Over the past two weeks, we paused our activities on social media to show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement, and to take time to listen, learn, and reflect on what we can do as a team to help end systemic racism in our country. Silence is complicity and messages of sympathy and/or recognition are insufficient. We don’t see this as a political issue, but rather one reflective of human rights, equality, and the health & wellness of our community.
As a small team of digital marketers, we’ll be the first to admit that this is outside our area of expertise. However, we are adept at listening, researching, and moving forward with a plan of action. In that vein, our first step is to implement an annual 2x matching gift program for employee donations to nonprofits. For 2020, our team voted to support the following 4 organizations.
- Black United Fund of Oregon: https://www.bufor.org/
- Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
- Black Girls Code: https://www.blackgirlscode.com/
- Melanin Base Camp: https://www.melaninbasecamp.com/
We recognize that systemic racism in America is a deeply rooted, complex issue that will not be resolved quickly. Substantive progress will require continued attention and support from a broad coalition of Americans. In addition to donating to the 4 outstanding organizations listed above, our company has committed to the following:
- Post future job opportunities on a more diverse set of job boards including https://www.partnersindiversity.org/ and https://jobs.camberoutdoors.org/.
- Look for opportunities to support local black owned businesses.
- Follow a more diverse range of perspectives in our social feeds and email inboxes. We’re starting with these organizations.
- Unite Oregon: https://www.uniteoregon.org/
- Don’t Shoot PDX http://dontshootpdx.org/
- CoCC: https://www.coalitioncommunitiescolor.org/
- Know Your Rights: https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/
- Color of Change: https://colorofchange.org/
- Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/
- NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/
- Camber: https://camberoutdoors.org/
- Outdoor Afro: https://outdoor-afro.myshopify.com/
In the spirit of listening, feel free to contact us with suggestions for job boards that we should be aware of for future openings, local black owned businesses that companies like ours can support, and other great non-profits we should follow.