Even before COVID, our social fabric was beginning to fray. Over the course of years, long-standing inequalities and systemic racism have become starkly exposed and greatly exacerbated as division and polarization among Americans grows. Now, more than 10 million Americans remain unemployed and over 350,000 people have lost their lives to COVID. People of Color have been disproportionately affected due to inequalities rampant across our healthcare system, economy, and society.
Overcoming these challenges will require all of us to deepen our commitment to standing up against injustice while also working to rebuild trust and empathy across our communities. We must continue to dig deep to model the values we want to see in our society by taking stock of our own actions, big or small, each day. As a global brand and movement, KIND has an even greater opportunity and responsibility to make an impact.
In partnership with the National Collaborative for Health Equity (NCHE), an organization striving for justice to create a more equitable society for all Americans, KIND recently released our second-annual KIND EQUALITY bar in support of the next generation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color change-makers. The bar represents a world that’s beautifully diverse, inclusive and equitable – a world we need to continue to build.
And as part of our ongoing promise to fight for racial justice and equality, we are committed to taking the following new actions:
- Teaming up with The KIND Foundation to donate $265K toward student scholarships and racial justice organizations, such as the National Collaborative for Health Equity
- Adopting two historically Black colleges and universities, Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T State Universities, to help further support and provide opportunities for tomorrow’s leaders. Through the program, KIND has committed to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars in student scholarships and create a program that offers students opportunities to earn internships, career coaching, and financial support.
- Donating 1 million KIND bars to food insecure Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities
- Adjusting our KIND Kids™ packaging to be more inclusive
Together, we can commit to celebrating both what we have in common AND what sets us apart. We can be proud of who and where we come from, while also recognizing that we will only realize our fullest potential as people and as a society by listening to, learning from, and caring for one another. This starts with respecting and treating ALL people, regardless of our differences, as equals.