Connection, Commitment and Community - Reflecting on 4,000 Acts of Kindness

A few weeks ago, I got to spend a day at The Carver as part of 4,000 Acts of Kindness Week. The organization’s mission is to equip all learners for global competitiveness by leading strategic partnerships with schools and communities that advance excellence and growth opportunities. My team and I met with their leadership team to discuss marketing and fundraising strategy, and we also got to meet with students to discuss careers in technology and marketing. I’d like to think that the day was beneficial to the folks at The Carver, but I know the impact it had on me and my team.

Reconnecting with something bigger

A moment like this is reinvigorating and reminds me why I get excited about what I do. It also helps to reconnect me with something bigger than my work. It’s a sentiment that was shared by my colleagues who joined me that day. And that’s really at the heart of February’s 4,000 Acts of Kindness: a weeklong initiative started by my organization, North America Applications, in partnership with Oracle Social Impact and Oracle Volunteering, that focuses on making a difference.

It was incredible hearing the stories from employees in my organization who participated throughout the week. As Larry Duhon put it when he reflected on his work with the Atlanta Community Food Bank, “Wow! What a difference a day makes when you connect passion on a larger scale: 30 pallets and 26,820 pounds of food sorted to provide 22,359 meals to people in Atlanta.” Cheryl Floyd talked about the impact her volunteerism with the Boston Rescue Mission had, not just on the community, but on her co-workers as well. “How do you measure success?” Cheryl said, “By the number of smiling faces! What a pleasure it was to lead this project, meet so many colleagues and support our community.”

A diverse set of causes reflecting the diversity of our team

There were too many of these sorts of stories to discuss in detail. However, it struck me how diverse and far-reaching so many of the Oracle Volunteering projects were. There were virtual projects, such as Oracle Volunteers across North America creating hundreds of hand-made, inspirational, and personalized cards to go inside care kits for children in need. There were in-person events, such as a beach clean-up in San Francisco and a walk to end homelessness in Boston. Other Oracle Volunteers knitted for hospitals in Michigan and hospices in Mississauga. Still others organized food drives around the world, from Bucharest, Romania to Bengaluru, India. I’m incredibly proud of this team for bringing these acts of kindness to life.

While there were too many acts of kindness to mention here, there weren’t too many to count. In looking at the impact achieved, we were aiming for 4,000 acts of kindness – roughly one act for each member of our North America Applications team. We had nearly 80,000 of them across 46 cities in four countries!

I’m also grateful for our partners’ engagement throughout the week. Fifteen of them, ranging from large global professional services firms to highly specialized niche systems integrators, took part in 4,000 Acts of Kindness. Many of them reached out directly to me or members of my team to express how grateful they were to be a part of the program and describe the impact it’s had on those who participated.

Technology for good: igniting employees' passion

The way that the week came together was really phenomenal, and it happened through the hard work and dedication of a very talented team within my organization responsible for driving employee engagement. As many of our customers look to engage their own employees, they’re leveraging technology such as Oracle My Volunteering – a module within our Human Capital Management (HCM) solution – to create and manage projects easily, connecting their people to causes that matter to them. As employees respond to different volunteering opportunities, they get a chance to meet new co-workers and build a larger internal network.

Again, it was great to be part of an initiative that has had such a positive impact on my team members, and the causes that matter most to them. And, we’re just getting started. The Oracle Volunteering program operates nonstop and runs three global initiatives annually. In March and April, we Focus on the Environment, as employees team up with environmental nonprofits to take action for a healthy planet. In August and September, our employees Focus on Education, supporting students, schools, and education-oriented nonprofits. Then in November and December, with a Focus on Community, employees share their time and resources to help those in need.

Learn more about how Oracle and our employees are striving to make the world a better place with the Oracle Volunteering program.