June is National Pride Month — Celebrating Everyone

June is National Pride month, a time to celebrate our differences and be grateful that we live in a time where we can express ourselves. As we set out with our rainbow flags, go to parades, and festivals with our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) friends, it is also a time to thank those that stood for all of us when it wasn’t safe to do so. We cannot forget that it started as a protest against harassment and assault of those shunned by society. 

At Modo, we are committed to celebrating everyone. Our differences are what makes us special and able to provide unique perspectives that help drive us all forward and make us better together. As our company culture evolves we are focusing on how we can drive social justice initiatives that are important to us and our community. This month, we have selected three organizations to donate to,  The Trevor Project, Mermaids, and Out & Equal Workplace Advocate, and the company is matching employee donations.

Diversity, inclusion, and accessibility have long been a focus within Modo and our product. In our own iModo workplace app we enable employees to indicate their pronouns in the company directory. Only the employee is able to make this change giving them complete control. We have also added the three organizations selected for the employees donation match program to the marketplace of the iModo app, making transactions seamless and easy for all to participate. We have recently hired a VP of People to help us connect with the employees and discuss diversity openly, share ideas, and then begin collaborating on how we can create programs that are meaningful to the communities we serve. It isn’t enough to say “we support this or that” but it’s about doing the work within the communities.

Customer Spotlight:

Providing LGBTQIA+ tools, services and resources in their Campus App 

Modo is committed to creating features within our platform that allow users to easily locate services important to them like all gender bathrooms, LGBTQIA+ groups, and more. Our customers digitally embrace their diverse communities with their Modo-powered campus apps. Following are a few examples we’d like to spotlight in recognition of Pride month.

The University of Cincinnati utilized the Modo platform to create an application specifically geared towards equity and Inclusion. This gives their lgbtqi+ students access to resources, events, support, and connection all in one place. 

Northern Arizona University created a banner on the main screen of their student persona featuring PRIDE and linked to the events calendar and resources for students. They also created a map that includes every all gender restroom available on campus with directions to make at least one daily necessity a little easier to navigate.

Brown University was a 2020 Appademy Award Nominee for leveraging XModule to elevate their campus map and create a Gender Inclusive Restroom Finder. Students are able to open this feature where the app asks for their current location and shows them the nearest restrooms to them. 

As we go throughout this month and beyond, it is imperative that we continue to acknowledge and celebrate our differences to create better experiences and keep moving forward. Happy Pride!