How EARN Showed Me Dignity: A Goodbye Letter
Dignity.
The word stuck out on EARN’s old website, which I was studying intensely in preparation for my interview later that day. It was April of 2010, and I was halfway through a three-month interview process for EARN’s social media fellow position.
I had stumbled across a webpage outlining EARN’s four core principles: dignity, prosperity, innovation, and scale. I understood prosperity; after all, EARN’s mission is to help low-wage workers save and invest their money.
And I understood innovation and scale. EARN is a pioneer in the microsavings field, both in its direct service programs and in its partnerships with government agencies like the City and County of San Francisco, which have produced groundbreaking programs like Bank On San Francisco and Kindergarten to College.
These partnerships help EARN reach exponentially more people than our matched savings programs alone. In other words, they take EARN’s mission to scale.
But there still remained the core principle of dignity. At its essence, dignity is the intersection of inclusion and respect. To uphold someone’s dignity is to recognize their importance and treat them with honor, regardless of their social rank or economic status.
Last April, I didn’t know the extent to which dignity was actually upheld at EARN. Now, seventeen months later and a week before I leave the EARN team for my next career adventure, I do.
Dignity Inside
On day one at EARN, I sat in on a few meetings to familiarize myself with the multifaceted work happening across the organization. In some ways, it felt like a first date; I was extra-conscious of my appearance, and my knowledge of the huge importance of first impressions definitely didn’t help settle my jittery nerves.
Was I fidgeting? Was I sweating? Why was it so hot? San Francisco summers weren’t supposed to be hot!
But I quickly settled in for two reasons: first, my fellow employees were incredibly kind and welcoming, and they still are; and second, I was immediately welcomed as a valued contributor.
They say there’s nothing people enjoy doing so much as talking about themselves. Perhaps that’s true, but a close second is the joy people feel when offering their insight on a problem — and the folks at EARN wholeheartedly welcomed everyone, including the newbie (and the youngest person on staff), to offer away.
This trend is institutionalized throughout EARN. There’s a clear open-door policy among all senior team staff, meaning that if any staff member has a question, request, or idea, she can, say, stop by the CEO’s desk and make it known. (During my first employee review, I was asked to get away from my computer desk more often and interact with fellow employees in person, even if just to chit-chat about weekend plans; that’s the sort of environment EARN prides itself on.)
Talk about making everyone feel recognized and valued.
Dignity Outside
EARN’s core value of dignity was most obvious in our interactions with Savers.
Many of EARN’s clients have grown up hearing “no” all their lives. No, you can’t go to school. No, you can’t achieve prosperity. No, you’ll never be somebody important.
At EARN, we say “yes” to our Savers' dreams.
By saying yes, we create a welcoming environment where our Savers are free to dream big. This process of dreaming — of envisioning a better, more vibrant future — reinforces our Savers’ will to succeed. And at EARN, we firmly believe in the old adage that if there’s a will, there’s a way.
Most importantly, this “way” must ultimately be determined by the folks we’re serving. EARN staff members can provide expertise and guidance, but at the end of the day, we’re here to support our Savers as they move along their own unique paths toward prosperity.
Welcoming Savers and allowing them to shape their own path — to me, this is the ultimate form of upholding their dignity.
But don’t take my word for it. As Dametra, one of EARN’s Savers, said, “Before EARN… there was a feeling of invisibility that I sort of walked through every day. And EARN really showed up in a way that helped reflect back to me who I really was — not so invisible. I really and truly just thank you guys for showing up and being able to reflect me back to me.”
Thirty years from now, I probably won’t remember most of the projects I worked on at EARN. I may even struggle to recall the names of my old coworkers. But there’s one thing I’m certain I’ll never forget: how the folks at EARN treated me, my fellow staff members, and thousands of Savers with dignity.
Thank you.
With love and appreciation,
Charlotte Hill
Communications Associate
