“As individuals and as a company, W2 Communications stands against any type of intolerance, bigotry or injustice. We have always been an organization of high ideals and ethical values, and I am proud of the work our team is doing to thoughtfully and meaningfully address current issues and support these causes and communities, not only within our own business but in the businesses and entrepreneurs we support.” – W2 Communications Principal, Tony Welz
As our country takes a cue from this moment in history to reflect on our ongoing struggle with equality and injustice, W2 Communications is also taking this opportunity to review our own conversations and actions. While we are still listening and learning, we want to emphasize that W2 Communications opposes bigotry and oppression of any kind. We have always been a company that values diversity, openness and honesty.
Much like the rest of the country, we have been following the conversations about racial discrimination, injustice and inequality in the United States and we’re encouraged to see many of the dialogues taking place as support for the Black Lives Matter movement grows across the globe. To this end, as a team we are determined to take a more vocal stance and active role in supporting these, as well as other important causes and communities, in our own small part of the world.
We’ve been outraged by the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, along with the countless other stories of injustice and tragedy that are finally being told on the public stage. We stand with the Black community because we believe that Black Lives Matter. This is not a political issue; it is a human rights issue.
The recent tragedies, protests and resulting hard conversations, as well as ongoing dialogue within our team are helping guide us in our evolution as an organization. Our team at W2 Communications is committing on a personal and collective level to do better.
Starting today, we’re taking a public stance on social causes that are important to us. As a company, we’re starting with three specific actions:
We are creating an internal social action committee
- “Our team is making an internal commitment to educate ourselves about social causes and match our resources to support initiatives we’re passionate about. We believe we can be a part of the solution to make the world a better place.” – Bailey
We are developing a program to identify diverse start-ups and offer strategic communications consultation and pro-bono services for these businesses
- “By allocating our time and talents to organizations prior to social awareness initiatives, we’ll be able to help with branding, marketing, public relations and other efforts well in advance, so that they’ll be able to surface new assets during those initiatives and beyond.” – Stephen
We are researching how to support diversity efforts in the IT industry
- “We’re committing to make a positive impact in the tech community by working with organizations that promote inclusion, specifically for the POC community and women. We are learning as a team how to better support diversity efforts in the IT industry and are planning ways to partner with groups who are leading these initiatives.” – Christine
This is just the beginning – we’re also listening, learning and having conversations as a team to focus on how we can do better – both for our employees and our communities. As these plans are put into action we’ll share more details in the coming days and weeks, beginning with BLM and LGBTQ+ efforts.
We passionately condemn all acts of hatred and oppression. We value the intrinsic worth of every individual and firmly believe each person must be peaceably afforded the opportunity to pursue happiness and live their life free of oppression and bigotry.