Wow. If there’s one thing we can say about 2020, it was a year none of us will ever forget. At the start of the pandemic, our team sheltered in place, worried about the economic and social impact of a global pandemic, and adjusted to the new world. And while there are many reasons we would all like to move on and return to our pre-pandemic routines, we also found reasons to be grateful this year. Here are a few of ours:
Most of our clients stayed with us. We are so grateful for them, keeping our team in place and engaging and working on important marketing and PR campaigns. We were able to provide pro-bono support to a few non-profits who were struggling, and it was a pleasure to pay it forward and do our part during this tumultuous time.
Our team worked safely and efficiently from home and felt for those essential workers who risked so much to serve the rest of us, including, and especially, those in the healthcare industry. I’m not going to sugarcoat it: working from home has been challenging, especially for a communications team. We love collaborating, brainstorming, and spontaneously laughing together, and all of those luxuries were missing from our work-a-day world. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need one another for nurturing, creative thinking, effective teamwork, and human contact.
We learned to connect with virtual meetings and events throughout the year. We produced the Phoenix Indian Center’s Silver & Turquoise Ball with a fashion show featuring Robert Black’s collection of Lloyd Kiva New’s textiles, and up-and-coming Native American fashion designers Patricia Michaels and Loren Aragon “ACONAV”. We assisted Achieve60AZ with their 2020 State of Attainment Report, hosting 11 virtual events and connecting with more than 750 people on what needs to be done to support the statewide attainment goal. I did virtual speeches and moderated numerous virtual events, including international events.
We were able to share more fully what those of us in the multicultural space have known forever: that inequities in our systems existed long before Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement. We were proud to support the BLM movement and assist our Indigenous and Latino communities through campaigns like Fill the Truck for the Navajo Nation. We also advocated for establishing a fund for undocumented workers at ACF, who otherwise received no direct financial relief from the CARES funds.
All in all, while we all still feel the effects of this pandemic and many continue to struggle, we remain aware that we are all in this together and are committed to helping our clients build a culture of inclusion and belonging for all people at every level.
We wish all of you a healthy, safe, and happy holiday season, no matter how small or isolated it may be. And here’s looking ahead to a much more hopeful 2021!
Warmest wishes,
Lisa & the UC Team
If you’re looking for some good news to warm your heart amid the day-to-day news cycle, check out this story about how our Texas-based client, Southern Careers Institute, is spreading holiday cheer to families: