Five years ago, Johnson & Johnson started hosting Gay 101 “lunch and learns” to find out more about the LGBT community as a consumer group. Today, the New Jersey-based corporation has a national campaign called “Care With Pride” that delivers thousands of dollars to LGBT charities to raise awareness about the negative impact of bullying on the overall health and well-being of youth, with particular attention to cultivating respect and equality for the LGBT community.
Since the beginning of the campaign in 2012, “Care With Pride” has supported the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays with its antibullying efforts. And this year, “Care With Pride” is also supporting the Trevor Project and Family Equality Council.
By the end of 2014, organizers of “Care With Pride” hope to have raised more than $500,000 for beneficiaries since the program’s inception.
Scott Creighton, global vice president of marketing excellence at Johnson & Johnson, has been a part of the “Care With Pride” initiative since its inception.
He said one thing that inspired him was a documentary called “Bully,” which chronicles the lives of five children who deal with bullying on a daily basis — two of whom end up committing suicide. Creighton spoke passionately about the cause and the inspiration behind it.
“When you learn about bullying and how it tears down kids’ self-esteem, the drop-out rates, the vicious cycle it creates, and how years later the impact on their psyche is still relevant, you realize this is an extremely important topic,” he said.
Creighton said that despite Johnson & Johnson being perceived as a conservative company, respecting the dignity and recognizing the merit of all its employees is firmly rooted in the business’ mission statement. Creighton also pointed out that Johnson & Johnson was voted 14 in Adweek’s list of best-loved brands by the LGBT community this year. This is the first year Johnson & Johnson has been on the list.
“Not only are we doing good work, we have a responsibility to the communities in which we live and work,” Creighton said. “I think the LGBT community responds well to this — and this message extends beyond the LGBT community because every parent wants safe schools for students.”
This year’s “Care With Pride” program includes the Safe School Action Pack, which is a coupon booklet that contains the best ways to make schools safe for all students. When a coupon is redeemed, Johnson & Johnson will make a donation to its LGBT charity partners. These booklets were distributed at Philadelphia Pride and can also be downloaded at www.CareWithPride.com.
Another way to get involved this year is to download the Johnson & Johnson Donate a Photo app. One dollar for every photo shared will go to “Care With Pride” charitable partners.
To learn more about the initiative through Johnson & Johnson, visit www.CareWithPride.com.