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Dirty laundry again?

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of all the articles slamming the non-profit we know as Affirmations. I've been watching the various stories surface every other month and as an educated person, I have come to the conclusion that there is a conspiracy happening, one that concerns me deeply.
First, Affirmations may not be perfect. They may have had their share of challenges, and they may have embraced some much better than others. But before we jump to conclusions and start clicking our tongues, shouldn't we as community leaders and concerned citizens be admitting that all of us have had challenging issues within our favorite organizations?
If we were brutally honest we would fess up and admit that sometimes boards, staff, and volunteers make mistakes, bad mistakes. When these things happen, good organizations take action. They create policies, terminate staff, provide more education and find ways to ensure that those things will not happen again. One thing is for certain, though – they don't keep dwelling on the error. They act, learn and create permanent change.
And that is what I believe has happened at Affirmations, at your own personal non-profit organizations, and at the Michigan AIDS Coalition.
This season, one in which we are supposed to be about the spirit of giving, collaboration, and peace, wouldn't we all be better community partners if we tried to build each other up instead of tearing each other down? If Affirmations has had an issue with race, shouldn't we be offering diversity training, helpful conversations, or at least a caring phone call to Leslie Thompson or one of the talented staff that work there?
Before we start looking at Affirmation's dirty laundry, we should be sure not to trip on our own. Or maybe we could just toss all of it in a big heaping pile and determine as a team, one item at a time, how best to clean the collars, wipe the stains and patch the knees.

{ITAL Helen Hicks
CEO, Michigan AIDS Coalition}

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Topics: Opinions
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