This holiday season, support the businesses that support you
Despite the intensity of the past year—from the staggering toll of the global pandemic, the fractured and struggling economy, and the divisive political climate—we are seeing communities coming together in incredible ways. From the millions of families who continue to shelter-in-place and wear masks to keep friends and neighbors safe, to the outpouring of support for frontline workers, not to mention the overwhelming voter turnout in the most recent election, we are forging on to create a better future.
In the face of unprecedented challenges in 2020, businesses large and small are stepping up and doing their part. That’s why this holiday season Open to All is launching the 2020 Holiday Gift Guide, to showcase small businesses and large corporations that believe in the Open to All values and are committing to the ongoing work this journey requires — not hollow platitudes and empty gestures.
When the pandemic began, businesses shuttered stores to protect communities. Gap Inc. immediately began producing much-needed face masks. Sephora conducted an expansive first responder gifting program. Open to All worked with our nonprofit coalition members Color of Change, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and MALDEF to offer a briefing for businesses about how the pandemic impacted communities of color. Twenty-five businesses from across the country committed to addressing racial disparities by signing on to a letter from Open to All urging the business community to examine and work to combat the disparities and discrimination that have caused the COVID-19 global crisis to disproportionately impact Black, Latinx/Hispanic, and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
This summer, when our country was having important and long overdue conversations about hate violence and ongoing injustice experienced by the Black community, Airbnb donated a total of $500,000 to the NAACP and the Black Lives Matter Foundation, and created allyship and anti-racism resources for its community. H&M Group donated $500,000 to NAACP, Color Of Change and the ACLU. Lyft provided a $500,000 in ride credit to national civil rights organizations who have been working to facilitate essential transportation and equitable access during the recent crises (National Urban League, NAACP, National Action Network, Black Women’s Roundtable and National Bail Fund Network).
Open to All is a campaign to transform America towards a shared vision that everyone should be welcome regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, immigration status, religion or disability.
Our work to create inclusive and equitable businesses is a journey. Open to All worked with our corporate partners to co-produce a Respect & Inclusion e-Learning video and business resource toolkit. We teamed up with Yelp to distribute the video and an array of diversity, equity, and inclusion resources to 500,000 small businesses.
Never before have so many businesses and nonprofits joined together in a single, unified campaign that sends a message that everyone is welcome, valued and respected; and that when a business is open to the public, it should be open to all.
We believe we all have something to contribute. We believe we can all learn from one another. We believe when businesses commit to supporting their employees, customers and communities, we all benefit.
This holiday season, support the businesses that support you.
Happy Holidays,
Calla Devlin Rongerude
Director, Open to All
