Symantec’s Volunteer of the Quarter initiative highlights and rewards those employees who dedicate their time and talents to those in need. We have a long and proud history of encouraging our employees to volunteer. While the driving force of our efforts is largely altruistic, there is even more to volunteering than giving back to our communities. Volunteering makes our company a better place to work, so employees are helping both Symantec and the organizations they volunteer for.
This quarter, we recognize Jimena De Uria, APJ Channel Marketing Manager at the Sydney, Australia office for her volunteer efforts with Life Changing Experiences Foundation (LCE) an organization that supports the SISTER2sister program, which is a mentoring program for disadvantaged teenage girls. Uria also leads the Symantec Community Relations and volunteering activities in Australia. The $1,000 USD Symantec VoQ grant will be donated to LCE to help them expand across other cities in Australia.
I have been volunteering since I was a child. When I was younger, my parents and I would volunteer within our community in Venezuela and so giving back became natural for me. I have always found it very rewarding and after working with several nonprofits, I decided to cofound one with a group of friends from my University. Ten years ago we started a charity that was conceived to provide emotional support to kids suffering with cancer and then expanded its activities to support kids, teenagers and elderly in need. It is called Fundación Regalando Sonrisas, which in Spanish means Giving Smiles Foundation.
More recently in Australia, I have been work closely with an organization called Life Changing Experiences (LCE). Symantec has supported the LCE organization for over 5 years now and I first found out about them when their founder was invited to share her story and the organization’s purpose with us. When I heard about how the SISTER2sister program truly changes the lives of dozens of teenage girls every year, I wanted to contribute to their mission.
SISTER2sister is a yearlong mentorship program designed to empower at-risk teenage girls. As part of the SISTER2sister program, I became a “Big Sister” to one of the girls. This mentorship program requires weekly catch-ups with my “Little Sister” as well as monthly outings with her and with the other members in the program. Throughout the year, there are events such as trainings and bootcamps that teach everything from goal setting to self-defense. As a volunteer, I like to be part of on-going projects. When I commit to something, I like to follow through, see the results and celebrate the wins. In addition to LCE’s SISTER2sister program, I also supported a national initiative of LCE, called Step Up for Sisterhood, to bring awareness about abused and neglected teenage girls in Australia, and to raise much needed funds to support the LCE programs.
I’m thrilled that LCE is receiving the $1000 USD VoQ grant! LCE is now running the SISTER2sister program in Melbourne in parallel with the Sydney program. The additional funds will make it possible to extend this program to other cities in Australia. Symantec’s Dollars for Doers program has also been amazing in providing additional support to the organization. They will receive the maximum amount of $1000 USD this year from Dollars for Doers for my volunteering, and recently another colleague has applied to become a Big Sister, so that means more Dollars for Doers for her volunteering hours!
Volunteering is so rewarding and energizing. I’ve had so many memorable experiences: I remember how heartwarming it felt when we took a child with cancer to the ocean for the very first time; and the time when we bought burgers for the kids, and one of them decided to keep half of his to bring it back home for his brother (he obviously got another burger for being such a caring brother!); and I was so thrilled when a student that I had been mentoring was accepted into University. Earlier this year the charity I cofound in Venezuela celebrated its 10 year anniversary. While I no longer am leading the charity, I’m so happy that the people leading it now continue to make it better every day.
Through my volunteering and I’ve met some of the most amazing human beings! These experiences have made me grateful for what I have. They have also helped me develop new skills and leadership opportunities. In Venezuela, leading a charity for 4 years taught me more than my 5-year studies in Electronic Engineering. I learned leadership skills to keep volunteers motivated, to sell the mission of the organization to potential sponsors and collaborators and to maximize our resources. I led a group of 50 people at the charity and it was my responsibility to keep them in tune with the importance of our mission.
If more people realized just how much you gain, I really think more people would spend more time giving back for their own benefit. I plan to show my future children the importance of giving back to their community as I would like volunteering to be natural to them as it was natural to me.
Thank you for this kind recognition and for the opportunity to assign additional funds to the charity.
