The CSR & Diversity Awards celebrate the finalists and honorees of both the CSR & Nonprofit Awards and the Inaugural Diversity Awards presented by PRNEWS who are representing communicators who use their platforms for the betterment of their communities and the global community at large. These individuals amplify the voices of marginalized groups and dedicate themselves to social causes, and also are helping to usher in a diverse, equitable future and redefine organizations' role in the fight for global change.
As part of this year's Awards, ESPN Corporate Citizenship Vice President Kevin Martinez was named the winner of both the CSR Professional of the Year Award and the LGBTQIA2+ Pioneer Award. Martinez was recognized for his work as both a corporate social responsibility professional and as an openly Gay man in his field of work for over 30 years proudly serving members of diverse and marginalized populations, including the LGBTQIA2+ community.
From navigating the impacts of the pandemic, social unrest and political divides, ESPN's ability to serve and uplift communities across the country in our society's greatest time of need was a bright spot in an incredibly challenging year, and at the center of ESPN's impactful strategy has been Martinez. In the last year, Martinez led the company's community response to the pandemic with the #oneteam campaign, which among many of its impacts, engaged over 35,000 youth in sports-themed community service projects. He also worked to keep diversity and inclusion front and center in all of ESPN's citizenship initiatives, including Breaking Barriers with Bank of America - a program that held important conversations and dialogue around racial equity in baseball. Additionally, he spearheaded ESPN's first voting campaign together with The Walt Disney Company.
Under Martinez's leadership, ESPN's fundraising efforts for the V Foundation has doubled since 2013. In the last year alone, ESPN raised over $20 million for cancer research - dollars that are particularly critical given that so much funding has moved away from cancer research due to new demands from the pandemic. Martinez also created the Sports Humanitarian Awards, an annual televised event that fundraises for the V Foundation and celebrates the powerful impact sports has on society, and has distributed over $12.4 million for the community in six years.
At ESPN, Martinez has championed LGBTQIA2+ issues in the work place, especially in sports, and uses his position to usher in a diverse, equitable future. Martinez understands that youth everywhere, especially those of the LGBTQIA2+ community, are bullied in school and online, which led him to creating Shred Hate, Choose Kindness with the X Games. The unique and innovative program was designed to teach empathy and compassion to help eradicate bullying, and led to a partnership with Major League Baseball, as well as a national movement with DoSomething.org in 2019 that challenged young people nationwide to combat cyberbullying.