PORTLAND — The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs has awarded the first of a series of diversity scholarships to Top Gun 2021 participant Community Staffing Partners in Lewiston.

The $500 scholarship covers the Top Gun fee for a client company that promotes racial and gender diversity and inclusion. Community Staffing Partners has a mission of helping to build a diverse and inclusive workforce across Maine by helping foreign-trained New Mainers enter the Maine workforce.

Over the years, Maine Center for Entrepreneurs has successfully increased participation among women on its board of directors, client businesses and mentors and is now working to promote racial inclusion and diversity. This led to Maine Center for Entrepreneurs releasing a formal inclusion statement outlining a number of measurable goals to ensure this gap is being addressed within the business community.