This Pride Month, Sertifi employees participated in our very own Pride ‘Parade’
As June comes to a close, we want to highlight how the Sertifi team supported Pride Month this year. We didn’t feel that a celebration was the right approach this year but knew we needed to provide a space to support our LGBTQ+ community. Acknowledging the current racial injustice that is still prevalent today, we wanted to support Pride Month, but only in solidarity with our Black colleagues, customers, and community.
A subcommittee of our Employee Advisory Committee was formed to work on the programming of Pride Month events. In order to promote allyship and give back, they planned Sertifi’s version of a Pride ‘Parade’. Simone Meerbrey, Account Executive and Pride subcommittee member said, “As an enthusiastic participant of both Pride Parade and Pride Fest year after year, I wanted to provide an initiative that would captivate the spirit of these events within our new remote environment while remaining sensitive to the trying times we are facing. By tracking dedicated miles either walked or ran, Sertifi team members were able to “own” this initiative and feel empowered to provide resulting matches for donation. It was amazing to see everyone motivated by an amazing cause and by fellow team members’ active participation in posting their miles side-by-side!”
Sertifi donated to Brave Space Alliance for every mile walked, run, and even kayaked by our employees between June 22nd and 29th. Brave Space Alliance is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ Center located on the South Side of Chicago, dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ individuals on the South and West sides of the city.
Employees came together and hit 800.25 miles for the week. Kaylee Baxter, Demand Generation Manager and Pride Parade participant said, “I ran this week in support of my friends and family within the LGBTQ+ community. I grew up in a community that could have benefitted from an organization like the Brave Space Alliance, but such a resource didn’t exist. So, it is important to me as an ally to help ensure resources and centers like this thrive and grow. Shouting out our daily steps and managing a bit of friendly competition between departments was an awesome way to stay connected to my coworkers as we continue to work from home, and as an avid runner and walker, I was happy to dedicate my miles to a great cause.”
Hosting this Pride Parade and giving back is just one step on the road forward. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that members of the LGBTQ+ community are protected against employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is a significant victory for the American workforce, but we recognize the milestones we have yet to achieve and our responsibility to support and protect all employees. We strive to be true allies not only to each other but to the communities we create and serve in.
Interested in seeing how we’ve stayed connected when we’re all remote? Check out our Instagram.