Exposed: The Inequities Revealed by Covid-19 and the Path to More Just Small Cities
We are excited to announce, in collaboration with the United Way of Greater Charlottesville, a virtual conversation series, Building Strong, Equitable Communities. The series will take place weekly on Wednesdays from July 15 - August 26, 2020 and will explore ways to address inequality in small cities in the wake of Covid-19. The conversations will draw United Way affiliates from around the country as well as a cross-section of Charlottesville leaders.
“The United Way and the Tom Tom Foundation are committed to gathering people and convening around the social justice and social equity lens. We have this incredible platform to convene people virtually and to look at how we solve those issues.” said United Way of Greater Charlottesville president, Ravi Respeto.
Each hour-long conversation will feature Charlottesville-based leaders leading interactive community dialogues that examine how to build equity across key sectors. Sessions will cover topics such as race and history, equity in early childhood education and healthcare, resident-led public housing development, and how to build successful town-gown partnerships.
“Covid-19 has highlighted inequality across many sectors of our society, and citizen leaders are eager to find and discuss real solutions to these problems,” said Tom Tom’s founder and executive director, Paul Beyer. “This series offers a unique interactive format that engages leaders actively addressing critical issues in our community, and connects them to the change-makers who want to build on that work in Charlottesville, and in United Way communities across the country.”
To register, the series will feature accessible “pay-what-you-can” pricing to allow broad participation. All donations received will go to the United Way’s Covid Recovery and Resiliency Fund, which has raised $1.2 million to support families in the Charlottesville region.
All participants in the series will also receive admission to Tom Tom’s Cities Rising Summit events this fall, with the hope of continuing and building on these conversations.
ABOUT UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHARLOTTESVILLE
The United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community to advance the common good. Focusing on financial stability, school readiness, and connected community, The United Way allocates resources to solution-oriented organizations and programs that address these areas at scale and tackle issues of equity in Charlottesville and the surrounding area with the goal of reducing poverty in our community. For more information, visit www.unitedwaycville.org, or follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, @UnitedWayCville.