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What can the facility of ten obtain? Here at Cisco, it could possibly — and does — change lives.
With ten days off to volunteer by means of our Time2Give program, $10,000 in matching donations, and tens of 1000’s staff collaborating, Cisconians are empowered to show Purpose into motion, yr after yr.
And it’s not simply good for communities; it’s good for enterprise. A three-year longitudinal examine from Cisco’s People Intelligence group discovered that Cisco staff who gave again stayed on the firm longer, had greater bonuses, and acquired extra peer recognition.
“[Volunteerism] is a way to really drive business value,” shared Cisco Chief Social Impact and Inclusion Officer, Brian Tippens, to Human Resources Director. “It can also be seen as a powerful brand building tool, or building trust as an ethical supplier, ethical partner in the communities where we live and work.”
As we shut out fiscal 2025 (July 2024 – July 2025), our folks’s collective affect was felt in communities world wide. By the numbers:
- 81% of staff participated in neighborhood affect initiatives – for the sixth yr in a row
- 566,166 complete volunteer hours
- $33.4M complete in worker donations and matching items
Of course, whereas the numbers are spectacular, they don’t present the true story of our affect. So seize your suitcases — we’re taking you world wide to see how our staff are putting our Purpose into motion.
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An opportunity connection by means of a Cisco mentorship program led Josh Forrest to Engineers Without Borders (EWB), a non-profit that helps communities meet fundamental human wants by means of engineering tasks.
He realized a few challenge at Wema Children’s Centre in Kenya, an orphanage that serves ~400 college students from pre-Ok to highschool. Due to an inconsistent vitality grid, the centre was dealing with excessive working prices, variable water and electrical energy entry, and well being considerations. EWB was initially introduced on to assist alleviate a typhoid outbreak, and the necessity for help continued to develop.
Josh, a Technical Consulting Engineer – who simply so occurred to have {an electrical} engineering diploma and a dad with a photo voltaic enterprise – jumped on the probability to offer again. Together with 5 volunteers, together with his Cisco mentor and his father, Josh spent two weeks in Kenya. During that point, the group put in 24 photo voltaic panels that generate 10kW of energy, and a further 30kW battery financial institution that gives electrical energy by means of the evening.
“The thing that made the biggest impact was seeing the kids light up when there was water and light at night without the worry of it going off,” shared Josh. “Seeing how excited they were was indescribable.”
Josh has been invited to return once more subsequent yr – serving to to coach the scholars on constructing their very own photo voltaic panel methods.
📍 San Jose, United States
When Mohit Vaswani, a Cisco Solution Engineer, and his spouse witnessed homelessness of their local people, they knew they couldn’t sit again whereas others went to sleep hungry. Instead, in 2013, his household started taking motion, one peanut butter and jelly sandwich at a time.
“We started making meals in our kitchen and distributing them every week to shelters,” shared Mohit. “We started very small with only 50 sandwiches … but our program grew as more friends and family joined.”
Today, Mohit distributes roughly 500 – 700+ meals per week to 5 Bay Area shelters and charities by means of his non-profit group, Lunch Bag Initiative. Donations to Lunch Bag Initiative at the moment are absolutely matched by Cisco by means of its Matching Gifts program, with Mohit and Cisco staff volunteering time by means of Time2Give — serving to to finish starvation, sandwich by sandwich.
📍 France, Spain, and Portugal Europe
Each yr, Cisco staff world wide lace up their boots — not simply to stroll, however to make a tangible distinction. The custom started in 2022, when greater than 400 Cisconians from 21 nations walked a portion of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage path community in Europe, elevating over €100,000 for most cancers charities.
Building on that momentum, almost 300 colleagues and members of the family from 21 nations got here collectively this previous June on a “journey for climate action,” trekking between France, Spain, and Portugal. 35,000 kilometers have been hiked as staff took significant steps (actually!) for the planet.
Over the course of 5 days (with some mountain climbing 10 days), individuals raised consciousness and funds for NGOs addressing the impacts of local weather change, strengthening their collective dedication to sustainability and international connection. In complete, almost $90,000 USD was raised for 17 charities.
📍 East
In April 2025, 10 Cisco volunteers from three nations got here collectively for a ten-day volunteer journey to help Palestinian refugees residing in 4 refugee camps throughout Lebanon.
Covering over 1,000 kilometers throughout the nation — from Beirut to Saida to Tripoli to Baalbek — the group’s mission was easy: to deliver pleasure and help to those that have been displaced for 77 years.
Through their Time2Give journeys, which have dated again to 2023, the group has positively impacted 1,500 households, sponsored greater than 250 orphans, skilled 400 college college students, and plenty of extra. Their work spanned renovating and enhancing clinics to delivering licensed trainings to college students and lecturers, together with by means of Cisco Networking Academy.
“When we recognize the power of inclusion and come together with a common purpose, we can pursue a noble cause in our lives and for humanity – helping people in their deepest hour of need,” shared Mohammed Suwwan, an Account Executive primarily based in Germany and a co-organizer of the journey.
📍 Japan, Asia
For Masahiro Takebayashi, a ardour for connectivity began early — on the paths of a mountain hike organized by his faculty, Sugamo High School in Japan.
But, with no mobile phone reception, what occurs if there was medical emergency?
Masahiro noticed a chance — and an answer by means of networking infrastructure.
“It was through this event that I developed an interest in wireless technology, which led me to pursue a career at TAC Wireless,” shared Masahiro, at present a Technical Consulting Engineer at Cisco.
This previous fiscal yr, he volunteered as an alumnus and entered the mountain two days previous to the occasion, serving to arrange antennas and set up a wi-fi communication community between mountain cabins. He plans to proceed aiding on the trek by means of Cisco Time2Give.
What’s subsequent in fiscal 2026
Looking forward to fiscal 2026, we stay dedicated to our Purpose – to Power an Inclusive Future for All – and to supporting our folks as they create a constructive affect on communities world wide. Together, as staff, clients, companions, stakeholders, and Cisco staff, we will flip particular person motion into international affect.
Psst – Are you a Cisco worker who desires to get entangled? Head to our Community Impact Portal to begin discovering volunteer alternatives, requesting matching items, beginning a fundraiser, and extra. And, when you’ve got a Time2Give story price sharing, we’d love to listen to it — attain out by way of communityimpact@cisco.com
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