Our commitment to listening, learning and meaningful action

In the wake of George Floyd’s killing and the global outcry for racial justice and healing, we made the following commitments to our employees and franchisees. Our mission is to improve the self-esteem of the world and that mission starts with us.

We founded Self Esteem Brands to live up to our name: To improve the self-esteem of the world. What we are seeing right now – across the U.S., around the world, and especially in our HQ hometown of Minneapolis-St. Paul – is a deep divide, hurt, and anger. Self-esteem and empathy matter more than ever, right now to help each other heal.

As both a company and as the co-founders of Self Esteem Brands, we are deeply saddened and horrified by the recent death of George Floyd and the systemic issues related to inequality. We see what’s happening, our hearts are with our communities, and we want to help. We’re listening and we’re committed to being a part of the positive and constructive solution, starting with the following near- and long-term initiatives:

• We will explore new ways to spark and expand Black, Indigenous, People of Color -owned franchises of our brands. We’ve been recognized as a “Top Franchise for Minorities” in the past, but we can do better.
• We will bolster training efforts for our franchise owners to lead with empathy, love, and respect. In the end, we all sweat the same.
• We are offering two days of paid time off for any Self Esteem Brands employee who volunteers time to peacefully participate in protests and/or to help rebuild communities impacted by riots.
• In support of our hometown HQ community, we will contribute $100,000 to Minneapolis-St. Paul charities that focus on supporting Black, Indigenous, People of Color business ownership, personal health and improving racial inequities. We are currently working to research organizations to direct that funding.
• And while our HR efforts have always supported diversity, we are enhancing that work with the launch of an employee-led diversity council that will represent SEB and our family of brands.

With love for all –

Chuck Runyon & Dave Mortensen