South Metro Diversity Dinners Experience A Wonderful Time

On the evening of Thursday, April 29th, People throughout the Southern Suburbs will be getting together in celebration of the seventh annual Diversity Dinners. The objective of the dinner parties has to do with the celebration of the diversity that typifies and enriches our region. Residents will host small dinner parties for groups of ten. Each group will consist of people of various races, creeds, communities, backgrounds, and professions. In the recent past this exciting event consisted of 56 individual Diversity Dinners that were held at the private homes of various volunteers who invited a diverse group of people to dine and engage in informal conversations with the goal of improving racial/ethnic/gender relations in our region. Furthermore, within the six-year history, we have attracted over 2500 participants. This year our goal is to bring 750 people together, including teen dinners for this great occasion. The dinners exist to promote positive communication between people who might not otherwise have a chance to sit down and converse with one another. The South Metropolitan Regional Leadership Center receives reports that confirm that the dinners and gatherings do accomplish their goal and more! Consider the following comments: …Our discussion was surprisingly open considering that we were all strangers. …It was an extremely interesting and happy evening. We had considerable diversity in our group; racial, religious, and [economic]. There was good, open discussion about differing points of view… Our group was relaxed and we spoke about our backgrounds, our reasons for participating in the dinners, and what each one of us was doing about diversity. …The age range was from the twenties to the seventies, and there was an excellent mix of ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds…. …Our group wasn't as diverse as we would have liked, but we did have some good discussion. We were all basically on the same page, but people had different priorities…. It was a wonderful experience and we felt honored to be a part of it. I enjoyed the experience, but I feel that we barely scratched the surface of the problem…. I think that there was some inhibition, but there was a willingness to talk…. For more information or for an application form to host or attend a dinner event, please contact Ron Bean of the South Metropolitan regional leadership Center at (708) 534-6970, or Barbara Moore of the Village of Park Forest at (708) 748-1112, ext.160.