Why is this intentional focus necessary?

If everybody in our community felt they had a fair opportunity and were treated with respect, then this purposeful work wouldn’t be needed. But clearly there are gaps. People are not experiencing the world in the same way.

If you think about the people you cherish most and hold most dear, you want them to realize their full potential. What if they weren’t able to achieve that – not because they didn’t have the skill or talent or intelligence, but because something was standing in the way of their success?

That’s why we continue to look for ways to improve our systems and processes to do what we can to ensure everybody has the opportunity to contribute and reach their full value.

What are some of the strategies ������Ƶ is employing?

One of our core values is that our differences make us stronger. It’s embedded in our culture and part of our everyday conversations about our work. We regularly ask employees how we’re doing. We offer resource groups where employees can share ideas and issues specific to their needs.

Our employees also work to ensure equity in our practices. You’ll find us connecting with veterans transitioning into the civilian workforce, for example. We also work to promote social equity through our community investments and seek to ensure that electric vehicle charging infrastructure is available in under-resourced areas.

Why does this work matter to customers?

A diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace produces better results. If we want innovative solutions that allow us to work more safely, more reliably and more affordably, our employees need to be at their best. Maximizing the full potential that exists in everyone is really grounded in building an inclusive environment that welcomes and values divergent ideas. It’s also how we recruit strong candidates and retain the valuable experience we have across our company. Employees want to contribute fully.

A diverse mix of employees also better represents the diverse mix of customers within the communities we serve.

What strategies can we incorporate in our daily lives to make a difference?

People sometimes ask if being kind is enough. It helps. It can be a difference-maker when we go out of our way to be kind and encouraging to people. But that’s not going to remove the barriers that some people face that have nothing to do with who they are, but are the result of systems that have built up over decades and over centuries.

So yes, let’s be kind. Then let’s go out and do something to make a difference.

That might mean being intentional about expanding your circles. Seek out that person who thinks exactly the opposite of you and have open conversations with them and try to understand another perspective. It’s not just OK to be different. Differences are necessary, because they give us an opportunity to learn, grow and innovate.

For the past decade, the Schug family has given back to that organization by supporting the , the organization’s largest fundraiser. Their 11-year-old son, Jacob, recently led the team for the walk, which took place Nov. 12 at Mica Mountain High School.

Kasy, ������Ƶ’s Transmission Vegetation Project Manager, initially worked as a contractor for ������Ƶ in the mid-2000s, then moved to Portland, Oregon, where Jacob was born.

After Kasy moved back to Southern Arizona and returned to ������Ƶ when Jacob was about six months old, Kasy and his wife, Allyson, got involved with the organization and took on leadership roles. Kasy and Allyson have chaired Buddy Walks and Allyson served as president for about four years.

������Ƶ played a role in the connection. Kasy’s former colleague was ������Ƶ’s representative at the Buddy Walk, getting involved through a sibling of a player on a football game he coached.

Since then, Kasy has coordinated with ������Ƶ’s Community Action Team to bring volunteers to the walk, as well as arranging for printing costs and sponsorships. He also shared information about SANDS with a ��former colleague whose son has Down syndrome.

Kasy is the latest employee to be featured in our Plugged In to My Community series.

In 2018, Dave Hutchens, former UNS Energy Chief Executive Officer and now Fortis CEO, served as the because of ������Ƶ’s leadership. Jacob visited Dave’s office to extend the invitation.

“Our CAT team has been tremendous about always staying on top of what we need and sharing the information of how we can help out,” Kasy said. “It’s been awesome working with our community team.”

Like his former colleague, Kasy has also brought in players from football teams that he’s coached to help at the walk.

Although Kasy’s son has some mental, speech and physical growth delays related to Down syndrome, Jacob is enrolled in a fully inclusive sixth grade class and is assigned the same homework as his classmates. Like a typical 11-year-old, he reads every day and he loves playing on his iPad.

The SANDS connections taught the Schugs how to address Jacob’s needs. In turn, the Schugs have formed relationships with other parents so they can teach and learn from each other. SANDS has provided packets and in-person hospital visits to parents, especially for those who are unaware that their babies had Down syndrome before birth. Board members have held workshops and flown out to meet members of Congress for advocacy.

Kasy thanks SANDS and ������Ƶ colleagues for their involvement.

“I appreciate how people have supported me and my family. Having a child with Down syndrome really takes that to a different level – the amount of love and compassion that comes from everyone I’ve ever met with Down syndrome,” Kasy said. “Jacob has touched more people in my life and brought us closer than any other scenario that I can think of.”

The Community Investment Corporation (CIC) in July opened the second round of applications for loans from the . ������Ƶ originally made contributions to help launch the fund in 2020 and is providing a sustaining contribution this year.

Here are some ways the fund is making a difference for the , who received support in 2021.

Cookin’ Wit’ Cort

After leaving a job as a social worker, Cortnie Smith was looking for ways to pay the bills when she was asked to make healthy meals for a friend of a friend.

That first week in 2019, Smith prepared nine meals and . Within a month, she was selling 96 meals a week.

That was the beginning of Cookin’ Wit’ Cort, a local catering business that focuses on soul food, healthy meals or whatever the client prefers. Last year, Smith used the CIC loan for catering supplies, including chafers, a griddle and grill, pots and a refrigerator.

After a swift launch, Smith’s business stalled when pandemic hit in 2020, forcing her to briefly take a warehouse job.

“I hated it. At work, I would think, ‘What can I do to get back cooking?’” Smith said. “Then, I thought I could make Soul Food Sundays. For the Black culture, it’s a special day to get together with families. It was a hit.”

Now, Smith largely focuses on catering jobs for private parties, but can also be found at vendor events, offering Sunday, lunch and Thanksgiving specials. Baked mac-and-cheese is her specialty.

Until she learned about the CIC offer, Smith was intimidated by the prospect of seeking a bank loan. The CIC was helpful in going through the process. “It’s like you can have the talent, but there’s a whole other aspect behind a business,” Smith said. “There’s so much more.”

Barrio Books

Syrena Arevalo launched Barrio Books – selling Latino- and Latina-based literature in English and Spanish – as a side hustle while working as a teacher at a charter school.

“There weren’t a lot of books that reflected the kids I had in my classroom,” Arevalo said. “I had a lot of kids who were not avid readers so I tried to get different books that resonated with them.”

When Arevalo left her teaching job because of medical complications, Barrio Books became her main focus. She started mostly as a pop-up vendor at local events, like Cyclovia and Second Saturdays. When she learned that Hotel McCoy was looking for someone to run a bookstore, it seemed like a perfect fit.

Still, getting funds proved difficult. Because of medical debt, Arevalo was unable to qualify for traditional bank loans. “CIC really helped get us to the next level,” Arevalo said. “CIC is an incredible organization. Not only will they help you with your loan, but they also give you a lot of knowledge on how to run a business.”

Now, Arevalo has plans for a bookmobile to continue her mission.

“Barrio Books is a bookstore of the community, representing what Tucson is and what the Tucson southside is, and elevating Latino and Latina representation. It’s a place to get literature that kids and adults can really identify with.”

Fraqtals

Reginald “SwinDoe” Kennedy has played college baseball, toured as a hip-hop artist, acted in movies and videos and created visual art. Now, he’s added new credentials: inventor and entrepreneur.

SwinDoe designed a screenprinting machine and process for his custom-apparel business, . Last year, the CIC loan helped him offset costs to manufacture and market his machines for sale.

SwinDoe got his start selling fingerpainted T-shirts both on the road and in Tucson before he transitioned to providing screenprinting service for others.

“It seems that once you print T-shirts, others want you to do it for them,” SwinDoe said. “Once I realized that could make some pretty good money printing for other people, it became my main focus and career.”

Frustrated with the limitations of large screenprinting machines, he “went to the distinguished school of YouTube” to learn to weld and made his own machine that he can take to print on-the-spot at markets and public demonstrations. He even brought it to a school to teach children.

So far, he’s sold a few of his custom machines while continuing his screenprinting business at the Dunbar Pavilion.

“It’s hard to get funds these days without a proven track record or sales record,” SwinDoe said. “It’s great that this is helping push people forward who have great ideas.”

Learn more about ������Ƶ’s support of the BIPOC loan program.

When you walk into right off 4^th Avenue, you’ll first notice the colorful interior, with one-of-a-kind clothing and vintage figurines lining the walls. You’re met by the sounds of R&B playing softly in the background and a greeting from owner Nick Arcade, as he creates another one of his unique outfits by the cash register.

Arcade has been at this location for three years, but he has been making clothing for much longer. Originally from Dekalb, IL, Arcade moved to Tucson in 2015 after visiting a friend and falling in love with the city.

He never thought he’d have his own store here, though. He started out selling his designs at local markets. “I thought I would get a truck and drive around the city, hosting pop ups and selling my designs from there,” he said. Instead, he found the space at 418 E. 7th Street and it just worked.

Arcade describes his designs as “Frankenstein-ing things together.” He finds items at thrift stores and puts his own touch on them. He’s inspired by the 1990s and you’ll see it in his design concepts. He also appreciates the element of sustainability he achieves when he gives thrifted clothes new life.

“I started off with bleaching clothing because it was an inexpensive way to take color out of things, and then I started adding my own color,” Arcade said.

And now, his store is even more colorful thanks to a new local loan fund for minority-owned businesses.

With support from ������Ƶ and other donors, the Community Investment Corporation (CIC) launched a . Qualifying businesses can request an interest-free loan up to $10,000 for up to five years. CIC developed the program to take action in the wake of ongoing national tragedies and calls for racial equity and justice.

������Ƶ’s donation is tied to our philanthropic focus area on racial and social equity.

When one of Arcade’s friends encouraged him to apply for the loan, he was reluctant. He felt like his work was unconventional. He wasn’t sure if people would see his vision, let alone give him funding. But, he applied and, to his surprise, he was one of the recipients.

“This money allows me to expand my store and create some stability for my business,” he said.

He has already made some changes with his $5,000 loan. He changed the layout of the front of his store and is adding more sizes for some of his items.

He also has plans for the rest of the money.

“I would love to provide workshops for people who want to learn design,” he said.

Arcade is interested in helping high school students explore their passions. With Tucson High School located just a few blocks from his store, he hopes it won’t be too hard to find students who want to learn.

In the meantime, Arcade is working to provide quality products to his customers and continues to show off his creativity.

“I’m heading to more simple understated pieces with the store branding. I’ll still work with vintage materials, when I can, to keep it sustainable, but with my own flair and unique concepts,” he said.

Watch a to hear how Arcade got into sewing.

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Read a previous story about ������Ƶ’s support of CIC’s loans.

But it can be hard to say no to a 7-year-old grandson who thinks you’re invincible. The idea surfaced when her grandson, Jody, was assigned a report for school during Black History Month.

“Where is the museum I can go to here in Tucson to learn about African American people who lived around here?” he asked.

The offerings were limited. And since he knew she served on an advisory board for an African American Cultural Historical Museum in Washtenaw County, Michigan, he insisted a change was in order.�� “You’ve got to do something about this,” he pressed. And then he added, “I’ll help you.”

So she started consulting mentors and experts.

And she sat with some of the challenging things she knew and learned about the undertaking. It takes years to build and establish a museum. Museums were shuttering in the pandemic, straining under building, maintenance, security, insurance and other costs as visitation dropped.

But she also sat with the weight of not doing it. “The African American community here is not large, the way it is in some communities. So many of our stories are in oral histories with families, or packed away in boxes in the garage or the back of the closet. Or they’re tossed because there’s no one to pass it along to. It’s too heartbreaking to think of these stories being lost.”

Beverely knew she needed to discuss the plan with her husband, Bob Elliott, an accountant, Arizona basketball legend and longtime board member for ������Ƶ’s parent company, UNS Energy. After a family conversation over dinner on April 15, 2021, they agreed to move forward, with Beverely serving as executive director.

“I couldn’t help but think about all of the people who have passed away and we didn’t have a way to capture their contributions,” Bob said. “In life, you can’t change the past. You have to think about the present and plan for the future, which is why this will be such a powerful educational resource for the community and for students. As time moves on, and all of us move on, the museum will still be here.”

Although the museum lives virtually on a robust website right now, a physical site for the museum emerged from discussions with leaders at the University of Arizona. They agreed that the museum would be housed on campus.

With supply chain interruptions, the team is working toward a fall opening, with three permanent exhibits. One will focus on quilts and their importance in the lives of African Americans. A second will share information about the Crown Act, designed to protect against discrimination of natural and cultural hairstyles, and accompanied by a simple display of different hairstyles. A third exhibit will focus on the Buffalo Soldiers and their service to the country and the region. All three of will have a curriculum component for students.

In addition to working with students at the University of Arizona studying Africana Studies and Digital Humanities, the Museum has established partnerships with Tucson Unified School Districts/ African American Student Services Department, as well as the Sunnyside School District and is collaborating with leaders from the City of Tucson.

The Museum has also received a $10,000 “Learning Journey” grant from the African American Legacy Fund, held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, to assist with technology needs and activities for students who visit the museum.

Beverely has been enjoying the discoveries she’s making. She’s learning about how citrus and cotton crops affected the migration of African Americans between Tucson and Phoenix. She learned more about the history of Quincie Douglas, the community advocate��who worked to bring neighborhood centers, sidewalks, street lights, and food programs to disadvantaged areas of Tucson and helped spearhead a forerunner to Sun Van transportation service. She learned more about Elgie Batteau, who is considered the first African American student to graduate with a master’s degree from the University of Arizona and who taught in the 1930s at Dunbar School, then a segregated school for African American students.

“There’s so much history here. Some of it is tragic and hurtful by its very nature. But it’s also inspiring because these people were so strong. They didn’t have the term social justice like we do today. What they did back then was stand up for their rights as human beings,” she said.

������Ƶ will be contributing $5,000 to the effort, which will help fund some of the interactive and innovative programming.

“Museums serve as our collective memory so we never forget our stories, or the complex ways our history connects us to the present,” said Wendy Erica Werden, ������Ƶ’s Manager of Community Philanthropy and Investment. “The work that the museum founders and advocates are doing is incredibly important to capture the strength that’s in the story of African Americans and their contributions in building our community and our country.”

The museum will feature a hologram welcome. QR codes on the exhibits will lead to deeper discovery. Automated, mobile touchscreen devices will guide students about ways they might research their ancestry and access oral histories. Beverely jokes that as a retiree, she’s moving into a whole new realm of communication strategies.

How does she hope people will approach the museum?

“I want them to come away saying, ‘I didn’t know that,’ because it means they learned something. I want them to emotionally connect with some of these stories and share their own. I want everyone to participate. And I want them to appreciate that the story of African American culture and heritage is the story of American culture and heritage.”

To learn more, please visit .

Donations also are being accepted at .

The nonprofit group quickly responded – and ������Ƶ was there to help.

For two years, ������Ƶ has provided a total of $30,000 in grants to Step Up to Justice, a local nonprofit organization that connects low-income residents with volunteer attorneys who provide free legal services. Primarily, ������Ƶ’s contribution has assisted with housing insecurity, reaching 947 people in the past year alone.

“One great thing about Step Up to Justice is it’s able to pivot quickly and address the evolving needs of its clientele,” said Ryan Anderson, ������Ƶ’s Manager of Business Development and a Step Up to Justice board member.

Step Up to Justice’s mission fits with ������Ƶ’s philanthropic focus of community assistance, as well as our company’s efforts to address racial and social equity in the community. A women-led organization, Step Up to Justice serves a diverse clientele, mostly women of color.

“They are good at listening to the needs of the traditionally marginalized —and once they hear the needs, they are good at addressing them,” Anderson said.

Anderson helped connect Step Up to Justice with ������Ƶ for support. When Anderson previously worked in private law practice, he volunteered his time as an attorney. Now that he works at ������Ƶ, Anderson stays involved as a board member, organizing and emceeing events. Before the pandemic, ������Ƶ hosted the group’s annual fundraisers at ������Ƶ’s Downtown Headquarters for three years.

According to Step Up to Justice, more than 200,000 people live in poverty in Pima County, with about 70 percent of them needing civil legal help each year.

Executive Director Michele Mirto said her organization was already trying to find ways to remotely connect to clients, especially homebound and rural residents, before the pandemic started. So, the group was ready when the pandemic forced a switch to almost entirely remote work, linking private attorneys with online legal advice sessions.

Step Up to Justice held online clinics for clients who were having trouble paying their rent, challenged in finding safe, livable housing or negotiating with landlords. Melissa Spiller-Shiner, Associate Director, said there was also a lot of confusion about changing eviction moratoriums and needs for rental assistance.

During 2021, the organization:

• Conducted 163 housing clinics.
• Scheduled 435 appointments for these clients.
• Arranged for 13 volunteer attorneys to donate 376 hours of work.

This year, ������Ƶ’s grant will extend services for end-of-life planning. While Step Up to Justice had previously assisted older clients with wills and advanced directives, primarily, the group has found that younger people, specifically single parents, are requesting legal help to prepare for the possible care of their children.

“I think it’s definitely pandemic driven. In the past, they might not have thought about not being able to care for their children or designating care for their children,” Mirto said. “That’s an issue that has bubbled up to the top for people and they are reaching out for assistance.”

������Ƶ’s support allows Step Up to Justice staff members to�� focus on their services, screening clients for their needs and connecting clients and attorneys rather than raising funds.

“The needs became even more acute during a crisis, such as the present one spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic, when the assistance of a lawyer can mean the difference between housing and homelessness, safety or insecurity, and work or unemployment,” Mirto said. “With the meaningful support of ������Ƶ, Step Up to Justice is able to continue to make access to justice a reality for low-income Tucsonans.”

About 4 percent of the community’s need was being met and less than 20 percent of available volunteers were used before Step Up to Justice launched in 2017. Since, the organization has expanded resources and increased services by 25 percent in the community, giving thousands of more residents access to pro bono legal services.

This story is part of our ongoing series highlighting ������Ƶ’s philanthropic focus areas, including community assistance. ������Ƶ works with nonprofit partners to develop invitation-based donation requests for community assistance efforts. Funds come from corporate resources, not customers’ rates.��Learn more about donations.

“We’re passionate about expanding our workforce to be more diverse,” said Marji Morris, Manager of Talent Acquisition and Workforce Planning. “It is important for an organization like ours to reach out in the employment realm and provide opportunities for qualified candidates, regardless of their disability status. We need to make sure we’re inclusive.”

For about a decade, the team has put an emphasis on hiring candidates with disabilities. As a result, ������Ƶ has been recognized nationally and locally as an employer with success in this area.

In August, Morris and Jeremy Kelly, Manager of Enterprise Cyber Security, were the only energy industry representatives to speak at a national, virtual webinar, called “ hosted by the. Morris and Kelly discussed the success of hiring and retaining an employee on the autism spectrum.

Morris explained that “neurodiverse” is a term that is being used more commonly to define those with brain differences, including autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ������Ƶ has one employee, for example, who sustained a brain injury while serving in the military.

“This is an amazing talent pool of people, who are sometimes overlooked based on their social cues and behavior,” Morris said. “We focus on their abilities, not their disabilities.”

Previously, in 2016, Morris and a former employee spoke about disability inclusion in the workforce at a CEWD annual summit.

Locally, ������Ƶ was named by Linkages, an organization that connected employers to job candidates. ������Ƶ also hosted an employment for Linkages in 2018, featuring Dawei F., a ������Ƶ Distribution Engineer who is blind. (Linkages has since become part of another organization, Direct Advocacy and Resource Center.)

Recruiters regularly attend job fairs for candidates with disabilities and partner with local organizations, said Mary Vaughan, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist. Those include the DREAM Disability & Rehabilitation Employment Awareness Job Fair each October and the Annual Autism/Sensory Friendly Job Fair, which is set up differently to make candidates more comfortable. Some of these efforts have been conducted remotely during the pandemic.

The work of our recruiters doesn’t stop with finding candidates.

They also make sure to accommodate candidates’ individual needs in the interview process and after they are hired. For example, they identified a need for wheelchair-accessible doors in the parking garage at our Downtown Headquarters; automatic doors have since been installed. Some candidates need assistance from a helper. Others might be more comfortable at the back of the room, in a firm seat or without hand-shaking or other physical contact.

Their efforts have broadened and deepened our employee talent pool.

“We’ve really had the distinct pleasure and honor to watch our hires really develop and grow as a result of working at our company, and that’s really amazing,” Morris said.�� “It’s not just good for us, but it’s life changing for the person and their families. It’s very rewarding on both ends.”

Diversity, equity and inclusion are a core part of our company culture. Here are some of the key ways we champion an inclusive, diverse environment and work to make meaningful progress both inside our company and throughout our community.

Internal strategies

We’re striving to achieve long-term and lasting progress toward equity, access and opportunity for all, informed by a guiding team and feedback from engaged employees.

• Continual refinement of our department practices and protocols: Ensuring our company provides fair access to services, resources and opportunities.
• Business Resource Groups: Increasing employee engagement, supporting career development or connecting to customers in the communities we serve in alignment with our business priorities through diverse employee-led groups.
• Building awareness: Celebrations of diverse holidays, micro-learnings, trainings, town halls, a storytelling series and a listening tour that allowed our employees to share their lived experiences with racism, prejudice and bias.
• Measuring the employee experience: Translating results into strategies to best advance the feeling of inclusion for all employees.

Outreach

We’re working to ensure a diverse talent pipeline.

• K-20 education relationships: Providing support for students and teachers through energy-focused lessons, internships and partnerships with schools in neighborhoods that are under-resourced.
• Career Internships: We partner with military branches to provide civilian work exposure to separating military personnel. We also offer internships that give teachers real-life utility career experience to take back to their classrooms.
• Outreach, attraction and training efforts: Partnering with local job networks and nonprofit organizations to facilitate work readiness and energy career sessions with diverse participants.

Philanthropy

We’re committed to helping shape a more inclusive community.

• Volunteer opportunities: Sharing our time, talent and energy to help neighbors in our community overcome barriers and achieve a better quality of life.

• Non-Discrimination Guidelines: Ensuring organizations seeking funding certify that they do not discriminate on the basis of race and other designations.

• Funding support for efforts that advance racial and social equity, including:
  • Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona; Women and Girls of Color Fund
  • Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona
  • Community Investment Corp; BIPOC Community Managed Loan Fund
  • Dunbar Springs Community Gardens
  • Pandemic response collaborations supporting organizations that directly impact underserved groups
  • Vaccine equity efforts

“We are deeply committed to creating a workplace and supporting a community where everyone has the same access and opportunity to thrive,” said Susan Gray, President and CEO. “Our leaders and employees have embraced diversity, equity and inclusion as a core part of our company culture. We strive to encourage these values in our community and are continually seeking to learn more as we work to achieve the best for our employees, customers, community and company.”

The Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona is now accepting applications for the new Women and Girls of Color Fund, the first of its kind in Arizona. ������Ƶ was an early funder.

“Providing resources to women and girls of color, and supporting their ability to have decision-making control over how they invest in solutions, is an important pathway in building the power of our communities,” said Wendy Erica Werden, Manager of Philanthropy & Community Investment. “We believe this fund empowers women and girls to create their own destiny.”

Grant funding is limited to Arizona organizations led by and serving women and girls of color. The highest leadership position must be held by a woman of color, with 75 percent of the organization’s decision-making coming from women and girls of color. Participants also must show that 75 percent or more of its service population is comprised of women and girls of color.

“This is a bold step in creating a fund that is unabashedly focused on women and girls of color. They deserve dedicated support that affirms their unique contributions, needs and presence in our state,” said Laci Lester, grant manager of the fund.

The deadline for nonprofit organizations to apply is 6 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2021.

The application can be accessed online at

������Ƶ contributed $30,000 to the Dunbar Coalition’s Health and Wellness Project to assist with strategic planning for its garden, including renovations and beautification.

The donation is part of ������Ƶ’s support of diversity, equity and inclusion in our region, including through assistance to BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) communities. In addition, ������Ƶ focuses its philanthropy efforts each spring on environmental stewardship causes, such as the garden.

“The opportunity to strengthen our ties with the Dunbar neighborhood, while also aligning our internal diversity, equity, and inclusion work with community partners, was key,” said��Wendy Erica Werden, ������Ƶ’s Manager of Community Investment and Philanthropy. “We want it to grow into a true collaboration and communication where our employees can invest their time and talent in addition to our company’s financial resources.”

The garden will be transformed along Sixth Street north of downtown on the grounds of the Paul Lawrence Dunbar School, which opened in 1912 as a segregated school for Black children. After the Tucson School District ended its segregation system in 1951, the school was rechristened John Spring Junior High School and remained open until 1978. The buildings were sold to the Dunbar Coalition in 1995 for use as a community center.

now serves as an African American Arts and Culture Center. The garden, as well as cultural and wellness programs supported by the ������Ƶ grant and other donations, were kickstarted in 2019 by a $100,000 donation from the Agnese Haury Program of Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. Dunbar’s program includes two sessions or events each month, recently held virtually, to educate the public on wellness and cultural issues.

“The aim of our programming is BIPOC-centered, designed to create a center for Black health and wellness and holistic programs rooted in indigenous ways and healing,” said Desiree Gonzales, Dunbar’s Program Manager.

Organizers have used the downtime during the pandemic to refocus the garden, which previously included individual plots for residents to grow their own plants and food.

Dunbar selected Drew Berryhill, the owner of Drutopia nursery, to oversee the visual landscape changes and manage the garden. He will run his pop-up shop nursery in the parking lot as part of the arrangement.

Dunbar plans to add new fencing, beautify the grounds and improve the basketball court and playground space for public use. As pandemic restrictions are lifted, Dunbar hopes to hold exercise, meditation or yoga classes among the greenery.

“We’re supporting business, while also strengthening our community and drawing people in,” Gonzales said.

Debi Chess, Executive Director of the Dunbar Pavilion, said ������Ƶ’s donation is allowing the program to grow, along with helping connect with community partners.

“The monetary contribution is wonderful, but it’s the relationship building that is key,” Chess said. “������Ƶ’s reach extends into different communities and their support in helping us bridge those relationships is really wonderful.”

This story is part of our ongoing series highlighting ������Ƶ’s philanthropic focus areas. ������Ƶ works with nonprofit partners to develop invitation-based donation requests for community assistance efforts. Funds come from corporate resources, not customers’ rates.��Learn more about donations.