The Invictus
Initiative:
This is US. This is YOU.
Trust
Invictus:
Unconquerable and Undefeated
This is how we intend to build our company. It’s not just a brand, it’s not just another competitor in the engagement ring space. We are doing something bigger, and we cannot wait to share it with you, and let you be a part of it.
Don’t get us wrong – we are also both the Adamas Man, and the Adamas Woman. But we’re also a company with a mission.
This Is Our Introduction:
This is Gabrielle coming out of hiding after three very long years, and this is Alice claiming her history.
This is the ugly truth about what happens to too many victims.
Be the change you wish to see in the world? Okay.
– 10% of every purchase will go to direct impact donations to domestic violence organizations local to us (switching off every other month between the US and UK). You’ll get an email at the end of the month if you made a purchase, telling you exactly where your money went – how you helped clear an amazon wishlist for a shelter, or how many hours of pro-bono legal aid you contributed to.
We intend to introduce you to The Sisu Foundation soon, but for now, this is our impact. This is your impact. This is the Invictus Initiative.
If this is you OR if this is a mission you align with, we want to work with you. You do not need to have been a victim of domestic violence to support our mission, but you do need to share this value system with us. We are a company that will be built on being person-centered. So, if you would like to be a part of the Invictus Initiative, reach out. We want to work with you.
Adamas and the Invictus Initiative Is:
For every person who has shared that they are experiencing abuse at home with a mentor, a trusted colleague, a work friend, only to get feedback that that person now views them as having compromised judgment. For every person who has worked under an abusive boss, only to have that abuse mirrored at home.
For everyone who has learned the hard way that the questions about why you didn’t leave/haven’t left yet, and worse, what you must be doing wrong to deserve the abuse, are FAR louder than the questions of “Are you okay?” and “Why would he do that?”
For everyone who has been pushed out of the workforce where they were respected and had a reputation that they fought for and earned, only to have that be thrown back at them because they dared commit the sin of letting themselves be abused. For everyone who has had to deal with the shame, the exile, the dread, of loss of community, loss of purpose, loss of sense of self, while trying to leave. While trying to survive.
For everyone who knows that there is no justice to be found in being a “survivor,” and despite the 1 in 3 likelihood of experiencing abuse in their lifetime, women are far more likely than their abusers to face a loss of livelihood.
For everyone who has taken those setbacks, those losses, in silence, in pain swallowed down deep, in stride – because what else can you do? To everyone who has lost in the court of public opinion for being the emotional one while your abuser takes over every single arena of your life that YOU occupied far before they came along.
For everyone who has been afraid to leave your home, your front door, to log online, to exist, while the person who hurt you walks around controlling the narrative… the Invictus Initiative is for you.
For you, whose head is bloodied but not unbowed. Never unbowed. For you, who is down, but certainly not out. For you, who may have lost battle, after battle, after battle, but have not allowed the war to remain counted just yet. The Invictus Initiative is not priority hiring. It is not pandering to survivor-victims.
What We Are Not
This is not yet another corporate social responsibility strategy to align with a worthy cause while benefiting from the profits of that community. The Invictus Initiative, named after the poem, the word tattooed across Gabrielle’s hip, is an invitation.
It is a battle cry to anyone who has been abused, who has been exploited, who has had their story of abuse used against them. We see you. We see your strength. We see what you were, and what you are. And we know what you will be.
The Invictus Initiative is a strategy of open arms to anyone who has experienced job loss, financial abuse, reputation damage, or career stagnation at the direct or indirect hands of their abuser.
It is the recognition that the abuse experienced at home bleeds over into every single corner of a person’s life and does not offer respite in the aftermath.
It is an initiative that promises survivors that Adamas is a workplace that is trauma-informed and non-discriminatory, far above what is required by law.
It is a promise that we will not question the decisions you made to keep yourself safe. It is a commitment to the understanding that justice takes time, and a lot of different forms.
It is a guiding principle that we see you. Even if you have no references because your abuser influenced them. Even if you are starting over in a brand new industry. Even if the last few years do not reflect what you are capable of.
It is a promise. It is the promise that Gabrielle and Alice needed from someone – anyone – in her former corporate life. It is a promise that they make to you now and in the future that if domestic violence is a part of your story, we will revere your honesty in telling us.
If you have faced setbacks, if you need adjusted hours or legal assistance, or different working conditions, we see you as a person – whole and not defined as a victim who “made bad choices,” but a survivor. It is a promise that if you find yourself abused while working for us, we will not judge you. We will not make it worse, make your life unbearable, and treat it like it’s your fault.
It is a promise from two women who have been there. Whose heads are bloodied but unbowed, and who would be honored to hold their heads up alongside yours.