When Steve Martino, Cisco’s vice president of information technology, drives along Route 101 in San Jose, Calif., he thinks about deadlines to meet, programs to initiate, and teams to lead through upcoming projects. But there is another set of thoughts which permeates his mind– those of the Habitat for Humanity projects he has led, which he can actually see from the highway.

“I enjoy being able to drive past a home or development that we worked on, see that result and say ‘I had something to do with that,’” Martino said. “Those people have a home and are happy in part because I invested time in it.”

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Tags: Cisco, civic engagement, community relations, corporate social responsibility, CSR, employee engagement, employee retention, employee satisfaction, habitat for humanity, SLX, volunteerism

Noah Kiser is six months into leukemia treatment at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas. Although Christmas is days away, he must remain hospitalized for the time of year when he loves “seeing other people jump for joy.”

But thanks to Cisco networking technology and some very tech-savvy elves, Noah was able to visit Santa this year without leaving the hospital.

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Tags: children, Cisco, ciscocsr, corporatesocialresponsibility, CSR, employees, england, healthcare, impactmultiplied, Ireland, Networks, northern ireland, scotland, social investment, society, TelePresence, united states, volunteerism

Imagine you are 17 years old, you live in Kenya, and you are deaf. In this part of the world, deaf and disabled people are considered “cursed.” Your family is ashamed of you. You can’t communicate with them or with anyone else. Nor can you go to school, see a doctor, get a job, or make friends. You are alone, with little hope that your life will ever change. Now, imagine being able to personally help teenagers like this, without even leaving your office building.

Karim Remu, a Cisco systems engineer in Toronto, is doing it — by mentoring a group of deaf students who participate in a Cisco       Networking Academy program in Nairobi, Kenya designed just for them. If you aren’t already familiar with Cisco Networking Academy, it is a global program that teaches students how to design, build, manage, and secure computer networks. Networking Academy helps fill a mounting demand for network professionals worldwide, and also provides a path to a career and financial independence for participants.

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Tags: africa, canada, Cisco, Cisco Employees, Cisco TelePresence, ciscocsr, corporatesocialresponsibility, CSR, deaf-aid, impactmultiplied, Kenya, Nairobi, netacad, networkingacademy, social investment, society, toronto, volunteerism