Leadership Through Giving: How the Americas Partner Organization is giving Back

[ad_1] At Cisco, giving again is greater than a core worth; it’s a approach to lead by constructing connections, deepening empathy, and contributing to one thing larger than your self. Throughout the Americas (North, Central, and South America), and in collaboration with regional worker engagement champions, annually we host our Americas Associate Group (APO) Giving Again Week.

Launched in June 2023, this program brings collectively Cisco Associate Group groups across the Americas to collectively give again and make a distinction. We prolong and amplify our optimistic impression by together with our channel companions within the efforts. One stellar instance of those efforts comes from our staff in Mexico. Learn on to be taught extra.

The Mexico Associate Group Units a Commonplace Inside Cisco’s LATAM area, the Mexico Associate Group is a shining instance relating to neighborhood impression efforts. In mid-2024, the staff, led by challenge supervisor Jennifer Ortiz, collaborated with our enterprise companions Connext and Evox to create actual impression for La Cana, a social enterprise that helps incarcerated girls and people transitioning again into society.

Why La Cana? Jennifer explains, “We needed to accomplice with a company the place our help can be significant. In Mexico, my residence nation, the subject of ladies in jail is considerably taboo, and organizations that assist incarcerated girls are likely to get missed. With probably much less visibility than different forms of organizations, we felt that La Cana might significantly profit from our volunteerism and assist.”

In flip, 30 volunteers—18 from our companions and 12 from the LATAM Mexico Associate Group—got down to ship significant change amongst La Cana’s shoppers by three impactful initiatives.

Supporting Girls in Chalco Jail On Could 10, 2024 (Mom’s Day in Mexico), our volunteers visited 75 girls at Chalco girls’s jail, bringing hygiene kits and—equally (if no more) necessary—moments of connection and dignity. The staff 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 incredible lesson in empathy and perspective. We didn’t see them for his or her alleged crimes, however as fellow people. It was a strong studying second for me.”

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-474550 alignleft" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/Header-and-content-image-Volunteers-in-Garden.jpeg" alt="" width="242" height="323" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/Header-and-content-image-Volunteers-in-Garden-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/M72qVi4O-Header-and-content-image-Volunteers-in-Garden-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/Header-and-content-image-Volunteers-in-Garden.jpeg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px"/>Jennifer additionally shared how fantastic it was to deliver happiness to the ladies. “Despite the fact that we weren’t household, these girls had been extraordinarily grateful to have us as guests. You could possibly 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 girls don’t have household to return to or a spot to remain, as they're usually 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 cushty place for the residents. Collectively, they:

Established a neighborhood backyard and donated seeds to assist long-term meals cultivation. Renovated a number of areas throughout the constructing to create welcoming, useful areas. Donated non-perishable provides to help in briefly housing 20 girls as they transition again into society.

Enabling Financial Independence <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-474552 alignright" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/Content-image-Woman-Shopping.jpeg" alt="" width="285" height="380" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/Content-image-Woman-Shopping-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/gzJjXGAf-Content-image-Woman-Shopping-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/blogs-images-new/ciscoblogs/1/2025/06/Content-image-Woman-Shopping.jpeg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 285px) 100vw, 285px"/>One other facet of La Cana’s intervention program is to deliver productive actions and vocational coaching to prisons. This allows inmates to accumulate abilities and instruments to assist them enhance their lives throughout their keep in jail, present an earnings for his or her households, and put together them for all times exterior of jail. One sort of abilities coaching consists of 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 workplaces 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 essential initiatives is a testomony to the facility 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 speedy impression:

For the neighborhood: Girls in susceptible conditions obtained assets, assist, and alternatives to regain their dignity and independence. For our companions: Connext and Evox strengthened their social impression methods, reinforcing their dedication to company accountability. For our workers: Volunteers skilled a profound sense of function and success, realizing their efforts immediately 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 taking part in initiatives like APO Giving Again Week: Giving is a type of management. Let’s proceed to guide with function and create a brighter future, one neighborhood at a time.

Has your group participated in APO Giving Again Week? In that case, do inform us in regards to the impression you’ve made along with your companions and in your neighborhood.