Time to vote

Making change starts with being outspoken ​​​​​​​

Tony’s exists to make change. While we focus primarily on making change in the cocoa industry, we’re also a B Corp, and try to change the world for the better in all the ways that we can. But making change starts with raising awareness, and to raise awareness you need to make your voice heard. In fact, that’s why ‘outspoken’ is one of our core values! And the most important time to make your voice heard is when it has a chance to change the world for the better.

Make your voice heard

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2020 is an election year here in the US, which means US citizens have a chance to be outspoken and to help shape the future of this country. Naturally, we think that's pretty important. And we want to help support that in the ways that we can, which is why we launched our Make Your Voice Heard campaign in August of 2020.

We partnered up with our friends at HeadCount to encourage voters to get out there and make their voices heard this election season. Together, we aimed to register over 1000 voters and spread the word about important dates and deadlines for this election.

Inspiring action

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We kicked off our Make Your Voice heard campaign on social media in August, but it didn’t stay there for long. Soon after, we hit the road with the Chocotruck and volunteers from HeadCount to register voters and raise awareness at the March on Washington, on the streets of New York City and with Something in the Water at the VA For The People event in Virginia Beach.

And we didn’t stop there either! We also partnered with Favored Nations to produce special edition Vote bars to benefit elections related charities. They were so popular that they sold out in just one week! How’s that for a sweet way to motivate?

All together, we contributed to a grand total of more than 400,000 voters registered with HeadCount for this election. We raised awareness amongst thousands of voters, particularly young, first-timers. Your participation in Democracy in 2020 has already broken records. But it isn’t over yet, there’s still time to get out there and vote.

Time to vote

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One of the biggest problems facing Democracy in the United States is that voting isn’t particularly easy. Voter registration can be confusing, voting by mail means voting on a short timeline, and voting in person can mean waiting in long lines with lots of other people. The process can be quite lengthy, and with all of the other things we take care of in our daily lives, who has the time?

That’s why having time to vote is critical. Tony’s has joined hands (metaphorically) with business all across America and in providing our employees with paid time off and resources to vote as part of the Time To Vote movement. We believe no one of Team Tony’s should have to choose between earning a paycheck and making their voice heard. Just take it from our Chief Chocolate Officer, Henk Jan, and read his letter to Team Tony’s US below..

Dear Tony’s,

Let’s start with the fact that I continue be impressed by and proud of the hard work and professionalism you have shown during the turbulent times we’re experiencing in the US and around the world. As we get closer to the November General Election, I’d like to take the time and opportunity to share with you Tony’s Chocolonely’s po-sition on civic engagement.

At Tony's, we believe in being outspoken, which means making your voice heard. And the most critical moment to make your voice heard is when it has a chance to change the world for the better. 2020 is an election year here in the US, which means US citizens have a chance to be outspoken and to help shape the future of this country. Naturally, we think that's pretty important. And we want to help support that in the ways that we can.

Today is the day to make sure you're ready to vote; to make your vote count this Election Day and beyond. That’s why we are implementing a US company-wide policy that allows employees a minimum of 4 hours, or as long as they need, paid time off to vote.

We've partnered with our friends at HeadCount to encourage people to get out there and make their voices heard this election season, that includes you.

We ask our team at Tony’s to be active contributors to the societies we live in in many ways, voting is perhaps the most important. I’ve included links to assist you in checking your voter registration status as well as additional resources to guide you through the registration process below. I encourage you to take this first step today to be ballot ready for the 2020 general election.

Resources:

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/justvote/

https://tonyschocolonely.com/us/en/makeyourvoiceheard

Let’s make impact. Let’s raise the bar!

Choco cheers,

Henk Jan

Chief Chocolate Officer

Are you ready to vote?

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Have you cast your ballot in the 2020 elections yet? Big digital high fives for those of you that have, and if you haven’t, we’ve got resources for you as well. Check out Time To Vote’s site to see if your employer offers paid time off to vote on election day or research your options for early voting. Visit our special Make Your Voice Heard page for resources to make your voting plan, check your polling site or research what’s on your ballot this year. Then, get out there and Make Your Voice Heard!