< Previous28 | TALK MAGAZINE • SUMMER 2021 TALK ACROSS PA continued from page 7 HARRISBURG • Fund grants to create new jobs in opportuni- ty zones across the state. • Help connect rural and urban areas to high-speed internet and invest in other vital infrastructure like safe drinking water. • Improve access to affordable childcare so working parents can have peace of mind on the job. These are just a few parts of our plan; they’d bring us in line with what our neighboring states are already doing. We want to do even more, like investing more than a billion dollars into working families and seniors with things like hazard pay for essential workers, creating a Paid Sick & Family Leave program and supporting affordable housing. We want to invest in careers with better pay and benefits by helping students pay for training in high-wage, high-demand industries, and help people prepare for a life after work by creating a state-run program our workers can choose to access to invest in their own retirement. We also want to invest in our sixth-largest industry—and one that can never be outsourced: health care. We want to raise care worker pay, expand access to telehealth and support the biotechnology industry that will create the cures of tomorrow. We need your help —please contact your local lawmakers and tell them we need to invest in the present to build that better tomorrow we all de- serve, not hide money out of fear. Tell them our local, community businesses need the Pennsylva- nia Rescue Plan. ed hundreds of training and outreach sessions with our business constituencies. In February of 2020, BDISBO opened the application period for the 2020 Mentor-Protégé Program for a planned April launch. Unfortu- nately, COVID-19 arrived in Mid-March, forc- ing the PA Emergency Declaration from Gover- nor Wolf which closed commonwealth facilities and resulted in a work-from-home mandate for state employees. BDISBO was forced to halt the launch of the 2020 Mentor Protégé Program. However, we have worked to keep our mentors and proteges informed of federal, state, and local programs providing direction, resources, and funding to assist small businesses in responding to the crisis. BDISBO coordinated educational webinars and multiple communications sharing valuable information to help our mentors and proteges access critical support programs geared to helping them manage the “new normal” busi- ness landscape. Many of our previous participants continued to work together to assist one another by sharing best practices and re-assessing goals to find new opportunities and preserve existing businesses while literally re-inventing workspaces and re- sponding to the almost daily changes to business operations as our country rose to respond to the emergency Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Annual Report (pa.gov). Additionally, throughout the existence of the minority business program and with the change of administrations, there has always been some type of reductions in the form of personnel and funding cuts as well as policy changes that had jeopardized the stability of the program or the possibility of it being dismantled. To ensure the future of BDISBO, historic legislation has been developed that will codify the program for years to come regardless of which administration is i n charge. Finally, BDISBO, along with Governor Wolf, the Governor’s Advisory Council on Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities, and our SB, SDB, and VBE stakeholders are committed to the longevity of these policies and programs. It is our sole intention and commit- ment to increase contracting opportunities for Pennsylvania’s small, small diverse, and veter- an-owned businesses in state government and the overall economy. BDISBO Continues... continued from page 20 to non-URM retention. In 2018 the gap was al- most 14%. In 2019 the gap was reduced to 9%, an improvement of 5%. Male URM students improved retention by close to 4% from 2018 to 2019. Our female URM students improved re- tention by almost 12% from 2018 to 2019. The gap between URM vs. non-URM students also improved from 2018 to 2019 for both male and female students. The male gap closed from 10% to 9%. The female gap saw significant improve- ment going from 16% in 2018 to 8% in 2019. For us, this is just the beginning as we con- tinue to take the steps necessary to ensure that Bloomsburg University is a place where everyone can achieve their dreams. Come join the Bloomsburg family as a student, professional, or both. To learn more, please visit the PCDEI web- page at https://www.bloomu.edu/diversity-inclu- sion-commission and follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@DEIatBU). 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