Celebrating Generations of Pride

In observance of Pride Month, The Container Store celebrates the impact and achievements of LGBTQ+ culture and joins the global effort of advocating for equal rights and equitable access for LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ Pride Month is an annual celebration commemorating the Stonewall Uprising, a series of events which occurred in Greenwich Village in June of 1969 and served as the tipping point of the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.

LGBTQ+ is an acronym that describes a person's sexual orientation or gender identity and stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or sometimes questioning)," and others. The "+" represents other sexual identities and the tremendous diversity of people who are same/similar gender-attracted and transgender.

Throughout the month, our employees, customers, and partners will be able to engage in a series of programs and activities organized by our Pride Employee Resource Group that are aimed to celebrate, educate, and increase awareness of the LGBTQ+ culture and experience.

Here's how we're celebrating Pride Month...

Companywide

Our Pride Employee Resource Group will be hosting a three-part series entitled Generations of Pride. These educational and inspirational conversations will include diverse experiences and perspectives of the LGBTQ+ community and the role we all have in building stronger communities of inclusion, respect, and dignity.

• Grounded in Education: Community partners and historian Mike Anglin from the The Dallas Way will facilitate an educational discussion detailing the history and meaning of LGBTQ+ pride. Founded in 2011, The Dallas Way has led the effort to gather and preserve the untold and under-told stories of the Rainbow Community of Dallas through by preserving historical archives, collecting video and audio recordings of personal oral histories, publishing the written stories of Dallas-area LGBTQ organizations and community members, and the public speaking presentations of both LGBTQ individuals within the local community and dedicated allies.
• Authenticity & Influence: During this powerful and inspirational hour, The Container Store's Christy Parra (VP of Supply Chain) will lead a fireside chat with John Marazio (EVP of Human Resources) in a candid conversation about bias, allyship, and authenticity.
• The Power of Allyship: A panel discussion on the power of allyship and importance of being an upstander featuring Brent Underwood (Assistant Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Lincoln Financial Group) and Dr. Khalilah Shabazz (Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis).

We are also inviting our employees to participate in our Pride Weekend of Service. On the weekend of June 24-26, we are asking everyone to commit to volunteer two hours with an organization that supports the LGBTQ+ community to help us reach our 10,000-hour service impact goal!

In Store

Customers will find signage throughout our stores and at the registers detailing how we're commemorating Pride Month this year and how they can be involved. Customers will also be able to support of our giving campaign by making a donation.

In the Community

As part of our commitment to give back to causes that are important to our employees and customers, we are excited to announce our new partnership with Out & Equal, the premier organization working exclusively on LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Their efforts provide LGBTQ+ executive leadership development, comprehensive Diversity & Inclusivity training and consultation, and professional networking opportunities that build inclusive and welcoming work environments.

The Container Store has committed $15,000 to this organization, and we invite our employees and customers to join us by contributing as well. Our giving campaign will run throughout the month of June, with the donation being presented to Out & Equal at the end of the month. If you would like to support this effort, please click here!