WeHero & Standing Against Inequality

WeHero stands for racial equality. We fight for it, enabling companies to be part of the long term solutions that will move the needle over the next 5 - 10 years. However, these benefits are most often just positive side effects of programs we already operate such as our Education Access program, a corporate volunteer event focused on bringing education opportunities to underserved student populations.The fact that much of our racial inequality impact is achieved as a side effect highlights that we can do better as a company. There is more we can do to enable others to make a real impact when it comes to inequality.We want to share a bit about WeHero’s philosophy and how we respond to tragedies such as George Floyd’s and others:

A Focus On Impact

It’s easy to fight fire with fire. It’s easy to make noise. At the end of the day, once all of the media dust settles, a statement has been made to the world. Statements are important. They’re powerful. But people will forget. Unfortunately, this has happened before and it will happen again. That is why WeHero is focused on finding the best non-profit partners and designing programs that will make a long term impact. This will make progress. This can end the unfortunate cycle of systemic racism in our country.

Wait. Learn. Act.

At WeHero, when tragedies strike, we don’t act first. We’re not the experts so we need to go to the classroom. We listen and watch carefully, studying the best opportunities to make a long-term impact and the most worthwhile non-profits tackling these problems. The collective pain is real and demands respectful consideration and research on our part before we enable companies and individuals to partake in programs that will make a difference. As we've begun our research in response to the current situation, we've identified three non-profits that we can partner with to enable long term impact. This is not the work that you will see in the media. This is not the work that spreads awareness. This is the hands-on dirty work to build programs that will enable change over the long run. It is in these "trenches" that we think the largest impact can be made.

Partners Under Consideration

National CARES - A pioneering community-galvanizing movement dedicated to alleviating intergenerational poverty among African Americans. It offers Black children in low-income families and unstable communities the social, emotional and academic support they need to unleash their potential and graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college or vocational-training programs and 21st-century careers. They employ two primary strategies. The proven-effective, consciousness-shifting model, ideated and built by experts over a decade, unearths hope and resilience in our young living with trauma-causing impacts of poverty—homelessness, hunger, unrelenting violence, gravely under-resourced schools and overwhelmed parents and teachers. The traumatic stress children in poverty live with fuels mental illness and physical disease, including anxiety, depression, hypertension, substance abuse, obesity, violence and also the recent spike in suicide.

National CARES has trained 140,000 mentors to build scale into their organization, now operates in 58 cities, and has successfully supported over 200,000 children.

Racial Equity Tools - Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers tools, research, tips, curricula, and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large.‍

Poverty & Race Research Action Council - A civil rights law and policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Their mission is to promote research-based advocacy strategies to address structural inequality and disrupt the systems that disadvantage low-income people of color. PRRAC was founded in 1989, through an initiative of major civil rights, civil liberties, and anti-poverty groups seeking to connect advocates with social scientists working at the intersection of race and poverty.

Their current work focuses on the areas of housing, education, and environmental justice, with a focus on developing actionable policies to overcome the mechanisms that continue to reproduce historical patterns of racial segregation. In addition to federal-level law and policy research and advocacy, they provide technical assistance and support for local partners working on innovative, inclusive policies. They also engage in a range of public education activities and believe in strong coalition and partnership models, with their work being informed by an extensive national network of researchers, organizers, attorneys, educators, and public health and housing professionals. PRRAC is a founding member of the National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD), and helps to staff the coalition’s organizing, advocacy, and outreach.

Is there a non-profit you think we should be supporting? Is there something WeHero should be thinking about as we make these decisions? We would love your thoughts! Please reach out to us. We’re always open to discussions and find it makes us better!