PARTNERS FOR WORKPLACE Valley events set to mark National Diversity Month

The NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet is Oct. 14.
YOUNGSTOWN -- October is National Diversity Month and an alliance of local businesses and organizations plans to promote the culture of the local community with a monthlong series of events.
Partners for Workplace Diversity officially kicks off its "Diversity Works" annual fall program, sponsored in part by Youngstown State University, at 7:30 a.m. Friday at the General Motors Lordstown Complex with an International Breakfast. For reservations, call (330) 675-7600.
What's scheduled
Other events include:
U6:30 p.m. Thursday: Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Wick Avenue main branch, book discussion, "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago. For more information, call (330) 744-8636.
U5:30 to 10 p.m. Friday: "Recognizing Hispanic Achievements," YSU Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Kilcawley Center. Keynote address by Denise Rodriguez-Lopez, deputy for the White House Initiative on Excellence for Hispanic Americans. The conference will feature a flag ceremony, recognition of achievement in the Hispanic community and dancing.
U p.m. Oct. 10: "Rage is Not Just a One-Day Thing," a free, one-woman show about the Montgomery bus boycott. Kent State Trumbull campus. For more information, call (330) 675-8887.
U7 p.m. Oct. 12: Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Main Branch book discussion: "Borinquen del Mar Y el sol. The brief history of Puerto Rico: A Puerto Rican's Journey to the Mahoning Valley." For more information, call (330) 744-8636.
U7 p.m. Oct. 14: Freedom Fund dinner at the Mahoning Country Club, hosted by the Youngstown Branch of the NAACP. Angela Ciocolo, deputy general counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will speak. Tickets are $25 each. For more information, call (330) 782-9777.
U5:30 p.m. Oct. 18: "Lessons In Leadership," Women's Networking Dinner at the DeBartolo Stadium Club on the YSU campus, in recognition of National Business Women's Week. Tickets are $20 each, $5 for students. Reservations are required and may be made by calling (330) 941-2350.
U6:30 p.m. Oct. 20: "Diversity and Philanthropy." Anne McMahon, YSU professor of management, will speak at the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Main Branch. For more information, call (330) 744-8636.
U7 p.m. Oct. 27: Benefit concert for the Darfur region of Sudan and Katrina relief at St. Patrick's Church on Oak Hill in Youngstown. Freedom songs, spirituals and Hebrew and Yiddish music with a gospel beat will be performed. Joshua Nelson, black, Jewish and a virtuoso vocalist and pianist, will perform. For information, call (330) 746-3251.