2023-March-02
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One Step Closer to Positively Impacting 50 Million in India
BY TARANG MUDLIAR AND SYED JAWAD HUSSAIN · INDIA
4 MINUTE READ · 6 MINUTE LISTEN
At Cisco, we make a difference in our communities every single day, in every way we can.
On December 14, 2022, as we celebrated our Day of Giving, over 300 Cisconians came together across nine cities in India and South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to achieve one thing: Putting smiles on the faces of people throughout our communities, our cities, and our country.
In India, Cisco’s goal is to positively impact 50 million people by 2025,* and we took another step in that direction. Activities ranged from planting saplings around lakes and vegetable gardening at schools, to patient care and working with children with special needs.
"It was a really nice event and an incredible experience. It was great to plant so many saplings together as one Cisco family,” explains Sales Business Development Manager Sandipta Mohanty in New Delhi. “It felt really good to be doing something to combat climate change, especially in a country where we are dealing with declining air quality and heavy pollution.”
“Working with children with special needs is an eye-opening experience, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have spent the day with them making paper toys and playing games,” says Kolkata-based Regional Sales Leader Debabrata Dey. “Seeing their eyes light up and listening to them laugh is perhaps the best gift of all this holiday season.”
“Our Giving Back Day happened in the same month as World Soil Day,” shares Partner Account Manager Syed Jawad Hussain in Bangalore.
“I was amazed to discover that 95 percent of our food comes from soil. I spent the day close to the earth and soil, planting trees, making items out of clay, and also working in a recycled-paper unit to bring new life to discarded paper. Thanks to Cisco for providing us with an opportunity to volunteer a full day towards a cause that’s close to my heart.”
“I spent the day vegetable gardening at a school,” comments Event Management Manager Malathi Muthuvel in Bangalore.
“I wish all of us did this as young children. It is so important to help children understand where our food comes from and the joy in actually growing something with our own hands. This is a very rewarding experience, and I am happy that we have opportunities to help the next generation understand the value of farming.”
Since Cisco donates 10 dollars for every hour of volunteering, we were also able to raise funds for the NGOs we worked with.
“[More than] 70 volunteers from Cisco were gardening, farming, and recycling at the Visthar campus in Bengaluru. They potted 200 plants in the nursery, harvested 100 kilograms of amla (gooseberry), planted 200 vegetable seedlings, crafted 50 terracotta planters, and designed papier-mache masks and recycled notepads,” says Director of Visthar Academy of Justice and Peace Mercy Kappen.
“All of this, on a single day! Amazing teamwork and creativity, contributing towards sustainability practices at our eco sanctuary. Thank you, team Cisco.”
“Over 60 volunteers worked together to plant 120 saplings, make newspaper bags, and upcycle t-shirts to make bags,” shares Coordinator of CSR and Volunteering Programs, City Chapters, National Executive of Youth for Seva K. Sesha Aditya.
“It was a wonderful day and it helps us move forward in our goal of a greener tomorrow."
A little goes a long way
Partner Marketing Manager Chaitra Govindraj, a volunteer who spends a few days every month teaching children, sums it up perfectly, “It’s not about necessarily having the time, but just having the heart.”
All year round, thousands of employees use their 80 hours of Cisco Time2Give to volunteer for different causes. It is not something we have to do but something we choose to do.
Even a few hours a week goes a long way in touching a life or making a difference.
*This goal for India is tracked and measured separately from Cisco’s goal to positively impact one billion people worldwide by 2025.
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