Gardening for Hope
On a cool autumn day, this newly inducted team at Salesforce.org embarked on a selfless journey. Their first journey of many as this is just a start to the 56 volunteering hours per year the company provides to their employees. This group of people, who had met either for the first time on this project or maybe the last time a month ago, worked together to make a senior centre more clean and welcoming.
With gratitude in her eyes, Laurie – the centre’s organizer- described the activities and why they’re important: They allow families and their residents to connect, and sometimes reconnect due to Alzheimer’s, in simple but truly beautiful ways with their families. The garden is their pride and joy and they genuinely appreciate all of the hard work every single volunteer contributes.
In speaking with Nancy Refki, Employee Engagement Manager in EMEA, you could hear the excitement she has for working at a company that provides grants in education and workforce development and giving back to the community. Even though Nancy has only worked there for 6 months, she feels the culture and how much it is engrained in the company, no matter who they’re talking to. Nancy has a very clear vision and passion for what Salesforce.org’s goals are, namely “education and workforce development because it’s evident that… the gap between opportunities and the youth is widening”, as well as how they match up with hers and every employee.
Volunteer first-timer Claude Alquier, Account Executive from the Switzerland office, found so much happiness and energy from this experience that he not only helped this senior centre out with maximum effort but plans to include his wife in future volunteer activities! He sees these opportunities as a way not only for their company, but other companies throughout the world to “rethink your company for the future.”
Both Nancy and Claude also rave about Salesforce.org being born of their unique 1–1–1 model which focuses on giving back to the community. From vendors or partners to internal customers to external customers, the culture of this model shone throughout the entire group. They all touted (and wore shirts saying) what exactly volunteering has meant to them as well as being a part of a company that values it so highly.
Every day there are more and more people who need help and in many different ways. If you’re looking for a volunteering opportunity that fits you or your organization, contact us at www.adamhelpt.nl and let us help you help others.