Adobe Stock
Over the past few years, we have heard time and time again from business leaders who want to have a positive impact on critical social issues facing our workforce and our community at large. The Salt Lake Chamber has brought this group together to form the new Utah Community Builders Foundation. We understand that if we want to make a difference, we must focus our efforts. Initially, we will invest our efforts and resources in two areas: behavioral health and intergenerational poverty. We are committed to work with the business community, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations on creative solutions.
Many Utahns face difficult daily choices about how to provide for their families with increasingly limited resources and growing demands for their time and energy. In the latest iteration of the Five and Ten-Year Plan to Address Intergenerational Poverty, the Intergenerational Welfare Reform Commission put out a call to action: “Given the complexity of intergenerational poverty, the success of this plan depends on the involvement of all communities and systems throughout our state, as we are stronger and more prosperous when everyone contributes.”
Utah is a nationally recognized leader in addressing poverty. Harvard economist and poverty expert, Dr. Raj Chetty and his team have created the Opportunity Index to measure the reality of the American Dream, and identified many ways that Salt Lake City leads the nation in reducing poverty. Our community exemplifies what he calls ‘social capital’ when we support one another, regardless of income or status. Groups like the Department of Workforce Services and United Way, among many others, have done much to strengthen our community’s ability to support those in need. The Utah Community Builders Foundation will focus on helping employers expand social capital in the workplace with good policies and practices based on Dr. Chetty’s data.
Chuck Maggelet, president & CEO of Maverik, is an example of how employers can help families find greater economic stability. Caring deeply about his employees and their success, he and his team incorporated principles of personal finance into a training program which employees were asked to view before they received a bonus. Financial literacy is an important part of increasing economic stability. Utah Community Builders will work with its partners to provide employers throughout the state with similar best practices that can help alleviate poverty and its contributing factors.
The foundation will also work with employers, insurance and care providers, as well as community leaders to address the related topic of behavioral health. According to Intermountain Healthcare, 73% of employees want their employers to prioritize mental health in the workplace. Likewise, many employers are eager to address this issue, and we will work with experts to help to improve employer practices and workplace experiences. Healthy employees are more productive and more likely to stay with their companies if they know their employers care about them and their welfare.
The Utah Community Builders Advisory Board and staff include experienced business and community leaders. These leaders are partnering with the Salt Lake Chamber and its members, the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, as well as government and nonprofit groups to engage employers across the state on behalf of individuals and families. We invite everyone, in partnership with the Foundation, to play a proactive role in strengthening the prosperity of employees, families and communities throughout Utah.
Clark Ivory and Lisa Eccles are co-chairs of the Utah Community Builders Advisory Board. Ivory is the CEO of Ivory Homes and Eccles is the president & COO of the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/30YTSMT
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario