I am fortunate to work at a company that provides me with personal and professional satisfaction. In addition to my “day job”, I am also one of the co-chairs of Kapable, our Business/Employee Resource Group (B/ERG) dedicated to ensuring that Kellogg maintains an inclusive environment for current and future employees with disabilities, and supporters of those who are disabled. Recently, Kapable hosted some very special guests at our corporate headquarters: students from the Kalamazoo Training Center for the Blind.

A Very Special Visit

The Kalamazoo Training Center for the Blind is an organization that is very close to my heart.  This is where my Dad spent his career as a teacher, allowing me to see the impact the center made on so many needing help to navigate the world as a person with a visual impairment.

Through his work, my family became very close with one man in particular who was both deaf and blind. With a positive support system, he had his own apartment, held a job, and was able to successfully thrive in the community. He was an incredible inspiration to me, living his life with an infectious, positive attitude and in defiance of his disabilities.

Hosting students with varying vision impairments, and sharing the connection our foods have, was a special and personal opportunity to live our company’s commitment to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, has an opportunity to engage, flourish and thrive.

During the recent visit with students, we gave them the V.I.P. treatment.  We engaged them with the creation of our food, the support of our brands, and the work of our B/ERGs. We also had the opportunity to share an exciting campaign called, ‘Love Notes.’

In the Marketplace

‘Love Notes’ is a brand new campaign developed by Rice Krispies Treats® just in time for back-to-school. The campaign features a very special update to its writable wrappers packaging: Braille stickers.  In partnership with Kapable, the brand realized there are over 62,000 blind and low vision children in schools across the United States who are unable to experience important handwritten notes of support. [i]

We partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to create the first-ever accessible ‘Love Notes’ in the form of Braille stickers and re-recordable audio boxes – allowing families to share messages of love and encouragement with children who are blind or low vision.  B/ERGs have the opportunity to positively impact our business and growth strategy. Our collaboration with Rice Krispies Treats® is a perfect example of how we are aligning with strategic business initiatives to expand our consumer reach.

This back-to-school season, we want every child to feel the love, and it was exciting to test the stickers with our special visitors before the campaign launched. Their smiles and excitement as they read the Braille stickers was contagious—and it made me proud that the company I work for could create such a meaningful connection just by living its values.

Our founder, W.K. Kellogg lost his sight for the last decade of his life. He continued to work at the company full time for a number of years afterward. We continue his legacy more than 100 years later by living our founder’s values and making inclusion and diversity top priorities. Inclusion is in our DNA, and is now shared through Rice Krispies Treats ‘Love Notes.’ Campaigns like this one help families remind their children that they are loved and supported.

For more information on ‘Love Notes’, visit www.ricekrispies.com/lovenotes or visit KelloggDiversityandInclusion.com for more on Kellogg’s efforts in the workplace, marketplace and communities.