PRIDE

Oakwyn believes in the power of people. That belief pushes us to work towards a world that is inclusive for everyone; a world where we can all feel safe to be ourselves.

What we know today as Pride marks the annual commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. It’s a time to honour those who’ve fought against gender and sexual oppression, to celebrate our successes, and to push for more progress to be made. The idea of Pride means many things to many people. At Oakwyn we are full of Pride and here is what we value:

Promote Respect, Inclusivity, & Dignity for Everyone

Over the years, we have celebrated these values by supporting charities, holding events, and committing ourselves to education on all things equality. We will continue to make our voices heard and create a better real estate industry for everyone.

Read on to find out how we are celebrating Pride in 2020, along with some words from our agents and partners.

Promote Respect

Pride means action! We believe in showing our support, not simply saying it. So this year Oakwyn committed to charity by creating a line of exclusive Pride-themed Nalgene bottles. All proceeds from these bottles will go to supporting two local charities, QMUNITY and Out in Schools.

From QMUNITY:

“With in person fundraising events being cancelled due to COVID-19, support from businesses like Oakwyn Realty is vitally important this year. Thank you for helping us provide accessible mental health support services, like counselling and peer support groups, to LGBTQ2S+ people in BC!”

Click here to purchase one of our exclusive bottles and support these great local initiatives.

Inclusion

Oakwyn is passionate about inclusion in the workplace. From our Women of Oakwyn events to our annual Pride celebrations we understand that taking the time to recognize equality is of the utmost importance.

Real estate is all about place, home, and family. These pillars have no boundaries and are open to all who seek them. As a community, we need to make sure we allow all of our clients to feel at home with us, be themselves, and that we celebrate all of those beautiful little details that make our world unique.

Promoting inclusion goes beyond simply wearing rainbows and waving flags; true inclusion comes from a place of genuine care, understanding, and self-reflection. To create a truly equal world, we all need to come together and fight for change. We truly believe that race, culture, gender, and love should never be a barrier to anyone’s happiness and we are proud of our diverse and successful roster of agents.

& Dignity for Everyone

Industry legend Stephen Morris has been in the real estate industry long enough to know that change is always possible. He gave us some positive insight on what makes Pride worth celebrating.

“I’ve been in the real estate business since 1986 and let me tell you, I’ve experienced some bigotry because of who I am. For me, Pride is about being proud of who you are and deflecting all the rest of it. It’s LOVE, baby! That’s all there is to it.

I have always been supported at Oakwyn and I think seeing a corporate office stand up for its values is important, for sure, but it shouldn’t be surprising. We’re Canadians; literally, a country built on immigrants. Diversity is natural to us! Of course, it is important to have an accepting workplace that celebrates the uniqueness of its talent, which has good core values and sets a positive example. Leading by example is important to me because, at the end of the day, we’re all just people.

Love will always win because it releases us from fear, anger, guilt, resentment; shame and blame too. Love connects us to our inner peace and lets us open our hearts to our communities.”

We are proud to have positive, thoughtful, and hard-working agents like Stephen on our team.