(Englewood, New Jersey; September 6, 2016) -- The Community Chest launches the 2016-2017 Professional Development Series on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. The first workshop in the four session series, Cross-Cultural Competence Skills: Bridging Cultural Differences with Respect and Understanding, will be held at Vantage Health System's Training Center, located at 2 Park Avenue in Dumont, New Jersey from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

This workshop provides professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to communicate effectively across cultural differences in a variety of contexts. The session focuses on ethnic and cultural differences, as well as other dissimilarities, including ability, disability, religion, and sexual orientation. Participants gain an understanding of the dimensions of cultural differences to enable the application of inter-cultural communication skills to various cultural contexts. Attendees may receive continuing education units for their social work licenses. Instructor Paula Rodriguez Rust, Ph.D., from Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey will lead the session.

Professional staff in supervisory positions in the nonprofit sector may register for the session. There is no charge to participate in the session for staff from agencies funded by The Community Chest. Staff of other nonprofit agencies may attend at a cost of $100 per person per session. Call Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer, Executive Director of The Community Chest, to register at 201-568-7474. Sponsors of the series include The Rotary Club of Englewood, PSE&G, SUEZ and TD Bank.

About The Community Chest

For over 80 years, The Community Chest, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, has supported local not-for-profit agencies in the Englewood area. Each year, The Chest raises funds and allocates them to agencies that have demonstrated the capacity to provide services to local citizens. The Chest also provides other coordinating and planning services in the communities of Englewood, Englewood Cliffs and Tenafly, serving as a bridge between agencies and organizations and investing in the stability and quality of the service network.

For further information about The Chest, visit www.communitychestofenglewood.org or contact (201) 568-7474. Stay updated about the organization's activities on Facebook and Twitter.