Expanding Our Reach, Building Our Communities

By Natalia Solovyova - June 2, 2021

Customertimes has been a long-time supporter of global charity initiatives. We’ve traveled to the Philippines with the Salesforce Lightforce Project to bring solar light to communities with little or no access to electricity and joined the Pledge 1% initiative, which encourages partner companies to commit 1% of their product, time, and resources to philanthropic efforts.  

But in 2020, we also began to participate in ongoing charitable activities in the communities we are part of. Many of these activities were recommended to us by our own team members who live in these areas, and since we believe that vibrant communities are essential to our success, we found a way to get involved.  

We put together a short video highlighting some of our efforts. Take a minute to watch it, and then read on for a look at some of our new and ongoing projects.  

France 

In France, we support Paus’autisme (Stop Autism), a new organization that helps the families of children with autism spectrum disorders by providing permanent tutors/helpers.  

Senegal, Kenya, Philippines, Brazil 

In these countries, we’ve partnered with the Salesforce Lightforce project to install 1,200 streetlamps in places with limited infrastructure.  

Chief Customer Officer Jim Goldfinger was part of our 2019 Lightforce trip to the Philippines, and he shares his experience in a short video here:   

Customertimes Chief Customer Officer Travels to the Philippines to support Lightforce 

United States & Canada 

In the US, we partner with PepUp Tech, an organization that gives motivated, underserved students the training and mentorship they need to launch careers in the tech space. We fund the full-time salary for a Director of Workforce Development, and our team provides ongoing mentorship and training for PepUp students and graduates.  

Read more about our involvement:   

Giving Back is in our DNA – LinkedIn 

PepUp Tech Announces Partnership with Customertimes 

Customertimes Chief Customer Officer Joins PepUp Tech Board 

We also support the Pennsylvania Innocence Project: 

Customertimes Announces Support for the Pennsylvania Innocence Project 

Belarus 

The Minsk football club, “Slavyanin,” is known for giving back to their community, so when they were left without a sponsor this year, we stepped in to cover field rental, equipment. The coaches of the club care for children in need and regularly travel to orphanages to play with the kids there. This spring, the coaches were invited to SOS village, a place that helps orphans by placing children in family houses, and we were able to sponsor their trip.  

At the request of our Belarussian team, we began to support Krasnaya Sloboda, a home that provides neurological care. We donated funds to build an elevator, which is critical for people with disabilities living on high floors. Many of them had not been outside in over a year, so we were thrilled to be able to meet a need that has such an impact on quality of life.  

We also continued our long-standing support for “Vkliucheniye” (“Inclusion”) to help parents of children with special needs. Many of these parents lack a proper support system and are forced to consider placing their children in an orphanage.  

To help, we built an online platform that serves as a central hub for resources on these disabilities, including links to government materials, medical information, and school programs, along with a forum for parents and caretakers to connect with each other. We hope that by making these resources accessible, they’ll have the support they need to care for their children at home.  

Ukraine 

Konstantine Perederiy, VP of Sales at CT, encouraged us to get involved with a new initiative, an educational project called “IT Academy” in Ukraine. He personally supports this program and serves as an instructor at their summer camp, so we matched his contribution and added IT Academy to our list of projects.  

This program trains kids for careers in IT, so at the end of the year, we congratulated the students for a job well done by donating bicycles, skateboards, and table tennis so they can relax in between classes.  

We are also continuing our support for “Seeing with Your Heart,” a socialization and education program for children with special needs, “Kosmotabir,” a children’s camp, and “City of Goodness,” which supports women with children who have been the victims of domestic violence. We are currently sponsoring the construction of a shelter for their residents.  

Photo credit – Bachyty Sercem

Russia 

In Russia, we partner with the Orenburg Regional Orphanage. We provided a foosball table, activity boards, and a radio along with new clothes, shoes, backpacks, and bed linens for the kids because we understand how nice it is to have something that’s just “yours.” 

We are also sponsoring renovations to their facility to include a carpentry workshop and art studio so the kids have a chance to work with their hands. 

One of our favorite projects was the New Year’s Gift program at the Kirsanovka Orphanage because we had a chance to play Santa Claus. We got wish lists from the kids, invited CT team members to join us, and gathered 450,000 rubles from the team and our charity fund. The CT Russia team used the money to buy toys and sweets for the kids and gifts for the orphanage staff.   

To learn more about our charity work in Eastern Europe (Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia), read this short post:  

Customertimes Cares: Helping Our Communities in Eastern Europe 

We are proud of our team for embracing these efforts, and we look forward to adding new initiatives and expanding our reach in the coming months.