CHARLOTTE - The Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC welcomed members of Charlotte Pride, the leader of LGBTQ visibility in the American southeast, to Bank of America Stadium on Tuesday as part of continued education and engagement from the organization's PRIDE employee resource group.

Jerry Yelton, the Programs and Development Director of Charlotte Pride, spoke about the importance of awareness and proactive engagement to make organizations and communities more welcoming and safe for all employees.

"When all employees and teams feel supported," Yelton said, "then they do their jobs better and they make others feel supported in the process."

Yelton outlined large and small ways that individuals and management groups can create more inclusive work spaces, from on-boarding language to pronouns in email signatures to presenting welcoming atmospheres to those that may feel uncomfortable expressing their identities.

Yelton also spoke about the larger work that Charlotte Pride is doing in the Charlotte community and Carolinas, helping organizations create change and allowing individuals to be present as their full authentic selves.

At the end of the program, staff members Jill Cole and Hannah Chandarana of Tepper Sports & Entertainment presented the Charlotte Pride organization with a check for $5,000 and a commitment for continued engagement and active support in events like Charlotte Pride week moving forward.

TSE will also be providing resources to staff and team operations for on-boarding for both the Panthers and Charlotte FC.