Banding together to create new educational pathways

At Banfield, we are constantly evaluating how we can make a lasting impact on pets, people, and society. I am driven by our purpose to make a better world for pets. This starts by making a better world for our Associates. As leaders, we need to constantly drive our discussions and decisions back to how can we improve the lives and realities of everyone in our care.

There are three areas of priority Banfield is devoting our full resources toward to make an impact on our people and society: opening educational pathways, elevating mental health, and empowering women. We’re calling this effort BANDtogether to drive initiatives across our business in hopes of making lasting, systemic change.

I’m thrilled to announce Banfield’s new investments in opening educational pathways for current and future veterinary professionals. Over the next year, Banfield will commit nearly $10 million toward helping veterinary professionals realize their full potential while creating accessible pathways for individuals that aspire to follow in their footsteps.

To help encourage high school students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in veterinary medicine, Banfield recently teamed up with actor and comedian Kenan Thompson to help launch a new national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and a once-in-in-a-lifetime paid internship. Banfield’s “NextVet” will give high school students across the country an immersive experience, providing insight into multiple aspects of being part of a hospital team. You can learn more about the opportunity here.

These new initiatives expand the reach of Banfield Pet Academy, which aims to inspire the next generation of veterinary professionals by introducing them to veterinarians and veterinary technicians in their community at a young age. These efforts follow research conducted by Banfield that found an estimated 75 million pets in the U.S. may not have access to the veterinary care they need by 2030. Further, nearly 90% of veterinary professionals identify as white. As we look to the state of our industry, we feel a responsibility to leverage our size and scale to help strengthen and diversify the talent pipeline.

In addition to launching a partnership with Boys & Girls Club of America and NextVet, Banfield will continue to put considerable resources into such education-focused programs as:

• Helping our veterinarians pay down their student loans and expanding our partnership with InStride, which provides paraprofessionals Banfield-paid tuition to complete an online, STEM-related undergraduate degree.
• A partnership with Appalachian State University to develop a new 4-year online veterinary technician degree program to help address the market demand for skilled veterinary professionals.

These initiatives build on the $9 million Banfield invested over the last 12 months in education-related programs for its Associates. We are creating an environment where someone can come in even before they have a high school diploma and build the skills to have a successful and rewarding career at Banfield or in the broader veterinary industry.

This issue is personal to me. I dropped out after six months of college at 18. I didn’t see the value of sitting in class to hear about the business — I wanted to do the work. At the time, I was filled with fear and doubt about whether I was on the right path. It took me seven years to decide to go back to school and invest in myself. I was fortunate that a mentor pushed me to think long-term and ensure there were no barriers to fulfilling my potential. Through our work to create new educational pathways, we can spark that change for a host of young people.

That’s why, in October — which is our annual Mars Volunteer Program month — we’re focusing the efforts of our more than 19,000 Associates to create educational pathways in their neighborhoods and beyond. We hope to reach 10,000 students in one month by providing Pet Academy presentations, mentoring students, holding STEM supply drives, and more.

We must continue to come together as leaders across academia, non-profits, and business to collaborate and find solutions, so today’s workforce has access to the tools and resources they need to be their best selves. By removing barriers to equitable education, we’re helping our people realize their full potential while creating accessible pathways for all aspiring veterinary professionals, including those in underrepresented communities.