I am proud to announce that we have officially launched the CARES (Caregivers Alliance for Resources, Education and Social networking) ERG, or the CARES ERG for short (previously the Parents ERG). I am delighted to share that our new ERG will be co-chaired by Marcia Hagood, Global VP of MSP for DZConneX, and Christine Gurry, D&Z Senior Contract Manager and Corporate Counsel for Yoh.
As group Executive Sponsor, this cause means a lot to me as a father and now a grandfather, and I believe it may resonate with many of you. A large percentage of our population is navigating the daily challenges of balancing work-life with caregiving responsibilities for children, aging parents, incapacitated family members, and other loved ones suffering from a variety of temporary and permanent disabilities. This issue is universal and it can lead to physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, and feelings of uncertainty, isolation, and inadequacy.
With that being said, the main focus of our group is to build a community that will provide connection and resources to those within our organization who are caring for a variety of loved ones. Our goal is for members to assist one another with managing work, family, and other caregiving responsibilities by sharing resources, information and experiences, and by providing support and encouragement. CARES will be an inclusive network for its members to communicate, collaborate, exchange viewpoints and build support systems. I believe this new group will be immensely beneficial to anyone in our organization facing this common yet underrepresented struggle.
With this new launch, we are circulating a survey to gain insight into the specific caregiving challenges facing the members of our D&Z community so that we can develop targeted resources and programs to best serve our employees. We encourage open and honest participation from anyone in the D&Z family who is facing, has faced or expects to face caregiving challenges in their lives.
Please spread the word about our new CARES ERG to your groups and to your colleagues. If you would like to join the CARES ERG, or if you have any questions, I encourage you to reach out to myself, Marcia or Christine. The CARES Resource Group is open to any Company employee who shares our group's goals and would like to support its activities. We look forward to sharing news and information about our new ERG in the months ahead.