Giving Back

Any successful company that does not use some of its resources to give back to the community that has supported it is in negligence of the responsibility that comes with owning and/or running a company. I learned this valuable information from one of the premiere CEO's in the Bay Area. John Chambers of Cisco Systems. Having worked for Cisco creating interactive multimedia, video CDs and web based training and eLearning modules, I was constantly impressed by how much Cisco gives back to the community... and the Cisco leaders do it by example. I got a lot from Cisco, and this is one of the true gems. I tried for the first year of being in the wedding video business to give back, and was unable to find a way to give back that did not involve me giving everything away. This year I had an idea... use eBay! I held an auction on eBay. The auction was for a full wedding video coverage with two cameramen. The trick was that all proceeds of the auction were donated to NetAid to help women in poverty in Cambodia get away from the oppression and abuse and get an education. This was a raving success. In total, we were able to donate 1,800 dollars with the help of Cisco's Matching Contribution plan. Not bad for an idea I was completely unsure would work. Gotta Love eBay! I am assuming because of the amount that was donated they decided that my company and I are worth listening to because we have been invited to an event to discuss ways we can help end world poverty... Realistically, I do not think that in itself is wholly possible, but I do think we can make one heck of a dent.