Healthy kids. Better world.

Vision: We believe healthy children create a better world.

Mission: Our mission is to foster learning environments that support optimal child health and well-being.

Values:

• Prioritize Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Justice, and Accessibility: We strive to be just and compassionate in our relationships, our workplace and with the communities we serve, amplifying the voices of those who are underrepresented and holding space for grace and humility with each other.
• Hungry for Change: We courageously innovate to achieve sustainable change that improves the health and well-being of kids for generations to come.
• Joy In and Through Our Work: We intentionally make space for joy as we work, bringing fun, light-heartedness, and positivity to our interactions with each other, our partners and our clients.
• Courage to Lead: We authentically lead by example in pursuit of healthy equity by tackling critical issues with thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative decision-making to build trust and strong partners.
• Healthy, Balanced Approach to Life: As we strive to best support the health and well-being of those we serve, we also value our own health and well-being by prioritizing work-life balance and setting healthy boundaries.

Belief Statements That Guide How We Care for Each Other

We believe that…

Transparency and clarity are integral to building trust. Being in a space where transparency and clarity are highly valued, people can better understand what is expected of them in their roles; the organization’s policies and procedures; and one another’s perspectives. Building a culture of transparency and clarity can support feelings of safety, connectivity, and trust.

Workplace safety, encompassing all factors that impact the safety, health, and well-being of employees, is essential to all elements of a functional and healthy workplace environment. When individual employees feel safe to fully engage in the workplace, they are more likely to experience and contribute to a positive work environment and can embody all other values to their best ability.

Our employees are more than just a collection of skills to meet our goals. We are whole people with unique strengths, interests, and experiences who embody respect, authenticity, and compassion with one another and those we serve.

Compassion and connection are necessary for building authentic relationships and safe spaces where each person is valued and can bring their whole self to the table. By leading with compassion, we believe connection will follow. To maintain connection, we must hold ourselves accountable to our actions and their impact. In addition, we believe accountability is a necessary component in maintaining connections and compassion because it creates trust. We believe accountability is not punitive but rather is rooted in restorative and anti-oppressive practices that are grounded in compassion, respect, engagement, support, and understanding.

Active self-reflection, having courageous conversations, honoring our unique lived experiences and perspectives, and offering each other grace allows for collective unity and purpose for ourselves and our partners.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Commitment Statement

Action for Healthy Kids is committed to building and sustaining an organization that seeks and embraces diversity, actively pursues equity, and fosters an inclusive environment. We value diversity across multiple and intersectional dimensions, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious beliefs, disability status, and age. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and strive to ensure all voices are heard. Our commitment is built on an unwavering belief that our differences are our strengths and will bring us closer to our organizational vision that every kid is healthy, active and ready to learn; increase organizational performance; enhance our organizational culture and climate; and advance employee retention and leadership opportunities.

Action for Healthy Kids is committed to transforming our organization by confronting our own biases and operationalizing our values. We know that intention alone will not impact inequities. We appreciate that growth happens when people hold themselves and colleagues accountable for learning and implementing inclusive and equitable practices. Open minds mean better solutions. We are committed to non-discriminatory systems and actively strive to provide equal opportunity for employment and advancement across the organization.

To provide informed, authentic leadership and action to support and elevate diverse, equitable and inclusive practices and policies, Action for Healthy Kids will:

• Commit resources and engage with staff to integrate and elevate diversity, equity, and inclusion into our mission, values, strategic plan, and organizational accountability systems.
• Develop a system of policies and procedures that foster consciousness of bias during the recruitment, hiring, promoting, and evaluation of employees and ensure our staff, contractors, and partners reflect the diversity of the schools, communities, students, and families we serve.
• Create a shared understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion and enable reflection on how AFHK affects and is affected by inequitable systems and structures.
• Build staff capacity and resolve to engage in and tackle such issues as unconscious bias, cultural competency, health equity, race, class, power, and privilege.
• Take action by advancing health equity and advocating for public policies, systems, and structures to promote and improve health equity.
• Expect employees and contractors to treat others with dignity and respect at all times and exhibit conduct to reflect inclusion during work, at work functions on or off the work site, and at all other company-sponsored and participative events.
• Ensure resources, programs, and grants are intentionally developed and executed under a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and reflect the diversity of the served school community.
• Generate and aggregate meaningful data to measure progress around DEI objectives and initiatives.