We at Continued and Simucase are overcome with sadness over the numerous Black lives that have ended as a result of systemic racism and violence. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many others are reminders of how much further we all need to go in the pursuit of equality.
We stand in solidarity with the Black community and our members, students, and colleagues of color.
What’s more, we are evaluating how we can take meaningful, sustained action to support Black professionals, students, and team members and also support initiatives that align with our pursuit of equality for all people of color.
To that end, our company is taking these actionable first steps:
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As a small but growing company, we recognize the need for the formation of a diversity committee to challenge and inform our way of doing things to ensure that equality influences all of our practices.
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Understanding that true progress will require both national and local action, our company has made donations to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Louisiana Parole Project.
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In addition to company contributions, we hope to encourage action among our team members to donate to organizations that advance social justice. Effective immediately, we are doubling our company’s already established charitable gift match program to increase philanthropic impact across our team.
- Beginning this year, we will be closed on June 19 in recognition of Juneteenth—the day the last enslaved African-Americans in the United States were informed of their freedom in 1865. This will be an annual company holiday going forward.
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We are establishing an annual scholarship dedicated to people of color who aspire to advance in the fields we serve as a continuing education provider.
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We will enrich our course content on race, diversity, and cultural competency.
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We will increasingly advocate for diversity within the professions we serve.
This is just the start of ensuring that we are looking through the lens of equality in all aspects of our business. While we don’t have it all figured out yet, what we do know is that there is much work to be done. We are committed to this important work to further diversity and inclusion within our company and in the fields we serve.