Tampa, FL— The Tampa Bay Chamber on Thursday announced four major businesses have now joined AT&T in becoming part of the chamber’s Empowerment Program designed to foster greater diversity, equity, and inclusion across the local business community.
Amgen, Moffitt Cancer Center, Regions Bank and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company are the latest organizations to become part of the program. AT&T is the founding member of the Empowerment Program, which will provide one-year, top-tier chamber memberships to Black-owned businesses and nonprofits that are not already chamber members.
When AT&T brought the initiative forward, the company also posed it as an opportunity or even a challenge for other organizations and chamber members to participate in making a difference.
By welcoming more businesses and nonprofits into chamber membership, the Tampa Bay Chamber will be better positioned to listen to the input, and represent the perspectives, of Black-owned organizations that are vital to the economic and social health of the Tampa Bay area. The result will be a more inclusive and equitable approach toward business growth and community engagement throughout the region, while also connecting more businesses with Chamber resources for growth.
“We are thrilled to see so many of our members stepping up to join in on such an incredible challenge set forth by AT&T to help bring positive change to Tampa Bay. We cannot wait to see how far this will go, and to see how many extraordinary new companies and business leaders our membership will be exposed to because of this initiative, said Bob Rohrlack, President & CEO of the Tampa Bay Chamber.
Amgen a pharmaceutical company with an office in Tampa was one of the firsts to agree to participate. “Amgen is proud to work with the Chamber by supporting this initiative to provide access and opportunities for Black owned businesses and organizations to grow and prosper ” said Felicia Harvey, Corporate Affairs Site Lead, Amgen.
Moffitt Cancer Center has a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, and was eager to get involved when they learned about the program. “Moffitt Cancer Center is committed to health equity and knows that supporting the growth and development of Black-owned and other small and diverse businesses contributes to healthy communities,” said Cathy Grant, Sr. Director, Moffitt Diversity, Moffitt Cancer Center.
Regions Bank’s support of the Empowerment Program complements the company’s long-term commitment to fostering greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. “The Tampa Bay Chamber’s Empowerment Program is focused on bringing more voices to the table, creating a business community that is more united and better positioned to serve and strengthen the communities we call home,” said Michael Jones, Tampa Bay Market Executive for Regions Bank. “At Regions Bank, we are focused on creating more inclusive prosperity, and we are proud to join fellow chamber members in this initiative, which will make a beneficial difference for new members and current members alike.”
Interested Black-owned businesses and non-profits can apply for the Empowerment Program via the Tampa Bay Chamber website: http://tampabaychamber.com/empowerment-program Applications are currently open and will close on December 1, 2020.