Welcome New Members! Introduce Yourself to the Community

[RoseSpitzer]

Community is about getting to know each other. So once you've joined, please share a few things about yourself with other community members. How did you start your social impact journey? What causes are you passionate about? What (or who) inspires you? 

Thank you for sharing your story and being a force for good! 

[Om Prakash]

Hi,

I’m glad to be here with the Pledge 1% Community. Thank you everyone for your commitment and leadership.

I'm the founder and CEO of AppyCrown Private Limited, where I specialize as a Salesforce Technical Architect, assisting businesses in using the best solutions on the Salesforce Platform.

I began my social impact journey by giving back to the community through volunteering my time and empowering others with my skills.

Life is beautiful, and everyone deserves to be surrounded by happiness. I strongly believe that even making a small impact can be a great contribution to creating a better world.

I find inspiration from my family, my journey and from observing those who are making positive impacts.

 Thank you!

[InesGarcia]

Hi Subramaniyam, 

Big welcome have a browse around to projects and resources.  reach out if anything!

which %s are you pledging?

[swamycs]

Hello Community Members!

My journey into social impact was inspired by a deeply held belief in the power of giving back. As a firm believer in the 1-1-1 model pioneered by Salesforce Founder Marc Benioff, I am committed to integrating corporate philanthropy into our ethos, here at Lean IT Inc. Giving back to society is not just a choice, but a responsibility that I hold close to my heart

Personally, I am driven by the commitment to make a positive change in the world. As a proud member of Rotary International, I have aligned my efforts with the organization's mission to work towards the attainment of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals declared by the UN in 2015. Through Rotary and in collaboration with my dedicated team at Lean IT, we are actively contributing to meaningful causes that foster education, healthcare, environmental sustainability, and social equality. These causes fuel our determination to create a positive and lasting impact.

The inspiration behind my efforts comes from the countless stories of individuals whose lives have been transformed through our collective actions to empower marginalized communities. The desire to leave a meaningful legacy that extends beyond business achievements is what drives me each day.

The prospect of generating a ripple effect of positive change inspires me, as I witness the profound difference we make in people's lives and communities. It's an honor to contribute to a brighter future beyond business accomplishments.

I genuinely hope that more companies will embrace the spirit of giving through initiatives like Pledge 1%. By embracing this commitment to social impact, we collectively have the power to drive positive change and create a more compassionate and equitable world.

Warm regards,
Subramaniyam

[InesGarcia]

Hi Mustapha, 

Big welcome have a browse around to projects and resources.  reach out if anything!

which %s are you pledging?

[mustaphaB]

Hello community members!

My name is Mustapha Bouarfa, and I'm thrilled to be a part of this wonderful community. My journey into social impact began during my college years when I volunteered at a local shelter. The experience was eye-opening and made me realise the power of collective effort in bringing about positive change.

I'm deeply passionate about environmental conservation and ensuring that every child gets access to quality education. Over the years, I've been fortunate to work with several NGOs and grassroots organisations that align with these causes.

That's why last month I launch FQPS Academy, we work towards a more inclusive and accessible approach to exam preparation (SQE Exam in UK).

I'm eager to learn more about all of you and collaborate on projects that drive meaningful change. Let's harness our collective power and be a force for good!

Thank you for welcoming me into this community.

[Bash]

All good thanks 😁

[InesGarcia]

Claro 🙂 Here and some other adventures to "leave the place better than how we found it"!

[Bash]

Ines, thanks for the welcome, great to see you hear, hope all is well with you ?

[Aylin Albayrak]

Hello @InesGarcia, Thank you for the welcome.

Yes, @Bash and I, we are both here. We are happy to announce our membership in Pledge 1%, and we look forward to helping nonprofits to achieve their mission through our commitment to the Pledge 1%.

Kind Regards,
Zumzum

[InesGarcia]

Hi Aylin, Big welcome have a browse around to projects and resources.  reach out if anything!

Is Mr Bash also around here?

Pleased to read you committed to 3 of the 1%s

[Aylin Albayrak]

Hello everyone! Happy to be part of the Pledge 1% Community!

My name is Aylin, and I am Marketing Executive at Zumzum.

We are thrilled to announce that Zumzum is a member of the Pledge 1%, a global movement that allows companies to integrate giving back into their culture and values. Through our membership in the Pledge 1%, we have pledged the 1-1-1 model, which aims to donate to nonprofits with the time, product, and profit they need. We donate time, products, and our unique skills in cloud computing to nonprofits.

We provide two user donations of Zumzum Financials, accounting software for Salesforce, free of charge to qualifying nonprofits. With our services donations, We help nonprofits optimise their usage of Salesforce from initial implementation to configuration, development, and ongoing maintenance. We configure Google Workspace, an enterprise collaboration tool to help nonprofits increase collaboration and productivity. Through our membership in the Pledge 1%, we are committed to doing our best to make a difference in the world through corporate philanthropy.

Kind Regards,
Zumzum

[MehmetOrun]

Hello @InesGarcia and thank you for the welcome. 

Officially, we have decided on the 1% of Product for our 1% Pledge.

Also being passionate about working with and supporting non-profits, we will also be contributing in time dimension.  However, this is not part of our official pledge at this time since we do not formally track time spent with non-profits, and one cannot pledge and ensure what one does not measure.

[InesGarcia]

Hi Mehmed, Big welcome have a browse around to projects and resources.  reach out if anything!

So what %s are you and or your company committed to and how to?

[MehmetOrun]

Hello everyone,

I am delighted to be a member of the Pledge 1% community and be the primary representative for my company as well.

Before joining my current company, PeerNova, I was with Salesforce for a decade plus and before that Genentech, the first biotech.  What drove me to all these companies was the company mission + company culture, focusing on the outcomes we each have the opportunity to positively impact.

As a human, I am passionate about empowering organizations to make confident and timely decisions using high-quality data.  This started when I was a child and I found out a family friend had almost died because their allergy to penicillin was not reflected on the then paper-based records properly.  My professional passion and goal is to help make healthcare decisions less error prone, while also helping all organizations but especially non-profits to take better advantage of information as well to achieve their goals.

Another aspect of myself is being a dancer.  I learnt much from dancing, including important of clear communication, not making assumptions, courtesy and accountability when things don't go according to plan...  Happy to engage on these as well.

Looking forward to crossing paths over time.

Cheers

[Ingrid_IndexEng]

Hi Becky, I think that sounds pretty good ! That is wonderful to match people's donations to what they think is a good cause and where they are already donating. Also the 3 paid volunteer days. I imagine that not everyone will take up on these initiatives (some people just don't care about social responsibility), but for the people that do care, this will really be great, and I am sure will help people to feel good about themselves and proud to work for your company.  How long have you been running the scheme, and what has been the take-up? Cheers, Ingrid.

[InesGarcia]

Hi Becky, Big welcome have a browse around to projects and resources.  reach out if anything!

Also if interested on application to circular economy and leaner manufacturing www.inesgarcia.me

Ines Garcia
Author amazon.com/author/inesgarcia

[Becky-DB]

Hello! 

 My name is Becky and I am the Gives Back Coordinator for a manufacturing company DiamondBack Truck Covers. We are located in Central Pennsylvania and just recently celebrated our 20th birthday! 

Our mission is to build one of the best manufacturing companies in central PA: one that employees love to work for and customers love to buy from.  Along with this we offer an amazing employee involvement package to motivate and assist our employees with giving back to what matters most to them. 

With our DiamondBack Gives Back program each year employee is allotted the following:

• $1000 to donate to a non profit organization of their choice
• 2x matching of donations employees make themselves, up to $1000
• 3 paid volunteer days each year 

We are also just now beginning a Giving Fund to further assist our local community in an even bigger way. We are just out the gate so we're still in the beginning stages of what route we are going to take.

By joining the Pledge 1%  my goal is to find out what others with the same passion of giving are doing and offering. There's always more that can be done, and I'm hoping I can open more doors for our employees, with more opportunities. 

Becky Briggs 

[InesGarcia]

I saw the new regulations banning 'carbon neutrality by offsets' in EU and coming in UK and thought of you Kfluid. check this https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/15/uk-advertising-watchdog-to-crack-down-on-carbon-...

Hope it helps!

[InesGarcia]

Hi Khirmer! You are speaking to the converted Im a biomimicry practitioner. 

Big welcome to the community, have a look at the resources and projects here! If anything just reach out

[Khirmer]

Hi, Community of 1% Pledge!

I am Khirmer, founder of Leafstash.

I respect & appreciate nature, animals, and our planet.

I got enlightened that most of us humans do not realize how blessed we are to have a wonderful planet that gives life to us, yet we are failing it. Sooner or later, it may not get back to our generation, but to the future generation.

The current trend is either EV, AI, or energy, etc. but most companies overlook major natural resources such as water, trees, air, and more. 

As many companies try to show their environmental initiatives, we at Leafstash have a mission too. 

We want to transform commerce into environmental sustainability, and one small step we can do about it is by eliminating paper waste caused by the unnecessary printing of receipts, flyers, etc. 

Unfortunately, we cannot just easily stop printing receipts, so that is why our company is currently developing a more viable solution to encourage us "consumers" to adopt paperless receipts by using opting-in digital receipts!

We also pledge to give back 1% of our profit to reforestation, clean water restoration, and fighting toxic chemical efforts.

We don't want just to eliminate unnecessary waste, but we want to have positive impact to the environment!

[InesGarcia]

Welcome Rachel, which 1% and how are you planning to do so?

[RachelMcCarty]

Hello everyone,

What wonderful people you are who pledge 1%! Small changes really do make a big difference.

I work for Toiletries Amnesty, a social, ethical and environmental organisation working across the UK and abroad to relieve hygiene poverty and stop products from going to waste. We were the first organisation in the UK to tackle hygiene poverty and host the only directory that allows people to see exactly where their donations are making an impact in their community. In 2022 alone we provided access to toiletries and hygiene essentials to over 2.95 million people and diverted hundreds of thousands of products from landfill. We are passionate about sustainability, reducing our environmental impact, and believe that a little kindness goes a long way. If you are a like-minded organisation who shares our values and can partner with us to champion the incredible work we do, I would love to hear from you!

[InesGarcia]

Cool so 1% profit then. Gotcha

Carbon neutrality and offsets are well a subject on its own, easily misleading concepts from aim. Here climate coach, circular economy professional (Cambridge) and Biomimicry practitioner.  Anyone with interest on the matter can reach www.inesgarcia.me

[kfluid]

Hello Ines!

Nice to meet you and thank you for the welcome 🙂 

RE: What sort of 1% are you embedding in the 'fabric' (pun intended) of your organization?

Answer:  From before we made our first product, we committed 1% of our company's profit to the charity First Descents - an adventure experience for young adults surviving life-threatening diseases. 

Not only do we commit the 1%, but we are also carbon neutral (including our shipping impacts) and working to become carbon negative. Every day we plant twenty trees through our conservation partners.

Additionally, FluidStance encourages its employees to volunteer and engage in community service through its "One Hour A Week." 

[InesGarcia]

Welcome Charles, which 1% and how are you planning to do so?

[Charles_Irvin]

Hello,

Excited to begin our journey as a 1% Community Member.  Synergy is committed to pledging 1%.  

Synergy | IT Firm with Innovative Solutions (synergybis.com)

[InesGarcia]

Welcome Kristina, have a look at the resources and projects here!

What sort of 1% are you embedding in the 'fabric' (pun intended) of your organisation?

Ines Garcia
Author amazon.com/author/inesgarcia

[kfluid]

Hello good people of Pledge 1%,

My name is Kristina, and I am excited to represent FluidStance on this Pledge 1% Community chat. As an employee of FluidStance, I am proud to be part of a company that not only cares about our customers' health and well-being but also the health and well-being of our planet.

At FluidStance, we strive to be environmentally friendly by creating eco-friendly products that promote movement and reduce the need for sedentary office lifestyles. We believe that being active and moving throughout the day is essential for maintaining good health and productivity, and our products are designed with this philosophy in mind.

As a Pledge 1% member, we are committed to giving back to our community, and we have chosen to support the nonprofit organization First Descents. Our partnership with First Descents aligns with our mission to promote healthy and active lifestyles, and we are honored to contribute to their cause of providing outdoor experiences to young adults with cancer and other serious health conditions.

I am excited to be here and learn from all of you, and I look forward to continuing to make a positive impact through our work with Pledge 1%. Thank you for having me.

[InesGarcia]

Welcome Pradip, have a look at the resources and projects here! 

Ines Garcia
Author amazon.com/author/inesgarcia

[MePradipS]

With 12+ years of experience in CloudCentric and Business Growth Strategies. Passionate about driving business success and helping teams grow.

[InesGarcia]

Ciao Martina,

I haven't heard CSR since 2000's!

As you know much of the work is to have embedded sustainable practices, regenerative organisation by design.

Welcome to the forum and shout if any questions

[MartinaDP]

Hi all! 

Happy to be part of this community! 

I'm Martina, head of marketing and communication in Balance spa (Milan, Italy) and we are part of pledge1% since 2020.

As Balance, we think that companies have a responsibility to operate in an ethical and socially responsible manner. This includes not only complying with legal regulations, but also taking into account the impact of their operations on society and the environment. By engaging in socially responsible practices, companies can improve their reputation and relationships with stakeholders, including customers, employees, and the communities in which they operate. Additionally, investing in social and environmental initiatives can lead to long-term financial benefits by reducing costs, increasing efficiency and creating new revenue streams.

Companies that have strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs can enjoy improved employee satisfaction, enhanced brand image and increased loyalty from consumers and investors. Furthermore, having a CSR reputation can open opportunities for the company with more stakeholder participation, including governments and consumers.

In today's business landscape, where the public is increasingly interested in the ways companies affect society and the planet, CSR is crucial for companies to demonstrate their commitment to ethical and sustainable business practices.

We have our employees personally actives in many ways and as Balance we partner with social envolved companies in Italy, such as Valore D, Medici senza Frontiere and many public schools where we donate useful  material every year.

It's great to be here & meet you all!

Have a nice day,

Martina

[InesGarcia]

Big welcome Steven! Here here another Salesforcecian. If you need any help to evolve your Pledge beyond time commitment I'm right here, 

As Circular Economy professional & Biomimicry Practitioner fills me with curiosity about where our niche and industry will evolve to. 

Anyways, big welcome Pledge peer and shout if any questions

Ines Garcia
Author amazon.com/author/inesgarcia

[stevenfouracre]

Hi All

Im Steve, over 12 years in Salesforce development, leading teams in a number of FTSE 100 multinationals spanning multiple time zones. My company are experts in building both products on the Appexchange and implementations for end users. We own and have developed a number of innovative products that can greatly improve the efficiency of your development teams. We are offering our products free of charge on an unlimited time basis to charities and non-for-profits. If you have difficulty developing your platform to quality and efficiently and often have bugs or hit governor limits our product which we will provide for free to charities and non-for-profits. For more details please contact me sfouracre@selfevolvingsoftware.com

Steve

[Ejolle]

We are located in Cameroon, central region,precisely in the tropical
rainforest of south west ,Cameroon.
Thank you

[InesGarcia]

Big welcome Ejolle!

Where abouts in the world do you operate? a biomimicrist colleague just prelaunched this yesterday https://www.kokoxkali.co/ I thought may be some synergies there.

[Ejolle]

Hello pledge 1 community, my name is  Ejolle Lovert.  we are engage social entrepreneursship or nonprofit business  . Here, our aims is  to ensure  an equitable inclusive regenerative indigenous people people  community with resilience forest ecosystems in sustainability.  we create  awareness  and  empower indigenous people and  rural women. Our aims  directed  toward creating or building a sound and susustainable forest ecosystem and  environment  by involve  and  defending indigenous people  right  to landscape.  our activities  includes tree planting,climate and  sustainability  awareness,  sustainable agriculture,  smart agroforestry,   waste recycling,  renewable energy,  clean water and sanitation,  community businesses and startups, community development programs

[Ingrid_IndexEng]

That sounds really great Anna. That is really meaningful giving and will be much appreciated by emerging artists and designers.

[InesGarcia]

Big welcome Anna, I quickly jumped to your site and I must admit is a thought industry but this entry definitely showcases that you are trying! annafinejewellery.co.uk/ethical-policy 

As Circular Economy professional & Biomimicry Practitioner fills me with curiosity about where the industry will evolve to. 

Anyways, big welcome Pledge peer and shout if any questions

[AFJ]

Hi. I’m Anna, an ethical goldsmith in the UK and I’ve just joined pledge 1%. 
I’m currently pledging time to help other emerging artists and designers in my local community start on their creative journey. 
I also hope to soon be able to pledge some funds to some great charities. 

[MangalaMartinus]

Thanks for sharing Menokela. Sad to hear about your brother and first patient, but it's inspiring to hear that you used that suffering to motivate you to create SonoCare Healthcare. An amazing journey!

[Revenboer]

Hi Rose,

A great discovery for Cobra is the pledge 1% community. At the beginning of the year, we joined a local organisation that helps the community of our municipality to fight poverty, but also to increase well-being. Every day at the office and behind your PC gives you too limited a view of the world where people at the bottom of the social ladder have a hard time.

Cobra does not pursue profit maximisation and finds happiness most important, and time is scarce for this. That is why we spent 1% of all our hours last year on VTO. Thank you for the beautiful playbook that has been made.

Hope to share a lot of succes story. Regards Vincent Revenboer - CEO - Cobra CRM 

[InesGarcia]

Big welcome Menokela!

A truly purposeful organisation.

Reading kept in the back of my mind this: https://biomimicry.org/inspired-by-the-water-bear/ worth building connections with both organisations as can be a great boost not only in manufacturing but also distribution. 

[Menokela]

Rose,

Really excited to be here at Pledge 1% and how the community here evolves and helps one another to have a greater impact.

As a child I watched my brother, die when my parents could note afford to travel to city hospitals and there was no doctor at the local hospital to save his life. Years later, I lost my first patient in professional practice who dies because she never had any routine pregnancy care or  tests throughout her pregnancy because she could not afford one until it was too late. She was brought to the hospital in an emergency and died before we could offer any help.

Till date, hundreds still die from avoidable health conditions for same reasons, accessibility and costs. The legacy of these deaths inspired me to find a solution to this gap in healthcare delivery. which is one of the major problem in Nigeria and the major sub-Saharan Africa especially among low and middle income populations.

Today, I'm the founder and CEO at SonoCare Healthcare, Inc., a health technology company fostering equitable access to quality and socially inclusive healthcare for  underserved and unserved groups in across rural and urban boundaries. I started out as a mobile diagnostics solution, driving to rural villages across Nigeria with portable equipment to deliver free pregnancy screenings for indigent pregnant women and girls who ordinarily would not be able to afford them.  To scale the impact, we opened our hospital where we refer at-risk patients for specialized care at subsidized costs. 

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a new addition to SonoCare as we developed our new telemedicine platform that connects patients instantly to medical care care both online and offline. Our telemedicine mobile app connects patients instantly to doctors and nurses as well as at-home lab testing, drug deliveries and emergency ambulance response through our partnerships with local healthcare providers and professionals.

With SonoCare, we are driving change and transforming  healthcare delivery for under-served and previously excluded groups in hard-to-reach populations, improving healthcare outcomes and creating job opportunities for unemployed and under-employed young people.

Feel free to reach me out and we can explore opportunities to work together.

[Menokela]

Hi Tom, great reading your intro. What the context and geographical extent of your support? I'm into health-tech in Nigeria

[melissablee]

So great to "meet" you Max - wonderful to have you in the Community. I loved hearing more about your work with the Yellow Wiggle. Can't wait for an update on your giving journey. Congrats.

[InesGarcia]

Big welcome Diana, another Salesforceian right here 🙂

Have a good browse in the community tons of tools and ideas, we all can make a difference in everything we do.

[dianalynch]

I just joined a week ago and am excited to be here! I've wanted to join for a while but wasn't exactly sure if I could if I wasn't an organization. Well I started my consulting firm last year and as a Salesforce Partner I knew it was the right time. I can't wait to serve nonprofits with Salesforce support!

I worked for a nonprofit back in 2012 and loved it and learned a lot! I continued to volunteer here and there offering support with Salesforce or doing food drives through different organizations I worked with. Getting out to events is a challenge for me so I'm excited to offer my skills through technology! I've been working in the Salesforce ecosystem since 2007 and hope to use my skills to help others.

[jjmcandyman]

Hello.

My name is Jaison Machanickal. I am the Customer Service Associate at Addteq. I attended my first Pledge 1% event last week on behalf of my company. It was an awaking to a desire to take more affirmative giving back to the community. I look forward to applying what I learned from the event for our employer and for myself. Looking forward to tuning into the community for assistance. 

[Chris_Apple]

Welcome to the P1 Community, Steven.  It looks like you are very active in social impact.  We'd love to have you share more about any of the efforts you reference within our member stories blog!