We are better together!

Whether you're a student, retired, an active professional, or simply interested in engaging with your community, the Greater Mankato Diversity Council has opportunities! Submit an inquiry or application described below and don't hesitate to contact us directly with any questions or opportunities.

Volunteers and Interns

• Prepare workshop materials for GMDC programs
• Host a GMDC table at a community event or assist with event coordination and logistics
• Create or evaluate GMDC content for programs, outreach, social media, including grants, tutorials, and other communications
• Become a GMDC fundraising ambassador
• Provide other specialized expertise for the GMDC

Students may work with GMDC to create a practical experience/internship program to receive academic credit. Submit an inquiry to include your area of interest, hours of service required, desired goal or outcome, your program or department, program/department contact, and a copy of internship/practical experience information supplied by your program (PDF preferred).

Inquire

• Volunteer
• Internship

Volunteer or Intern inquiry

GMDC Program Facilitators

• Meet the current Facilitators
• Review the K-12 Programs
• Review the adult Employer programs Employer Programs
• See the additional Facilitator information below.

GMDC Board of Directors

• Meet our Current Board
• Resource include Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (online or free download), and The Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®) 

Employment

• Employment opportunities will be advertised, but you may also submit an application at any time.
• GMDC staff has a number of relationships and connections across the community, and may provide you with a referral.

Apply

• Facilitator
• Board of Directors
• Employment

Facilitator, Board, or Employment application

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Interested in becoming a
​​GMDC Program Facilitator?

As of spring 2023, the GMDC only makes use of Facilitators in the K-12 programs. This may change in the future to include GMDC adult programs. Please don't hesitate to inquire if you are interested in facilitating the adult programs.

Do you like working with young people?

Are you interested in promoting respect and helping to create an inclusive, discrimination-free community?

​If this kind of work appeals to you, the Greater Mankato Diversity Council would love to talk with you about becoming a facilitator for our Promoting Respect Workshops (PRW) and STEM Equity program.

​While not a full-time position, I guarantee that you will feel that you are making a positive difference in our community and that you will find the work very rewarding. In these times of divisiveness and hate, our community needs all of us to work in every way we can to bridge our differences.

With COVID-19 hitting minority populations much harder, with George Floyd's murder and other police brutalities against African Americans, and with spreading Asian hate, we ask the question how can we all be equal?

​GMDC believes that young people are one of the keys to creating a discrimination-free community. For the last 18 years, working with the local school districts our PRW facilitators have been visiting K-12 classrooms and conducting PRWs.

Through these workshops, facilitators have been spreading a message of respect, inclusiveness, and appreciation of differences by utilizing a variety of hands-on activities, books, and open discussions on multiple age-appropriate topics related to diversity.

Due to the COVID pandemic, we were not able to visit the classrooms for over two years. However, we finally returned to the classrooms in Fall 2022.

We would love to have you be a part of this effort by becoming a facilitator in our K-12 programs. If you are interested or have any questions, please contact us. We would love to have you work with us to promote respect to young people. I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you!
​
Kuma Takamura
Education Advisor
former GMDC Education Director

Kids loved the story! Great discussion around differences. My kids had a ton of questions. Awesome job answering and validating my students. Questions answered so respectfully. I wish this opportunity could occur two or more times in the year. I love our kids being taught by our community. Thank you for all you did to help my kids feel unique!" 
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- ​Teacher feedback, 3rd grade

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The Greater Mankato Diversity Council (GMDC), a non-profit organization, seeks individuals from the community as Facilitators to conduct our K-12 classroom workshops: Promoting Respect Workshops (PRW, a GMDC foundational program) and STEM Equity workshops. 

The PRWs are offered to grades kindergarten through twelve and cover broad topics of respect. The STEM workshops promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers to grades seven through tenth grades (especially for female and BIPOC students). All Facilitator training materials and classroom curricula are created by the Greater Mankato Diversity Council. ​

If you are committed to eliminating the walls created by our differences and like to work with young people, this is a great opportunity for you. Anyone who is interested and committed can become a facilitator. GMDC's current group of facilitators includes the whole spectrum of diversity. For example, our facilitators' ages range from 20s to 70s! ​

• ​​During the 2018-19 school year, we visited about 350 classrooms, reaching out to approximately 8,000 students.
• During Covid, we were unable to visit schools during the two academic years, but have returned in 2022-2023.
• K-12 curricula have received over 95% approval rates by students and teachers.

They loved it! The presenters were enthusiastic and well prepared! What a great lesson! Differences are what make us all unique! The world would be a boring place if we were all the same! Easy, and straight to the point! Thank you for coming!" 

​​- Teacher feedback, 3rd grade

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Facilitator Requirements & Expectations

• All new facilitator candidates will be interviewed as a part of the application process.
• Facilitators receive compensation per each completed workshop session.
• ​Facilitators must have reliable transportation to the classroom site. A laptop may be useful, especially for the STEM workshops.

• Required documents prior to start: 
  • ​I-9 - Employment Eligibility Verification
  • W-9 - Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
  • Criminal background check - required to work in K-12 classrooms

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• Required training provided by GMDC:
  • ​New facilitators go through 24 hours of training (eight 3-hour sessions), which may be scheduled in-person or provided self-directed online (streaming video). All K-12 curricula, various diversity topics, and presentation techniques will be covered.
  • Additional ongoing training (year by year) may be required to keep up with new curricula or refresh skills.
  • The GMDC training videos are available for access at any time.

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This sounds like a lot of commitment, but many facilitators say the training was one of the best parts of becoming a facilitator.

• Facilitators should expect to conduct a minimum of 5 workshops per school year.

• Two facilitators are assigned to each workshop session from the pool of available facilitators.
• New facilitators will be paired with experienced facilitators. 
• Facilitators may be assigned multiple sessions per day based on availability.
• Most STEM Equity Program workshops are scheduled during the second half of the school year (February - May).
• Workshops may include presentations, short videos, and hands-on activities. 

• We have an online sign-up/schedule system for classroom visits. When classroom visits are scheduled, all facilitators are notified with the necessary information (school name, grades, time etc.). Facilitators can log on to our scheduling website and post their availability for each session based on their own schedule and grade preferences.

Most facilitators say that their experience in classrooms are truly rewarding. You can directly experience the impact you are making!

Apply

Submit an application!
Or, contact our Education staff directly to discuss questions or opportunities.

Facilitator, Board, or Employment application

She did a great job discussing a tough topic. Thank you for defining tough words. [She] did such a phenomenal job gaining and keeping my busy classes’ attention. She spoke so well about each topic-respect, stereotype, prejudice, discrimination... 😊 Excellent teacher, communicator and role model...

My students were mesmerized! Great, simple lesson with huge impact. Nice variety of movement to keep kids engaged. ...The students were engaged and interested the entire time." 

​- Teacher(s) feedback, 4th and 5th grade workshops

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