Corporate responsibility has been a core principle of our agency for nearly three decades. While 2020 was a year of unprecedented turmoil with a pandemic plus social and political unrest, one constant was the agency’s commitment to corporate responsibility. It is an ideal that has grown in importance as we have aligned our business approach to complement our clients, many of which are deeply committed to programs that promote social, economic and environmental sustainability.
As a woman-owned firm under the leadership of Founder and CEO Carol Cookerly, we have long understood the challenges of diversity and inclusion faced by companies and individuals breaking through financial and societal barriers. In addition to supporting equity in the workplace, we support a range of laudable nonprofits that give back to our communities.
We’re proud to put the tenets of corporate responsibility into action internally and externally. The following is a sample of ongoing efforts.
- Our president, Stephen Brown, and senior corporate communications team member Sheryl Sellaway, served on Leadership Atlanta’s committee for racial reconciliation in the business and civic communities.
- The agency provides ongoing philanthropic support for minority empowerment organizations such as The Ron Clark Academy, Hollis Academy, The New Freedom Project, Alliance Theatre and the Metropolitan Atlanta YMCA.
- Through work with the Arthur M. Blank Foundation and Actor’s Express, we participated in the Arts Solidarity March and presented a production of “Woke” to stimulate community discussions on social justice.
- A team of the agency’s senior leadership participated in Covenant House’s annual “sleep out” to raise awareness and funding for initiatives supporting the homeless.
- Teammates participated in fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House, the Georgia Conservancy, Shepherd Center, YMCA youth programs and the Murphy Harpst Center’s equine therapy program for abused and neglected children.
We participate in dozens of other projects that are extensions of client relationships plus causes near and dear to our wonderful staff, such as supporting natural wildlife habitats at the Teton Raptor Center in Wyoming and Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina.
It is not trite to say that walking the walk of corporate responsibility is the “right thing to do” for humankind, because it is. Not only does corporate responsibility enhance the fabric of our lives and put smiles on our faces; it has proven to be good business, helping our company prosper since the early 1990s.