Doing what's right

Over the last three months, I’ve written to you about the challenging times we are living through. We are in the midst of a pandemic, but this is not the only crisis we face as a country and community.   

The pandemic itself has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color. What happened to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are tragic examples of the systematic mistreatment of individuals and communities of color.  

I wish we were all in a place where it would be unnecessary to have to say: We oppose racism, discrimination, police brutality and violence of all kinds. Period.  

I want to ensure that every Champions employee, child and family is heard and valued.  

Physical health and safety is an important part of how we’re addressing COVID-19 and how we operate moving forward. But emotional safety, and the underlying belief that everyone in our greater community deserves to be treated equitably, is just as important.   

We are all adjusting to a “new normal,” but now more than ever we must ensure that equity is core to the future we’re building together. We play such an important role in that future by caring for and educating this nation’s next generation. We owe it to ourselves and every member of our community to get it right.  

We support our children, families and employees through the great work of our Inclusion Services and Employee Support teams. Now, we will bring in an outside resource to help us further and more formally incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into our work and culture.  

As we’ve navigated the pandemic crisis, I’ve seen incredible examples of everyday heroes stepping up to support all of our communities. It’s because of this I know in my heart that we can rise to all the challenges we face.  

We have so much to be proud of in our work to create an inclusive environment for our teams and children. But there is much more we can and must do together.