VCA Animal Hospitals’ Pride Diversity Resource Group Celebrates Wins
Brought to you by PrideVMC Gold Partner, VCA Animal Hospitals
In January, the internal Pride Diversity Resource Group (DRG) at VCA Animal Hospitals garnered a special award and national recognition for its Pride in A Box initiative. The Pride in A Box program took one of the top honors in the VETTY Awards for marketing excellence in the animal healthcare industry, winning a Judges’ Choice award and recognition for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in veterinary hospitals.
Pride DRG leaders Michail Takach, director of brand and digital communications; and Christy Bell, DVM, senior director of student talent acquisition, represented VCA when the award was announced on stage at the Veterinary Meeting & Expo in January 2023. The VCA marketing team and its creative partner Zed Graphic Communications also won six additional awards in the prestigious competition, including a Gold VETTY for the VCA Voice brand storytelling program.
“Pride in A Box is an innovative solution—and it was one of the early ideas from the Pride DRG,” says VCA Chief Medical Officer Marie Kerl, DVM. “It’s a great creative effort and a very useful resource for our teams.”
Pride in A Box is a collection of support materials that prepares any VCA Associate to get the ball rolling to participate in local community pride events. Information cards offer planning tips, thought starters, and practical support, including instructions for ordering VCA event t-shirts and swag for people and pets. There’s also a sample t-shirt in the box, a bandana, and a whistle.
“Our teams across the country would ask the same questions about getting supplies and encouraging participation,” says Dr. Bell. “With more and more local pride events occurring, we want our Associates to have the support they need to participate.”
Pride DRG Effort Activates Champions
At a higher level, the DRG leadership team sees the development of Pride in A Box as a broader symbol of outreach and support. “It’s important for LGBTQ Associates at any organization to feel seen for who they really are, and that’s often not the norm,” says Michail. “In fact, over half of LGBTQ workers conceal their identity at work, because they believe they’ll face negative consequences if they’re open about their gender or sexual identity. Our goal is to let people know from day one at VCA Animal Hospitals that they can be their unapologetic selves at work.”
Michail says Pride in A Box helps scale that effort to support team members in local communities nationwide. “Some Associates may feel they’re the only one who thinks that participating in pride events is a priority. Offering Pride in A Box helps us connect these champions in the field to the Pride DRG and its purpose,” he says.
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“While it’s undoubtedly exciting to get this high-level recognition for the tools we produced, the real win is that Pride in A Box is being used and that our Associates find it useful,” Michail says. “The program helps team members feel empowered to champion pride in their communities and supports them by offering connection to the Pride DRG and a more coordinated, consistent structure to draw on.”
“We want everyone to feel able to show up as their authentic selves as work,” agrees Dr. Kerl, who serves as the executive sponsor of the Pride DRG. “I’m very proud of the work so far. The growth in participation tells me there’s a real need and that team members are invested in helping develop new solutions.”
Katie Reed and Sarah Jason, Associates at VCA Regional Institute for Veterinary Emergencies and Referrals in Chattanooga, Tennessee, count themselves among the local champions.
“Being connected with the VCA Pride DRG was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had with this company,” says Katie. “The support we received was overwhelming and heartwarming. It was a huge relief knowing we would be supported by people who cared as much as we do.”
“Pride in a Box helped shape all of our planning,” says Sarah. “This was our hospital’s first time participating in a pride event, and we had no idea where to start. We were a little overwhelmed until we had our hands on Pride in a Box. The support was immense!”
“Being in a conservative state, we also faced some last-minute challenges that left us feeling torn,” says Katie. “However, being able to reach out to Michail directly by phone and communicate with our Pride DRG and corporate team during that final week . . . you don’t know how much that meant to us. We had people to lean on—and we really leaned! We shed many tears of gratitude knowing how much support we really had. We are forever grateful—and we are now trying to pay it forward by joining the DRG and helping others who are in a tough position.”
About VCA’s DRGs
VCA Animal Hospitals launched its internal Diversity Resource Groups, also known in organizations as employee resource groups, in 2021. The DRGs are voluntary, employee-led collaborations that foster constructive conversations, personal growth and development, cross-team communication, and positive change. These groups give Associates opportunities to meet each other, have a dialogue, and unite around a common cause.
Each of the DRGs meets regularly and pursues specific initiatives. For example, in 2022 the AAmbition DRG hosted an online panel where African-American / Black Associates shared their career journeys and the WISE (Women Impacting Success for Everyone) DRG launched an interactive discussion on the importance of embracing workplace equity during Women’s History Month. Follow @LifeAtVCA on Instagram to be notified of future live events.
