CBC's DEIB Council Makes Donation to Friends of Oberlin Village

Heather Leah and Christian Adams, recent past co-chairs of CBC's DEIB Council, (center) present a donation check for $4,500 to Friends of Oberlin Village at an event on Saturday, April 29, 2023.

Capitol Broadcasting Company's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Council (CBC DEIB Council) became a Platinum sponsor for Friends of Oberlin Village recent fundraising event. WRAL-TV Multiplatform Producer Heather Leah and MCC Director of Business Development Christian Adams, co-chairs of the 2022-23 CBC DEIB Council, made the check presentation at the Celebrate Oberlin BBQ on Saturday, April 29, 2023.

The donation check is a compilation of a donation from the entire 2022-23 Council. At the end of the council year, each member was given $500 from CBC to donate to a nonprofit of their choosing. The group decided to pool their donations to have a greater impact for one nonprofit.

We chose Friends of Oberlin because they are a local and active organization that supports diversity, explained Leah. Their work preserves Raleigh's Black history, much of which has been hidden or lost.

She continued, Oberlin Village is the largest remaining community formed by Black men and women during the antebellum. Despite that important history, around half of Oberlin Village was destroyed when Raleigh annexed it and built Wade Avenue through the historic and thriving Black community. Oberlin Cemetery has hundreds of graves dating back to the 1800s, but the names and markers have been lost for many. Friends of Oberlin strives to preserve the remaining history, to protect the village from new developments and to uncover the names and stories.

The CBC DEIB Council featured Oberlin Village in a video created for the CBC employee website to share the significance of the Juneteenth holiday.

Sabrina Goode, founder and director of Friends of Oberlin, said, Thank you so much to CBC and the DEIB Council! Your donation allowed us to have the resources to have a successful event and fundraiser!

Leah is thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the community through CBC.

It feels incredible to work for a company that supports my passion for non-profits and historic preservation, she said.

CBC first launched a DEI initiative in late 2020, with a number of employees participating to help develop a DEI Council, conducting a needs assessment of the company and surveying all employees. CBC expanded the title to Diversity Equity Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Council in the call for a group of employees to lead and guide the company efforts for 2022. Staffers applied to participate in the CBC DEIB Council, going through an interview process. The Council held Meet & Greets, got feedback from employees, did video interviews with staffers from diverse backgrounds and much more. The 2022-23 Council, who made this donation, concluded their work in March, and a new group, some of returning members and some first-timers, took over from the new council later that month.

The Council's major function is to serve as the voice of the CBC community on diversity and inclusion matters, offer facilitated inclusion circles to build community, celebrate days of significance and support CBC's DEIB strategic goals. As a group, the Council reflects a balanced representation of the organization.

Thanks to WRAL-TV's Heather Leah & MCC's Christian Adams for these Capcom photos.

Heather Leah and Christian Adams, recent past co-chairs of CBC's DEIB Council, present a donation check for $4,500 to Friends of Oberlin Village at an event on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Heather Leah and Christian Adams, recent past co-chairs of CBC's DEIB Council, (center) present a donation check for $4,500 to Friends of Oberlin Village at an event on Saturday, April 29, 2023. CBC's DEIB Council made a $5,400 donation to become Platinum sponsor for the Celebrate! Oberlin Village event by Friends of Oberlin Village on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Heather Leah and Christian Adams, recent past co-chairs of CBC's DEIB Council, (center) present a donation check for $4,500 to Friends of Oberlin Village at an event on Saturday, April 29, 2023.

LINK:	https://capitolbroadcasting.com/2023/05/03/cbcs-deib-council-makes-don...
	See more stories from cbc

More from WRAL-TV