Time off to give back. We talk about it on this blog a lot, because employees love the idea of giving back. But a lot of the stories are about going big. Traveling to Honduras, volunteering for the big cats. But the great thing about this time off to give back, is that it doesn’t HAVE to be about going big. We can find ways to help in our communities every day!
Take for example Amy Cable, a Career Services Manager who I spoke with recently.
Amy has been recruiting at Cisco for roughly 10 years. She lives in Austin, TX and is an avid volunteer! She loves Cisco’s Time2Give initiative because it gives her paid time off to do the things that she already does!
“I now have the option to volunteer during the workday instead of having to bring my laptop with me! It gives me more motivation to volunteer now that I know I have the time.”
Amy’s son is on his high school’s baseball team, and as with most sports, parents are asked to help work concession stands and volunteer to plan events. Last year she put in over 100 hours to volunteer and found herself bringing her laptop to these events so that she could work while fulfilling her parental duties.
“It’s so nice to now be able to say, ‘hey, I’m going to take this time off, and Cisco’s offering to pay me to do the things that I love to do’—volunteering and giving back!”
Most recently, Amy lead a team of parents to host the baseball booster club banquet—an event that had over 190 RSVPs! She had been planning the event since August and was able to use a half-day of her Time2Give on the day of the event to set up, decorate, and oversee the event itself.
“It wasn’t a Cisco event, but it was so nice that I could take off and not have to worry about work!”
This program gives Cisco employees the freedom to choose how they give back. Amy suggests finding volunteer opportunities through your local Civic Council or just a simple Web search.
For employees, theres a Cisco Citizen Web page to help you find upcoming volunteer opportunities according to your location. You can also look up other charities to volunteer at on your own that Cisco already supports! For these organizations, Cisco will contribute up to a certain dollar amount for your volunteer time, as well as match monetary donations.
Giving back doesn’t always have to be extravagant! As long as you’re giving back to the community in a way that matters to you and others, that’s what counts.
And that’s the real beauty about Cisco’s giving back benefit. Amy was able to help her son’s booster club on a workday, and spend her time making a difference for a cause that matters to her.
Tell us in comments – how do you plan on making a difference?
And if you want to help change the world at Cisco, you can search for openings here.
Hi
I’m an active member of a mountain rescue team based in the UK and use my Time to Give to support my team in terms of training, and fund rasing.
The time off enables me to train with the emergency services as they only train during their working day, and our fund raising activites involve spending time with local companies who again tend only to be available during their working days.
Another plus for my team is the contribuition Cisco pay to my team for the voluntary hours I spend in my training and callout activites, Cisco Foundation pay $10 for every hour I spend on behalf of my team, up to $1000 per year.
Thank you for sharing Andy! It’s great hearing about the unique ways that people are using their Time2Give at Cisco and you seem to be very passionate about this organization.
Nice Amy – you are one of the unsung heroes that make it all possible.
You know there is a tangent here that may go viral. Here’s the premise – Cisco employees have enormous brain power. There are many things we could apply it to that bring the power of the ‘net to social problems. Take for example Emergency Response or helping those less fortunate. Within our ranks we have the bits. And I bet the Cisco Foundation would be keen to support it.
So the question – would people be willing to take a week off and use their normal skills to focus on a solution? Maybe you could work on a chunk of code for a web app? Maybe construct some specific IOT device? What if we had a Challenge and Hackathon? Ask for suggestions – then attack them one at a time?
Example:
An emergency response system using SMS to relay details to a central cloud based system. Think of an earthquakes in Indonesia. Cell service is more common than WIFI. Add app capability to coordinate communication and response.
A world of need.
Great!
Timely reminder. Thank you!
Hi, I am an active volunteer with the San Diego Zoo Global, where the fight to save species worldwide is approached by uniting their expertise in animal and plant care and conservation science with dedication to inspiring passion for nature.
As a volunteer I get to talk with guests about the parks and conservation programs, and make sure they enjoy their visit and learn about the work that is being done.
Working at Cisco and having this time to Give Back is an amazing benefit that I would encourage everyone to take.
Nice initiative….time2give gives time to everyone for good cause 🙂
Time2Give is a really great program that allows me to contribute to a cause that I am passionate about. It makes me feel that Cisco values healthy lifestyles and truly wants their employees to continue to live their lives outside of work. I used Time2Give to attend training sessions and now volunteer for a non-profit as a public school music teacher (just finished teaching my first 4 classes).
Can this post be updated to include a link to this Time2Give? I have no idea where to find the information.
Hi Kassandra – check out this Jive page for more information on Time2Give: https://cisco.jiveon.com/projects/time2give-overview/pages/overview