For 15 years, we’ve enjoyed celebrating with your family. We love hearing your joy as your family grows—with babies AND new sons- and daughters-in-law. We delight with you at the Sweet 16s and the quinceañeras. And we share your pride when your kids graduate and reach each new milestone. It’s such a privilege to help you celebrate, and it means so much that you share your joy, delight, and pride in the people you love most. We appreciate every single one of you.

That is why we cannot stay silent when we feel such pain and sadness in our community. We, too, were devastated by the murder of George Floyd and we join with you in grieving his death. How many victims of violence and racism are too many? How much inequality and injustice can we tolerate?

This needs to change, and we have a part to play.

black and white hands together

What can we do?

This past week has been a time of reflection for us, but also a time of action. We started with donations to Black Lives Matter and NAACP. We learned that Kiva is encouraging Black business owners to apply for loans, and we look forward to selecting new entrepreneurs for our microloans in the near future. (If you or someone you know would like to apply, you can find more information here.)

We’ll be looking at new ways to buy from, promote, and support other Black-owned businesses in our community. And we promise to continue to listen, to read and learn, and to find new ways to act, because Black lives matter.

I hope that one day we can all come together to celebrate a safer, more just and equal society. I look forward to that day.

Please feel free to share your thoughts with us. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Thank you for reading.