What can the ability of ten obtain? Right here at Cisco, it could actually — and does — change lives.
With ten days off to volunteer via our Time2Give program, $10,000 in matching donations, and tens of 1000’s staff taking part, Cisconians are empowered to show Function 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 Folks Intelligence workforce discovered that Cisco staff who gave again stayed on the firm longer, had greater bonuses, and acquired extra peer recognition.
“[Volunteerism] is a method to actually drive enterprise worth,” shared Cisco Chief Social Impression and Inclusion Officer, Brian Tippens, to Human Assets Director. “It may also be seen as a strong model constructing device, or constructing belief as an moral provider, moral accomplice within the communities the place we reside and work.”
As we shut out fiscal 2025 (July 2024 – July 2025), our individuals’s collective influence was felt in communities world wide. By the numbers:
81% of staff participated in neighborhood influence initiatives – for the sixth yr in a row
566,166 complete volunteer hours
$33.4M complete in worker donations and matching presents
After all, whereas the numbers are spectacular, they don’t present the true story of our influence. So seize your suitcases — we’re taking you world wide to see how our staff are putting our Function into motion.
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An opportunity connection via a Cisco mentorship program led Josh Forrest to Engineers With out Borders (EWB), a non-profit that helps communities meet primary human wants via engineering initiatives.
He discovered a couple of venture at Wema Youngsters’s Centre in Kenya, an orphanage that serves ~400 college students from pre-Ok to highschool. Resulting from an inconsistent power grid, the centre was dealing with excessive working prices, variable water and electrical energy entry, and well being issues. EWB was initially introduced on to assist alleviate a typhoid outbreak, and the necessity for assist 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 likelihood to present again. Along with 5 volunteers, together with his Cisco mentor and his father, Josh spent two weeks in Kenya. Throughout that point, the workforce put in 24 photo voltaic panels that generate 10kW of energy, and an extra 30kW battery financial institution that gives electrical energy via the evening.
“The factor that made the largest influence was seeing the youngsters mild up when there was water and light-weight at evening with out the fear of it going off,” shared Josh. “Seeing how excited they have been 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 techniques.
📍 San Jose, United States
When Mohit Vaswani, a Cisco Resolution Engineer, and his spouse witnessed homelessness of their area people, they knew they couldn’t sit again whereas others went to sleep hungry. As an alternative, in 2013, his household started taking motion, one peanut butter and jelly sandwich at a time.
“We began making meals in our kitchen and distributing them each week to shelters,” shared Mohit. “We began very small with solely 50 sandwiches … however our program grew as extra family and friends joined.”
In the present day, Mohit distributes roughly 500 – 700+ meals per week to 5 Bay Space shelters and charities via his non-profit group, Lunch Bag Initiative. Donations to Lunch Bag Initiative at the moment are absolutely matched by Cisco via its Matching Items program, with Mohit and Cisco staff volunteering time via Time2Give — serving to to finish starvation, sandwich by sandwich.
📍 France, Spain, and Portugal Europe
Annually, 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 international locations walked a portion of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage path community in Europe, elevating over €100,000 for most cancers charities.
Constructing on that momentum, almost 300 colleagues and members of the family from 21 international locations got here collectively this previous June on a “journey for local weather motion,” 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 climbing 10 days), individuals raised consciousness and funds for NGOs addressing the impacts of local weather change, strengthening their collective dedication to sustainability and world connection. In complete, almost $90,000 USD was raised for 17 charities.
📍 East
In April 2025, 10 Cisco volunteers from three international locations got here collectively for a ten-day volunteer journey to assist Palestinian refugees residing in 4 refugee camps throughout Lebanon.
Protecting over 1,000 kilometers throughout the nation — from Beirut to Saida to Tripoli to Baalbek — the workforce’s mission was easy: to convey pleasure and assist to those that have been displaced.
Via their Time2Give journeys, which have dated again to 2023, the workforce 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 via Cisco Networking Academy.
“After we acknowledge the ability of inclusion and are available along with a standard objective, we will pursue a noble trigger in our lives and for humanity – serving to individuals of their deepest hour of want,” shared Mohammed Suwwan, an Account Government 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 college, Sugamo Excessive Faculty in Japan.
However, with no cellular phone reception, what occurs if there was medical emergency?
Masahiro noticed a possibility — and an answer via networking infrastructure.
“It was via this occasion that I developed an curiosity in wi-fi know-how, which led me to pursue a profession at TAC Wi-fi,” 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 via Cisco Time2Give.
What’s subsequent in fiscal 2026
Waiting for fiscal 2026, we stay dedicated to our Function – to Energy an Inclusive Future for All – and to supporting our individuals as they create a optimistic influence on communities world wide. Collectively, as staff, clients, companions, stakeholders, and Cisco staff, we will flip particular person motion into world influence.
Psst – Are you a Cisco worker who needs to get entangled? Head to our Group Impression Portal to start out discovering volunteer alternatives, requesting matching presents, 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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