Celebrating Trans Day of Visibility to recognize and celebrate the Trans Members of the BARK community

March 31st is a day in the LGBTQ+ community known as Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). This day is about highlighting and supporting the trans members of our community and recognizing their contributions.

Study after study has shown that visibility of the LGBTQ+ community helps strengthen support in our communities, and helps to strengthen the mental health and alleviate feelings of isolation and loneliness for LGBTQ+ individuals who may not have a strong, or accessible support system in their daily lives.

As such, we here at BARK are proud to use our platform to help celebrate the transgender members of our community, including the many contributions of our trans and gender non-conforming members of our team, as well as the many members of our pack who celebrate this day. We do so because we know that trans people are our colleagues, our friends, our neighbors, and our fellow dog lovers.

Here are some snapshots from our celebration at our office in Columbus, OH, where many of our team members congregated for a celebration of TDOV. As a part of this event, our team set up a photo booth for our employees who identify as trans, (and their dogs!) so we could celebrate them. This included a dedicated makeup artist, so team members could look their best and decorations crafted by our team which consisted of dozens of paper flowers, handmade and hung on streamers by volunteers from our team. Photo opportunities included in solo shots which could be used for professional purposes, as well as group photos for social media. Lunch was catered for all those in attendance, including our cisgender employees who showed up to show support for the cause.

Our ERG Leaders Caroline Thompson and Bianca Moore kick-off Trans Day of Visibility at BARK!

A behind the scenes look at Rachael showing her support for her partner Austin! “It’s important to work for a company that values all of their employees and recognizes the importance of inclusion. Having the opportunity and resources to be able to have a photoshoot and day of celebration in the office to celebrate our Transgender and non-binary workers, partners and friends is amazing.” -Rachael Cerda

Our decor was handmade by our RainBARK ERG leading up to Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV)!

Our Allies, Liz and her dog Hazel show off some of our famous Pride toys to show support!

Lola and June make it clear that “Dogs Love All”!

Our Allies and their pups came together on TDOV to celebrate our Trans community!

“It was fulfilling to create an experience where our Trans employees felt included and celebrated” -Our ally, Shelby Mason, Senior Community Coordinator, seen here with our ally Kathryn.