Focus on Disability Awareness at Real Chemistry
Real Chemistry is proud to support our employees and individuals around the world living with visible and invisible disabilities. We have a Business Resource Group (BRG) that is committed to advocating for these individuals – and we are excited to announce that we have renamed that BRG from Infinitely Able to AVID, an acronym for Awareness of Visible & Invisible Disabilities. AVID’s goal is to provide community, resources, education and awareness to support those with disabilities, their caregivers and allies.
After careful consideration and consultation with stakeholders, we decided to change the name to AVID because it centers on disabilities rather than on ability. The name AVID is more inclusive of all members of the disability community and their allies and makes it clear that people can participate in the group regardless of their disability status or type.
The new name also does a better job of reflecting our purpose. The objective of AVID is to provide a safe space for Real Chemistry team members with disabilities and their allies to form a community where they can obtain peer support and share resources. AVID members are also working toward a more inclusive business environment by raising awareness of the challenges those with disabilities face and the accommodations they may need, so workplace accommodations become instinctual and commonplace. With an increased awareness of visible and invisible disabilities companywide, we hope AVID will impact not just Real Chemistry, but also the clients we serve and the health care industry as a whole, so we can move closer to achieving our company goal of a healthier, more accessible world for all.
AVID is led by a team of individuals with a passion for disability awareness and action, many of whom have been touched by disability in a variety of ways. Jenn Arko and Lauren Walter serve as co-chairs with Jess Carlson as executive sponsor. Jenn was driven to lead AVID as she has been impacted by ADHD throughout her life but was only recently diagnosed with this invisible disability. She also is an advocate for her mother who faces declining mobility due to lipedema. Jenn is passionate about ensuring that Real Chemistry employees have a safe place to convene with other members of the disability community and advocate for their best interests. Jenn hopes to continue to learn and raise awareness of both visible and invisible disabilities. Similarly, Lauren has long-term experience with invisible disabilities, both firsthand and as a caregiver. Her motivation in co-leading AVID is to form connections with other professionals who care about disabilities and to offer people at Real Chemistry the resources they need to thrive.
To celebrate the rollout of our newly rebranded BRG, we have a variety of events planned, including an interactive session with an engaging business leader and former TED resident who will speak about the intersectional nature of gender and disability and how to turn perceived disadvantages into professional superpowers. This event, which is scheduled to take place on August 25th, will be co-sponsored by EVOLVE, Real Chemistry’s BRG focused on career growth. AVID plans to explore opportunities to partner with other Real Chemistry BRGs because we recognize that disabilities impact every community in different ways.
We also are looking forward to hosting additional company-wide programming in October for Disability Employment Awareness Month. We’ll focus on raising visibility through programs for all Real Chemistry community members and sharing how colleagues can seek to serve as advisors in promoting disability-friendly policy changes.
We are proud and excited to step into this next chapter with AVID and to make an impact at Real Chemistry and beyond. This continued commitment to encouraging employees to bring their full selves to work and build community is fundamental to Real Chemistry’s overarching goal of inclusion, diversity and equity, and we look forward to all that is to come.
