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Wells Fargo Supports the World Food & Music Festival + Inclusivity in DSM

WFMF and Inclusivity

September 17, 2021

Wells Fargo is proud to be a long-time sponsor of the World Food and Music Festival in Greater Des Moines (DSM). We support this festival of flavors and tunes because it is an important tool our community uses to cultivate an inclusive, welcoming environment.

World Food & Music Festival Impact on Employees

Big, symbolic celebrations such as this often offer rich experiences for our team members. For instance, Danny De Jesus, originally from the Dominican Republic, is able to enjoy the rich flavors of arroz y habituelas with his wonderful family; Prem Chandrasekaran, originally from India and a major culinary enthusiast, engages his adventuring taste buds to compare and contrast global flavors with his native foods and spices; Marta Codina, originally from Cuba, quietly reflects on her story to citizenship as she celebrates with those who receive theirs on the first day of the festival; and Bethany Crouch, born and raised in the U.S.A., brings her children to the cornucopia of sights, tastes, smells and sounds to expose and enrich concepts of culture in their young minds.

When scaled across our approximately 15,000 team members and many more customers, these four anecdotes demonstrate the thousands of affirmative, personal experiences the festival supports. In sum, these experiences help make DSM a more welcoming place to live, work and grow … together.

It is for this same reason that we are also investing this year in I’ll Make Me a World, Celebrasian, 30 Days of Pride and the Latino Heritage Festival, among others. Going further, we continue to advance our commitment to racial equity through investments with organizations led by black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) that align with our philanthropic national priorities of housing affordability, financial health, small business growth and sustainability and environmental justice.

Greater Des Moines (DSM) welcomes diverse talent to the region. As one of the fastest growing business communities, inclusion and attracting diverse talent in the workplace is a key strategy of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. Learn more here.

Through the Global DSM: International Talent Strategy, The Partnership works to establish Greater Des Moines (DSM) as a global community attracting and retaining foreign-born persons to the region. Check out more Global DSM stories.

Micah Kiel

Micah Kiel is the Iowa community relations leader for Wells Fargo in Greater Des Moines (DSM).