This story was submitted as part of the #Pledge1Gives GivingTuesday campaign, which celebrates the many ways our member companies are having an impact around the world.
By Hannah Thompson, Marketing Communications, Cyber Group
In September, Cyber Group was involved in two panel events relating to community impact. We hosted a discussion on the importance of “Giving Back to the Community,” and we led a session during DFW*ATW’s Executive Leadership Forum asking young people, “What about a Career in STEM?”. We also matched donations made to DFW*ATW.
Cyber Group has given me the opportunity to be involved with so many initiatives to give back to the Dallas community and marvel at how our India team gives back to their community.
Giving Back to the Community Panel
Our “Giving Back to the Community” panel featured Sarah Beeks Humphrey from Communities Foundation of Texas, Erica Yaeger from North Texas Food Bank, and Marilyn Kibler-Colon from DFW*ATW and was moderated by Cyber Group’s John Humphrey. We discussed the importance of giving back, and it was a great discussion overall. In hearing our panelists speak and then reviewing the recording from this event, I’ve been continuously inspired by our panelists. Some of my favorite quotes that I compiled for our key insights summary were the ones where our panelists of three different backgrounds, representing three various nonprofits, just outright praised each other’s work.
Erica from North Texas Food Bank pointed out how Marilyn and the DFW*ATW team’s work comes back to help other nonprofits. She explained how creating avenues for more women to get excited about STEM and pursue a thriving career path in those industries not only keeps them from being food insecure and needing to lean on the food bank’s services, but it also helps their future families become financially stable and in a position where they can help others someday. That really struck me. There are so many awesome nonprofits tackling important issues, and many of these causes are intertwined in one way or another. A win for one is often a win for all when it comes to bettering our community.
Another part of the discussion that really stuck with me was the conversation around the benefits that companies see when they commit to a formal social responsibility program. In this time, our panelists continuously came back to the benefit of increased employee engagement.
There have been several studies on the link between volunteerism and employees’ perceptions of positive corporate culture – especially in the millennial workforce. Deloitte’s study on this matter found that ”Millennials who frequently participate in their company’s volunteer activities are twice as likely to rate their corporate culture as very positive.”
Giving is so important, but so is building that foundation of community awareness and giving the community a platform to hear the stories behind nonprofits that may not be as well known.
Our Giving Back to the Community event was indeed one of my favorites; there’s something for everyone to learn from these inspiring leaders. We are so excited to be matching donations to DFW*ATW and spreading awareness about the importance of giving back.
