2022-December-01

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Coffee Can Change Everything

BY LAYEL LTAIEF · VIRTUAL SALES ACCOUNT MANAGER · FRANCE

WITH HELEN GALL

3 MINUTE READ · 4 MINUTE LISTEN

Layel’s team of volunteers pose with a massive pile of complete food parcels.

Preparing the food parcels was a lot of physical work. Here is Layel’s exhausted but proud team.

I am a Virtual Sales Account Manager in the Global Service Provider organization in France. I joined Cisco through the Cisco Sales Associate (CSAP) program one year ago.

It has been a very heartwarming journey, working and learning with colleagues from all over the world.

I am very proud of my heritage. I’m half Lebanese and visit my mother’s homelands as often as possible to see friends, family, and — most importantly — to eat delicious Lebanese food!

I was very touched when one day, some of my colleagues told me about a coffee conversation they had. A few of them are also Lebanese, and they were talking about the situation in the country and ways to use Cisco’s Time2Give program.

In just a few months we planned a trip to Lebanon to help on the ground.

Our excitement rose and we divided tasks. Given I was part of the Lebanese at Cisco Inclusive Community, I reached out to my peers in the group and connected with Karim Kattouf, one of the Global leads.

A large group of people in Cisco shirts and neon vests gathered outside a building in Lebanon.

During the visit, Layel and her colleagues had a positive impact on the local community and met amazing people who selflessly give back to their country.

Karim introduced me to a Bright Funds partner, Ahla Fawda, based in Beirut, and we planned a weeklong trip of giving back.

This is how our journey started.

We started planning and talking to our management about the trip. Everyone was supportive of our Time2Give and volunteering effort. A lot of people were extremely interested in the project, even more so than we thought.

A seven-day adventure for 13 volunteers from the French SP team began. Motivation was through the roof, and the will to do good skyrocketed.

We landed in Beirut on May 30, very excited about what was ahead. With Ahla Fawda's support, we packed and distributed more than 400 food parcels across Lebanon. The experience was very heartwarming going to different places and seeing people in the villages.

Layel and her colleagues on a boat at sunset.

Layel had time to connect with colleagues she did not usually work with. Enjoying a boat tour of the beautiful city of Byblos was a highlight of the trip.

In a previous Cisco blog, Maha Akkari shared how Cisco partnered with local and international nonprofits to distribute shoes to vulnerable kids. We continued this effort by giving out shoes to children in a Palestinian refugee camp and in a rural school in Southern Lebanon.

The most heartwarming experience was painting a school playground in one of the poorest Palestinian refugee camps in the country, where we also distributed some of the food parcels. And we even played football with the children.

I was also very excited to spend quality time with my extended team. I was proud to see them enjoy their stay in beautiful Lebanon, while enjoying delicious food, the historic heritage, and breathtaking sunsets.

I hope we’ve inspired you and your team to volunteer. Remember: All it takes is a coffee chat about a good cause!

Coffee Can Change Everything

BY LAYEL LTAIEF · VIRTUAL SALES ACCOUNT MANAGER · FRANCE

WITH HELEN GALL

3 MINUTE READ · 4 MINUTE LISTEN

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