At Cisco, giving again is greater than a core worth; it’s a strategy to lead by constructing connections, deepening empathy, and contributing to one thing greater than your self. Throughout the Americas (North, Central, and South America), and in collaboration with regional worker engagement champions, annually we host our Americas Accomplice Group (APO) Giving Again Week.
Launched in June 2023, this program brings collectively Cisco Accomplice Group groups across the Americas to collectively give again and make a distinction. We prolong and amplify our optimistic affect by together with our channel companions within the efforts. One stellar instance of those efforts comes from our crew in Mexico. Learn on to study extra.
The Mexico Accomplice Group Units a Commonplace
Inside Cisco’s LATAM area, the Mexico Accomplice Group is a shining instance relating to neighborhood affect efforts. In mid-2024, the crew, led by mission supervisor Jennifer Ortiz, collaborated with our enterprise companions Connext and Evox to create actual affect for La Cana, a social enterprise that helps incarcerated ladies and people transitioning again into society.
Why La Cana? Jennifer explains, “We needed to accomplice with a corporation the place our help could be significant. In Mexico, my house nation, the subject of ladies in jail is considerably taboo, and organizations that assist incarcerated ladies are likely to get ignored. With probably much less visibility than different forms of organizations, we felt that La Cana might tremendously profit from our volunteerism and assist.”
In flip, 30 volunteers—18 from our companions and 12 from the LATAM Mexico Accomplice Group—got down to ship significant change amongst La Cana’s purchasers via three impactful initiatives.
Supporting Girls in Chalco Jail
On Might 10, 2024 (Mom’s Day in Mexico), our volunteers visited 75 ladies at Chalco ladies’s jail, bringing hygiene kits and—equally (if no more) essential—moments of connection and dignity. The crew selected this location as a result of it was farther from town, and on common, its inmates obtain fewer guests. “I had by no means been to a penitentiary, so I used to be very apprehensive,” shared Jennifer. “I didn’t know what to anticipate however interacting with the ladies was an awesome lesson in empathy and perspective. We didn’t see them for his or her alleged crimes, however as fellow people. It was a robust studying second for me.”
Jennifer additionally shared how great it was to carry happiness to the ladies. “Although we weren’t household, these ladies had been extraordinarily grateful to have us as guests. You might see the enjoyment and hope it introduced them, as smiles on their faces.”
Constructing energy and self-sufficiency within the “Casa Medio Camino” Upon launch from jail, some ladies don’t have household to return to or a spot to remain, as they’re typically disowned or ostracized for his or her crimes. To assist mitigate this situation, La Cana has established “Casa Medio Camino”, a midway home for girls leaving jail, to offer shelter and assist. As a part of APO Giving Again Week 2024, our volunteers rolled up their sleeves to assist create a snug place for the residents. Collectively, they:
- Established a neighborhood backyard and donated seeds to assist long-term meals cultivation.
- Renovated a number of areas inside the constructing to create welcoming, useful areas.
- Donated non-perishable provides to help in quickly housing 20 ladies as they transition again into society.
Enabling Financial Independence
One other side of La Cana’s intervention program is to carry productive actions and vocational coaching to prisons. This permits inmates to accumulate expertise and instruments to assist them enhance their lives throughout their keep in jail, present an revenue for his or her households, and put together them for all times exterior of jail. One kind of expertise coaching contains numerous weaving, embroidery, stitching, macramé (an ornamental craft utilizing twine and knotting strategies), and textile weaving strategies. As a part of our give again, we hosted a sale in our places of work of hand-made gadgets created by the ladies who’re a part of La Cana. Mixed with our volunteer actions, the cash raised from the sale enabled us to contribute greater than $4,500 USD to fund La Cana’s packages.
Our assist of La Cana’s crucial initiatives is a testomony to the ability of collaboration. By bringing collectively our workers, companions, and this social enterprise, we’ve confirmed that collective motion can ship tangible, lasting change. And the advantages of our work prolong far past their quick affect:
- For the neighborhood: Girls in susceptible conditions acquired assets, assist, and alternatives to regain their dignity and independence.
- For our companions: Connext and Evox strengthened their social affect methods, reinforcing their dedication to company duty.
- For our workers: Volunteers skilled a profound sense of goal and achievement, realizing their efforts straight modified lives.
- For our firm: These efforts deepened our tradition of empathy, strengthened bonds with our companions, and demonstrated our management in driving significant social change.
What’s much more highly effective is the message we ship by prioritizing and collaborating in initiatives like APO Giving Again Week: Giving is a type of management. Let’s proceed to steer with goal and create a brighter future, one neighborhood at a time.
Has your group participated in APO Giving Again Week? If that’s the case, do inform us concerning the affect you’ve made together with your companions and in your neighborhood.
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