You’re probably very familiar with the concept of organizational mission statements. A mission statement describes the organization’s purpose and its overall intention. It clearly communicates an organization’s vision to everyone inside and outside of it’s “walls”. If you don’t know your organization’s mission statement or haven’t engaged with it in a while…find it! All of your actions, interactions, activities, and efforts should be aligned with and reflect that mission.
Within the last decade, organizations have become more intentional about upholding and valuing diversity and inclusion across levels, positions, settings, activities, and interactions. We can enhance these efforts by drafting an “Inclusion Statement” explicitly articulating why & how our program is inclusive.
When drafting an inclusion statement keep in mind…
- Your statement should be developed in consensus/collaboration by a representative team or committee comprised of the diverse individuals, staff, and community members your organization serves. Representation and contribution of the people your inclusion statement is “including” matters!
- The statement should be brief– a few sentences to a few short paragraphs at most. (It’s a “statement” not a policy.) And should be written in reader friendly terms that are easily understood by the general population– avoid jargon, abbreviations, etc.
Houser & colleagues (2020) suggest that effective inclusion statements state…
- What inclusion means to your organization,
- Why inclusion matters to your organization in the present and the future,
- And the ways you will realize/implement/approach making inclusion actually happen in your organization.
How you craft the statement, its length, and what’s included will be unique to the personality of your organization & your community.
Above all, it should connect to your mission statement, your vision, and your core values. The inclusion statement is the bond that ties those together by telling your community, staff, & participants what your organization stands for and how your organization serves because of it.
Here a few examples of inclusion statements from NIP partners and Accredited programs. You can see how they vary in length, in focus, & in narrative to communicate their unique inclusive identities
“We welcome and include people of all abilities, identities, and backgrounds. We believe that diverse and fully inclusive organizations empower individuals, heal communities, and create a better world for us all.”
“The Y believes that all people have the right to take an active role in the Y community through participation and/or contribution. We will try to accomplish this by developing universally designed activities and opportunities. We believe people with varying abilities share a common healthy spirit. We are confident that our Y can strengthen the foundations of community through a commitment to both the value and practice of diversity. We recognize that inclusion is a process that will grow, develop and become more effective through the efforts of staff, volunteers, membership and the greater community.”
“Camp Howe goes beyond the realm of teaching skills such as kicking a soccer ball, learning a new swim stroke or making a masterpiece in arts and crafts. We don’t believe we catapult any child into gaining any of these skills to any level of mastery (though we have a lot of fun trying). We excel at having each child learn to accept themselves – just as they are – strengths and weaknesses. Learning to genuinely value those around them and appreciate them gives campers the confidence to break outside their own social comfort zone and engage in meaningful interactions with individuals very different from themselves to open up a new world for them. We believe that camp is more than summer childcare. Camp Howe is a community that helps make the greater world a better place through understanding, acceptance and appreciation of the barriers that typically exist.
The mission of Camp Howe is to offer high quality, accredited, educational and recreational camping program and facilities to all youth and adults in a formative experience which helps to prepare them with basic life skills involving teamwork, leadership, decision making, resource management, self-awareness, coping, communicating and relating to others.
Our strongest asset is the community that has been established, one that is accepting of differences in others. This forms the basis of all that we do and forms a community that truly embraces and values the differences in each other. In a community of this kind, true life lessons can be experienced, learned, practiced and understood. In this environment youth have the freedom to explore their own personal biases, self-concepts and social pressures and the opportunity to make life effecting changes. We are committed to building on the community created to establish a more accepting environment. We believe that by being an inclusive environment, all members of the community must be active in its success. We do this with a wide range of camp activities and electives encourage campers to pursue new interests, cultivate friendships and develop individual strengths.”
