To mark the end of the year, we are posting every day through January 1 with some less technical vSphere and VMware topics. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have writing them. See them all via the “2019 Wrap Up” tag!
Tech as a Force for Good
It’s no secret that VMware, as an organization, strives to be a force for good in the technology sector and beyond. In fact, at VMworld Europe this year, CEO Pat Gelsinger closed out the opening keynote on the topic of Tech as a Force for Good.
As a company, VMware empowers its people to support their communities in many ways. Let’s hear from Philip Savage, Enterprise Account Manager, and VMware Foundation’s UK Giving Network Lead. “Our Citizen Philanthropy approach is not like other companies’ giving back programs. We have democratized it. It’s not about being told by a CxO that this is the charity we’re supporting this year.” Instead, VMware enables all employees to support the causes that mean the most to us.
VMware’s strategic approach to giving, called Citizen Philanthropy, fosters a culture of service by amplifying the individual contributions of VMware people’s time, talents, and resources to their nonprofits of choice through VMware Foundation global programs.
Here are three examples of how these programs amplify our contributions:
Every full-time employee globally is eligible for 40 paid hours each year for Service Learning.
Anyone who contributes all of their 40 Service Learning hours in the year can recommend a charity of their choice to receive a Citizen Philanthropy Investment grant from the VMware Foundation.
VMware employees can request 1:1 matching gifts for charitable donations up to $3,141.59 annually to qualified nonprofits of their choice. That number might ring some bells with the geekier readers…
As you can see, the VMware Foundation’s global programs can increase our impact as a VMware community. This allows us to support the causes and nonprofits we care most about.
What does Service Learning look like?
Through Service Learning, we have the opportunity to use our time and talents to support our community – with hands-on service, general skills, pro bono Service Learning, or serving on the Board of a nonprofit. We call it Service Learning rather than “volunteering.” We believe that when you serve others with a mindset to learn, there is a two-way exchange of value between us and the nonprofits with which we serve. We develop and grow in the process.
In 2019, I worked with a local charity supporting vulnerable children. Next year I’m going with a team to Tijuana, Mexico to build a home for a family. It’s the third year that individuals on our team have chosen to serve together in this capacity. We have a brief video below that shows the work that we put in and the outcomes that we accomplished.
People do all kinds of things for service learning, on every imaginable scale. I’ve seen teams repainting hospitals, providing mentorship to students, helping out with food banks, and much much more!
The end of the year (and indeed the end of the decade) is traditionally a time for reflection. I’m incredibly proud to work for an organization that enables me to engage in Citizen Philanthropy. The VMware Foundation shows us that we can all make changes to make the world a better place.
(Come back tomorrow for a look into how products like vSphere get named. For more posts in this series, visit the “2019 Wrap Up” tag.)
