story.  A few folks have asked me why there is a gay games, what's the need?  There's a good article (free) in the Chicago Tribune that discusses answers to this question (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0607160319jul16,1,3948220.story?ctrack=1&cset=true). 

Wednesday at 6a the 5K road race commenced amid beautiful weather and energized participants.  We were concerned it would remain above 38C / 100F as it had over the weekend but the temperature broke and cooled down to 29C / 85F.  Men and women, GLBT and straight, from all over the world aged from 20 to 70+ ran the race and I'm exceptionally pleased to tell you that our Aon colleague, Regan Lewis, won the gold medal for her age group in the 5K race.  Congratulations Regan!

As an All-Star sponsor, Aon officially helped run the Golf event Thursday.  The weather was not so great with rain and lightning, but the temperature was perfect at about 22C/72F.  Wish us luck and more updates to follow.

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Mike Roberts
Director, Professional Services GPG and US GLBT Lead

Aon Gets Ready for the Gay Games

Did you watch the World Cup?  Unbelievable stories, competition, surprises and FUN.  Well, it’s less than two weeks until participants from around the world march into Soldier Field, kicking off the week-long international Gay Games VII.  Above all else the Games represent friendly competition during a festivity of culture, diversity, international goodwill and FUN.  I’ve been training to compete in the 5K and all I can say is I’m happy there’s no minimum qualification level!  Please join me in wishing the best of luck to our colleagues traveling here to compete and celebrate.

I am proud of Aon’s decision to sponsor the Gay Games in our hometown of Chicago.  This demonstrates the company’s continued commitment to genuinely walk the talk.

It’s not too late to volunteer to help Aon run the Golf competition on Thursday, July 20th.  For more information about participating, contact Scott Cummings.  He is the Central Region GLBT lead and has, with Regan Lewis, worked tirelessly to do a great job in pulling together Aon’s plans for the Games. 

For more information about the Gay Games, please click here: www.gaygameschicago.org

More to follow as Kickoff gets closer!!

Michael J. Roberts
Director, Professional Services Global Practice Group and US GLBT Lead