My Local DEI Pledge Event

Last week, my DEI pledge event kicked off. The participation was great and I had the most fun I have had in awhile at work.

Like all events, there was lots of behind the scenes work being done for weeks in preparation. I wanted to share some of that work and the thought processes behind it!

Step 1: Developing the Pledge

This was definitely the longest part of the entire process. I had spent weeks trying to find a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion pledge with little luck. I was inspired by multiple things I found online and decided to develop my own. Having a site-specific pledge made it special and unique!

Step 2: Deciding How to Pledge

I had seen many ways people could “pledge” like signing their name or submitting something online. But, I found inspiration from a LinkedIn post I had seen last year. A group of people had put their hands on a canvas to symbolize inclusion and I thought it was the coolest thing.

This is exactly what we did at our site was use handprints to pledge.

Step 3: Deciding Where to Place the Pledge

Now, I went back and forth with ideas to pull it off. Would we buy a banner, canvases, use paper? The most economical thing was painting on the walls! Mind you, I was a bit nervous asking to paint on the walls, but everyone seemed very excited about it!

We ended up using the biggest wall space we have in the main hallway in the plant. This way, every day each employee will see the handprints in the hallway.

Below is my first vision of what the wall would look like! Spoiler Alert this is not what the finished product looked like.

Step 4: How to Design the Pledge

Now this step, I had an incredibly hard time with. I had the words I wanted to put up, but no specific design ideas.

I was working with a white wall and had no idea where to start.

Below is a gallery of the design ideas I had for the pledge!

Step 5: Gathering Materials for the Event

This one is short and sweet! We used kids paint, paint brushes, and some cookies for people who participated!

Step 6: Day Before the Event Jitters

Okay, they were excited and nervous jitters. Everything was ready to go. Also, the whole waking up at 3:30 AM thing for C shift events never gets easier… but was totally worth it.

Me with my handprint on the wall! Of course I had to be one of the first.

Step 7: Pulling Off the Event

The secret to pulling off an event is amazing coworkers willing to help and the power of positive energy. Every person that walked by we asked them if they would like to put their hand up on the wall. We had an overwhelming amount of hands put up on the wall!

Enjoy the progression to the wall (and me learning how to use my phone camera lol)