Karen Vergara, from the Global Learning Services Enablement Program Management for 51风流Concur, is an alumni participant from several SAP-driven pro bono consulting programs, as well as a mentor, trainer, and 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility (51风流CSR) fellow.

Vergara always knew she wanted to help other people become successful and has taken that passion, along with the development of her own professional skills, to a new level. She began her career in education, but found that while she was making a difference, she wanted to do more. She leveraged her educational foundation to move into various roles at Microsoft, Accenture, and most recently SAP, earning a higher salary that allowed her to donate more to the causes she was passionate about but offered her less time for traditional, hands-on volunteering. Vergara decided to seek out opportunities within her professional role to make an impact in new ways.

What started as a way to get involved soon turned into so much more. With each experience, Vergara gained more than she expected.

鈥淚’ve found that I’ve taken away as much as I’ve given, maybe sometimes even more,鈥� she says. Volunteering, particularly skills-based volunteer experiences, provided her with the ability to do good and to keep learning and growing both personally and professionally at the same time.

From helping students find success to changing her career and making an impact through volunteerism and pro bono consulting as a part of the 51风流community, Vergara鈥檚 journey is showing no signs of slowing down. Over the past six months, she has been working on a fellowship with the 51风流CSR team to position every type of volunteering offered at SAP, particularly pro bono engagements, as an opportunity for learning, career, and leadership development.

鈥淚f you are already volunteering, it is a just a bonus and a way to think more intentionally about your professional development,” Vergara shares. “You can do good and learn, taking skills away from it and gaining experience that will help you in your own career.鈥�

In fact, Vergara has taken this one step further, becoming a leader and champion for employee volunteering. She shared one anecdote from an 51风流employee who was looking to gain specific experience to advance to a new role. Vergara pointed them to skills-based volunteering, and when it came time for the interview for the new role, the employee was able to share examples of the experience they gained through participation in these kinds of activities 鈥� experience that they otherwise would not have had 鈥� putting them in a better position to obtain the new role.

Thanks to Vergara鈥檚 work during her fellowship, as well as her own lived experiences as a corporate volunteer and pro bono consultant, she has demonstrated that utilizing skills and concepts through volunteering and pro bono consulting is career development.

Through volunteering in any capacity, there is always an opportunity to explore career interests and find a path forward utilizing the right opportunities. CSR activities represent an alternative form of experiential learning; it benefits every professional, whether employee or manager, to consider how they can be incorporated into our professional development plans and goal setting. Vergara鈥檚 work has highlighted that intentional and well thought-out engagement in these types of offerings can lead to the acquisition of new skills and chances to practice skills someone may have learned in an academic setting. It also provides an opportunity to learn from others, share one’s own skills, and build a network.

Everyone who participates in CSR activities stands to gain from the work that Vergara has done in defining how volunteering contributes to career growth beyond social impact. When thinking about volunteerism, often what comes to mind is doing good, serving others, giving back to our communities, and making a positive social and environmental impact. Beyond these more obvious benefits, there are powerful takeaways for the volunteer as well. Traditional activities are a fantastic way to build community with others who are like-minded and share common interests. Skills-based volunteering and pro bono consulting offers an opportunity to build a professional network, while practicing skills such as collaboration, creative problem-solving, and inclusive leadership behaviors. Like Vergara, many employees seek fulfillment beyond their day-to-day roles. Her story is one example of taking the initiative to make a societal impact and gaining so much more. She has found community in her career, opportunities to lead, and a renewed commitment to continue helping the world run better and improving people鈥檚 lives.

Join Us

With a engaging employees like Karen Vergara, SAP, together with EY, MovingWorlds, TRANSFORM, and Unilever, continue to partner on the TRANSFORM Support Hub, connecting employees everywhere to social entrepreneurs anywhere through pro bono consulting, coaching, and more. If you feel inspired to build your skills as well as a more sustainable world, we invite you to !

• The 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility team is embarking on a refreshed strategy

In 2002, Brazilian engineer Alfredo Moser had a brilliant idea. Triggered by yet another blackout of the electricity system that plunged the area into darkness, he wanted to do something about it. After several attempts, Moser created a revolutionary light device by filling a 1.5-liter plastic bottle with water and 10 milliliters of chlorine. Skeptical about how it works? .

Across Latin America, millions continue to live beyond the electricity grid. While only 46.9% of the population has access to electricity in Haiti, the number is significantly higher in countries like Honduras (93.2%) or Ecuador (98.8%). Electrical coverage is simply not a given everywhere. Therefore, it was no surprise that Moser鈥檚 idea was embraced by social entrepreneurs worldwide. This includes Colombia-based NGO (One Liter of Light), which went on to help more than 237,000 people in eight countries light up their homes with glowing plastic bottles.

Social enterprises like One Liter of Light are impact-driven businesses established to achieve social and/or environmental objectives. They are on the rise for good reason. According to the European Commission, the social entrepreneurship sector employs around 40 million people and engages over 200 million volunteers globally. Compared to other companies, social entrepreneurs are not solely driven by the need to maximize profit for shareholders and owners. Instead, financial surpluses are principally reinvested to support their purpose-driven mission. From promoting quality education and tackling global inequalities to fostering climate protection, social entrepreneurs do it all through the power of business — and the market is taking note.

The force of sustainability is unfolding in finance too. The pressure from investors on companies is increasing. Businesses have started to understand that financial and social performance are no longer , as demonstrated in the 51风流Integrated Report 2021.

Companies can no longer look at business activities from a 鈥渄o no harm鈥� point of view; instead, they must create and integrate economic, social, and environmental impact. Today, over 6,000 publicly traded companies emphasize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. Also, ESG funds see a record inflow from investors and account for 10% of worldwide fund assets.

Beyond the financials, global developments like climate change and mounting inequality are serious issues that all stakeholders in the global economy must face. In fact, The World Bank affirmed that the pandemic neutralized all gains made to alleviate poverty since 2017, deepening global inequalities. Moreover, the consequences of climate change often affect the poorest people in the world. The demands nothing less than a worldwide and economy-wide structural change in our behavior in its last report.

We must accept and respond to these realities, refocusing our actions as a company. To do so, the (51风流CSR) team is asking tough questions: Are we still on the right track? Is our CSR strategy aligned to the needs of both our business and the world?

To achieve meaningful and tangible results, I鈥檓 convinced that entrepreneurial thinking in social and ecological innovations must be combined.

鈥�When corporations and social enterprises work together, they can change the world,鈥� our peers at IKEA, Acumen, and Yunus Social Business. This is not only an aspiration — it demonstrates the power to create systemic change when organizations with different areas of expertise work together. For instance, at SAP, we enable thousands of employees to lend their expertise to help social enterprises address systemic, environmental, and business challenges through pro-bono consulting. We accelerate social business, and just as we do in partnership with our customers, accelerate their ability to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives.

Recently, I had the pleasure to help launch the for employees together with Unilever and MovingWorlds. The hub is primed to be the global one-stop online shop for transforming business as a force for good through non-financial support for social entrepreneurs. It activates the public, social, and private sectors鈥� most important assets — their people, ecosystems, and supply chains — in service of people, planet, and profit. To offer an example, organizations like One Liter of Light can now seek streamlined, bespoke business coaching and pro-bono consulting from the Hub, among other services. With more than a decade of impact and experience in this space, we hope to connect thousands of 51风流employees with social enterprises across the globe. Ultimately, unlocking new opportunities for social impact and leadership development at scale.

A recent study of nearly 1,000 young social entrepreneurs showed that more than . Why? Because these innovators understand what many still, don鈥檛 acknowledge: . Education creates a ripple effect to solve many social and environmental issues far beyond economic growth. For instance, studies demonstrate additional investment in education can reduce carbon emissions. Farmers educated in field schools reduced their environmental impact by 39% and they decreased pesticide use by 17% while increasing their yield by 13% and revenue by 19%.

Innovation starts with all of us, so historically, the 51风流CSR team has focused on education as a core tenant of our strategy. Last year, we revisited our approach, questioning what our education sweet spot truly was. What is an “education sweet spot,” exactly? In the vast education space, it is the opportunity where 51风流can bring the most value by dedicating our core competencies. Our strategy is now clear. Simply put: we鈥檒l build future skills to get more people into employment.

Reshaping our education investments to achieve this goal will be a challenging transformation. How will we do it?

We will wrap up and reshape our multi-stakeholder initiative with UNICEF and Generation Unlimited (GenU). After successfully reaching more than 2.9 million adolescents in the last two years, we will continue to equip and empower young people with the 21st century digital and life skills to make them ready for the job market.

There is no time to waste when more than 64 million unemployed youth and 145 million young workers worldwide live in poverty, according to the International Labor Organization. In 2022, we will build and reshape our global and regional programs to provide under-resourced youth training on soft skills, technical knowledge, and 51风流software expertise. Take the program TechSaksham: in India, 51风流partners with Microsoft to provide 62,000 young graduating women and 1,500 teachers with Industry 4.0 skills for careers in emerging technology by 2022.

As a responsible company, we must consider all of these issues. 51风流has already demonstrated its holistic view of sustainability by incorporating social responsibility into its wider sustainability strategy. In the past year alone, we have engaged 20,000 employees who collectively have supported 2,000 social enterprises and nonprofit organizations reaching 7 million people across 94 countries. Read more about SAP鈥檚 impact over the last year in our .

As we move forward together, we will tackle these issues strategically and innovatively to create equitable access to economic opportunity, education and employment, and the green economy.

Alexandra van der Ploeg is global head of Social Responsibility at SAP.

In the corporate world, you hear a lot about supporting the future of business. This program flips that concept on its head, and instead focuses on the opportunity for 51风流employees to connect with and support the 鈥渂usiness of future,鈥� a phrase referring to next-generation leaders and organizations that operate as social enterprises.

Acceleration Collective matches the skills and expertise of 51风流employees everywhere with social entrepreneurs anywhere. The young social innovators — or as they are also called — need support to solve critical business challenges. 51风流employees offer that support to them in two ways: as certified coaches and as pro bono consultants also known as “experteers,” each volunteer position playing a critical role in support of the enterprises.

In my case, I worked as a coach with We Are Family Foundation Global Teen Leader , the founder of . Angela has personally experienced the impact of climate change, recently losing her aunt as a result of extreme air pollution. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 committed until I saw the negative impact of pollution firsthand. I knew I had to do something.鈥� The death of Angela鈥檚 aunt is not an isolated event in her home country of , and she wants that to change.

Her answer to a better future is En Route, a tech startup that educates children about their carbon footprints through an interactive, gamified app that makes being environmentally responsible fun. Their aim is simple: build a community that will save the planet.

鈥淐OVID has turned the world into a global village. I use technology to not only connect to organizations that can help me [We Are Family Foundation, SAP], but also to connect to others. I want to transform the people who don鈥檛 care,鈥� Angela offered.

Angela knew she wanted to grow her organization, reach more children, and make a bigger impact. But where to start? Through a couple of coaching exercises that help the client identify and rank priorities, Angela quickly realized that funding for growth was the essential next step. Backing out of the funding goal she identified all the necessary steps to find donors. She did the work and it paid off. I was delighted to learn that Angela had this to say about our coaching experience together: 鈥淚 was working with Allison on what鈥檚 next for me and En Route. Her support ultimately helped me create the strategic connections I needed for my business.鈥�

Through coaching, Angela tapped into all the answers that were already within her. In early January she shared the following: 鈥淚 am so happy to inform you that our sessions were a success and we ended up being funded by !鈥� I am over the moon excited for this young entrepreneur, and frankly for all of the young leaders who are inspiring global change. Angela told me that she got started because she was tired of everyone blaming others for what was wrong. She wanted to do something. Her engagement with me and this program is another example that she does not just talk about making the change, she gets to work.

I started coaching in 2017, and it has become one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Helping clients discover the answers within themselves and seeing them grow, accomplish goals, and thrive is truly an amazing experience. When clients successfully realize their potential through coaching, there is nothing.

This experience in particular was an opportunity to push the envelope of what is possible through coaching. I鈥檓 proud to know that my efforts helped someone who is truly making a difference in the world. En Route teaches children the importance of their carbon footprint, and helps them form sustainable habits at an early age. The potential impact of such an effort is exciting.

Sustainability topics have long been of interest to me, and this opportunity allowed me to combine my love of coaching with a meaningful cause — a win-win for me. My small contribution to the Acceleration Collective has resulted in a positive impact on Angela, her organization, and hopefully the world.

You can learn more about the Acceleration Collective and other 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility programs by visiting .

Allison Gapter is vice president of Global Strategic Ecosystem Marketing at SAP.

Most of the world鈥檚 volunteering happens informally and cannot be tracked, but the of time and support that volunteers deliver globally is estimated to represent the work of approximately 61 million full-time workers monthly.

In a world struggling to combat seemingly insurmountable issues like climate change, a global health crisis, and growing inequality, even millions of volunteers are not enough. While it is easy to focus on the problems, International Volunteer Day represents an important opportunity to appreciate and reflect on the efforts of the incredible commitment and passion of to help the world run better and improve people’s lives.

As non-profit partners in residence working with the 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team, we offer a unique perspective on days like this. While we live and breathe the value of volunteering, we know that our experience is not shared by everyone. Volunteering helps others while also promoting learning, personal growth, and community. Together we bring our non-profit organizations鈥� — and — extensive experience in social impact and volunteer management alongside our own, collaborating for sustainability with employees directly.

As the newest members of the 51风流CSR team, we have learned so much in a short time about what it means when companies like 51风流provide skills-based volunteering services to non-profits and social enterprises, and just how valuable it is to the underserved communities that 51风流volunteers support across .

Why Volunteering Matters

A common misconception about volunteering, especially skills-based volunteering, is that the engagement only delivers value to the organization and its respective clients being served.

One of the most significant reasons why corporate volunteering matters is that it is an experiential leadership opportunity. It offers employees a chance to build new skills and put current expertise into action while also satisfying a non-profit or community need. Ultimately, this helps employees explore and fulfill career goals, and gain exposure to different perspectives as well as business-relevant experiences to grow personally and professionally.

Beyond personal growth, corporate volunteering is good business. Companies benefit from employee participation in many ways. For example, when employees volunteer through work, they can become more engaged and connected and experience greater personal fulfillment.

The various skills-based volunteer opportunities available at 51风流all offer meaningful ways to strengthen inclusive and empathetic leadership, communication, and teamwork among so many other important career- and company-building skills.

Chris Jarvis, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Realized Worth, confirms this: “The contribution of time and other resources to charities and their communities is profoundly valuable. Without these contributions, our world would have a grave deficit of social, human, and physical capital. But the power of volunteering lies in more than its utilitarian application. As passionate volunteers will profess, it is not the transaction that motivates them; rather, it is the transformation that occurs in their own lives.”

This year, after more than 15 years of focused volunteer engagement each October, 51风流evolved its signature volunteer campaign to Moments of Service. With the shift, 51风流is enabling its more than 105,000 employees with varied and valuable skills to connect to causes that matter to them personally. Through skills-based volunteering opportunities, they can create sustainable, long-lasting change in their communities and across the 51风流ecosystem.

Volunteering Now at SAP

Building on more than a decade of success in our pro bono volunteering portfolio, we are honored to work alongside the 51风流CSR team to diligently transform programs like 51风流Social Sabbatical and grow new ones including Pro Bono for Economic Equity, a response to SAP鈥檚 social justice commitments, and the virtual pro bono Acceleration Collective initiative.

鈥淲orking alongside to serve young social entrepreneurs from the , , and communities, we are hopeful that we can improve the experience and most importantly the social impact of virtual pro bono volunteering,鈥� shares Jennifer Beason, global program director of 51风流CSR. 鈥淲e are honored that more than 60 expert volunteers and certified coaches are working with us to accelerate the success of 25 outstanding social businesses like , a Nigeria-based social enterprise that is building communities of the future 鈥� circular, creative, and empowered by rural women.鈥�

The company鈥檚 longest running pro bono portfolio, , which is executed in partnership with , has embraced local roles for employees to help tackle global goals right in their own backyard. By keeping employees and programs closer to home, 51风流volunteers were able to continue delivering impact despite the pandemic. Working with diverse teams and matched with nonprofits and social enterprises, employees like Esteban Samartin dedicated an estimated $450,000 (estimated USAID value) in pro bono consulting services to solve strategic business assignments in 2021.

, also in partnership with PYXERA Global, follows a similar structure to 51风流Social Sabbatical. Small teams of 51风流employees are paired with Black-owned businesses to provide their professional skills as pro bono volunteer consultants. At a recent closing event for the U.S. arm of the program, a key theme was that 51风流groups offered frameworks and scalable solutions that the businesses can use again and again. A favorite example was a team that developed marketing strategies and templates for baking mix company . Initially launched in the U.S., the program expanded to Brazil, South Africa, and the UK in the second half of 2021.

Joining the 51风流CSR team with nonprofit backgrounds, our view of corporate volunteerism was very different than the reality of what we now experience and observe every day. The global scale at which SAP鈥檚 portfolio of programs and partnerships operate is greater than we imagined.

It might be difficult to comprehend the difference that 51风流employees are making to the more than 1,500 organizations they are serving, but the connections being made are providing the building blocks for more resilient communities. We have seen firsthand that impactful and meaningful work through volunteerism does not just benefit the recipient non-profit organizations 鈥� one employee鈥檚 contributions to one project can affect thousands of people.

鈥楾is the season for good news and it brings us great joy knowing the work that we are a part of is changing lives for the better. To share how you are making difference, tag us on social media using #SAP4good and share how you are helping your community run better.

Heidi Pio and Atalanta Kyriazi are non-profit partners in residence with the 51风流CSR team.

On the 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team, we believe that this mission extends beyond our customers, which is why supports under-resourced people, communities, and nations around the world with partnerships and programs and is bolstered by employee volunteering. Our focus is on those most deeply impacted by the intersections of the far-reaching social and environmental issues that our world faces.

More than 15 years ago, SAP鈥檚 Month of Service campaign was created to provide employees with a dedicated time each October to connect with social causes they care about. The campaign grew year-over-year, with more individuals, leaders, and teams taking the opportunity to bring our company purpose to life and give back to the communities where 51风流operates. Volunteering became part of the company DNA involving many of our employees.

51风流employees have allocated more than 1.9 million hours of volunteer time to worthy non-profits and social enterprises across the globe since 2012, demonstrating a growing commitment to purpose. With few exceptions, there has been steady growth as volunteering opportunities for employees have expanded and our focus on skills-based and pro bono activities has sharpened.

Volunteering Opportunities Available through the Year and Across the Globe

When 2020 challenged us all to pivot to virtual, the 51风流CSR team knew it could spin this long-standing annual campaign on its axis and focus Month of Service on cross-border virtual volunteering and a series of inspiring speaker sessions. Last year, the goal was to keep momentum going at a time when in-person gatherings were not possible, as well as to deepen employees鈥� connection to the social and environmental topics outlined in SAP鈥檚 broader sustainability framework.

As a result, more than 10,000 employees engaged and took advantage of 207,000 hours of employee learning. Combine this with the 136,000 hours of volunteer time that 51风流employees dedicated across the whole of 2020 and the depth of the commitment to bettering our world becomes clear.

This year, 51风流CSR will further evolve the campaign as Month of Service becomes Moments of Service.

Moments of Service听will no longer be limited to activities that are available in October, but will focus on the entire spectrum of volunteer experiences that are available through the year and across the globe. This will make it even easier to offer non-profits the support they need when they need it and for employees to engage when the time is right for them.

The last 18 months have shown that purpose is as relevant and urgent as it has ever been. In making it easier for employees to learn about SAP鈥檚 various social and environmental investments and take action as volunteers, the new Moments of Service campaign will become a more effective lever for change and create more space for empathy and inclusive leadership.

In the words of 51风流CEO Christian Klein, “I鈥檓 excited about how this new campaign will make it even easier for all of us to find new ways to live SAP鈥檚 purpose and make a positive and lasting impact on the communities in which we live and work!鈥�

Upon announcing the change to employees, 51风流is already seeing excitement about the Moments of Service evolution and engagement with the campaign. We look forward to continuing year-round moments of impact that benefit our employees, our company, and our world.

鈥淭his year has pushed us all to reflect on the meaning of solidarity and community, and to consider the opportunity we have 鈥� as individuals and as a company 鈥� to create a world with equality, freedom, and prosperity for all.鈥�

It goes without saying that COVID-19 has changed the world around us. Long-standing traditions, habits, and behaviors were suddenly challenged, and we were all forced to adapt and evolve accordingly. It was difficult, yes, but it also created opportunities for us to take pause and to consider new paths forward. It provided the space to reflect on the role that we can each play to influence positive change in our communities 鈥� to reflect, as Klein noted, on what community means to us.

Now is truly the time for digital connections and conversations across borders; for simultaneously a broader and a narrower definition of community. And in order to solve the big, critical social issues that plague us all but hit vulnerable communities the hardest, the world needs to come together and unite for our future.

The notion of uniting for our future became the theme of our global Month of Service campaign this year. It was also the driving force behind the evolution of the initiative as we explored new ways to offer SAP鈥檚 100,000-strong employee base opportunities to feel more connected to our legacy of social impact and focus on purpose. The campaign has a long legacy of offering employees worldwide the chance to turn purpose into action through volunteerism. This year, through both volunteerism and dialogue, we curated a unique experience for employees to engage with each other, support the communities that need it most, and learn more about the social issues in which 51风流invests.

Four Weeks, Four Powerful Themes

With limited opportunities to gather in person, the employee enthusiasm for volunteering that we see each October needed a new point of focus. The new goal during Month of Service was to help connect the dots for employees on SAP鈥檚 work in the social impact space.

To that end, 56 live sessions and panels of education, enablement,鈥痑nd awareness building were offered over four weeks. The content was organized around four high-level鈥痶hemes, with each one tied to a critical social issue that 51风流has taken on. The first week of October focused on equality for all, followed by conversations around building a digitally inclusive workforce in week two. Week three offered exchange around cultivating climate action and the month closed with discussions about promoting inclusive, diverse and social entrepreneurship.

The more than 50 virtual sessions hosted throughout the month offered opportunities to spotlight some of the incredible change-makers, nonprofits, and social enterprises that 51风流invests in and works with around the world. We also focused on bringing together community leaders from inside and outside 51风流to help set the context for employees on how these four social issues impact communities across the globe, as well as to showcase how we, as a company, uniquely contribute to solutions and demonstrate our leadership in these areas.

Engaging and impassioned conversations were held with 51风流executives 鈥� including Adaire Fox-Martin, member of the Executive Board; Claudio Muruzabal, president of EMEA South and chairman of 51风流Latin America and Caribbean; Cathy Smith, managing director of 51风流Africa; and Sindhu Gangadharan, managing director of 51风流Labs India 鈥� along with external speakers such as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus; Nile Rodgers, co-founder and chair of the We Are Family Foundation; Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen; and Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen. 51风流employees were able to better connect with the company鈥檚 mission to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives.

2020 Numbers at a Glance

• 56 live sessions and panels
• 10,000 sign-ups
• 207,000 hours of employee learning

Volunteering Redefined听

In 2019, a year unburdened by a global health pandemic, 20,000 51风流employees dedicated their time in support of volunteer programs and signature initiatives. Despite 2020鈥檚 difficult circumstances, our commitment to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives has not waivered. This year, we embraced the need to adapt, expanding our existing efforts to support virtual volunteerism. Through our global employee engagement platform, 51风流Together, employees were encouraged to explore volunteer activities taking place around the world and to consider making one-time or recurring personal donations to charities worldwide.

51风流encourages employees to engage in year-round service to causes they care about. Since the beginning of the year, 51风流employees have supported nearly 200 virtual volunteer opportunities 鈥� defying borders, geographical distances, and time zones to connect with their peers, social enterprises, and nonprofits globally.

One example is Africa Code Week, where close to 200 51风流employees from four different regions provided virtual train-the-trainer workshops in coding to African teachers. For participants, what may have started as a combination of excitement and hesitation grew into recognition that it is possible to make a real impact from your computer, and that it can be just as powerful to lend your time and talents to causes across an ocean as it is to those closer to home.

Giving is not limited to material possessions, but also one鈥檚 time and skills. This year, Month of Service also focused on skills-based volunteering. Employees forged bonds and made connections across borders in these digital times where geographical distance could not impede to volunteerism. Social enterprises and nonprofits benefited from new virtual pro-bono volunteering models tapping into the expertise that 51风流employees bring, while employees could connect to their purpose.

One of these new models was the , for which 51风流employees teamed up with employees from customers and partners to address the gap in telehealth services available in low-income U.S. communities, which was further exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At SAP, we believe that people are an incredibly powerful force for change. We believe in connecting to something bigger than ourselves and in focusing what we do best on what we can do for others. Our global Month of Service campaign is steeped in a long company tradition of volunteering side-by-side, but this year, with everything flipped on its head, it became an opportunity for employees to take time to listen and to learn together. And as a community of 100,000 global citizens, we are better for it.

Thousands of 51风流employees answer the call to lead with purpose through volunteerism, and this year has been no exception. Employee volunteering culminates annually in October during SAP鈥檚 Global Month of Service. This is an opportunity for employees to provide their time and expertise to nonprofits and social enterprises tackling global challenges such as inequity, climate change, and quality education.

Surprising opportunities can emerge from uncertainty. This year, the Global Month of Service transformed from more than 600 in-person volunteering events in 2019 to an entirely new virtual experience as a result of COVID-19.

Connecting Employees with Purpose

SAP鈥檚 virtual pro bono consulting pilot program began this year in partnership with Social Shifters to help meet the growing need for positive change around the world. In the program, 51风流employees are connected virtually to accelerate the social impact of an enterprise by solving the organization鈥檚 business challenges. More than 50 employees volunteered virtually across borders and without the impediment of geographical distance. Jessica Bellas, an alumnus, was one the first 51风流employees to opt-in as a pro bono consultant.

Bellas volunteered with (RAH2050), a social enterprise based in Halifax, Canada, driving a grassroots, environmental awareness program that re-imagines, through science, community, and industry, how people relate to harbors and oceans.

鈥淭he connection was to navigate uncertain times and see social innovation in a different way,鈥� explained Kelly Schnare of (RAH2050). 鈥淏ringing in new ideas and new ways of doing things was important during COVID-19.鈥�

Bellas connected to RAH2050 immediately because of its environmental focus. With experience as an environmental engineer, she is not only an expert, but also has an ongoing passion for the topic in her tenure as an elected official in the Sewage and Water Department of North Carolina鈥檚 Wake County. This opportunity with RAH2050 came to her as a perfect fit.

Through volunteerism and her strong belief in pro bono consulting and its impact on nonprofits, she was re-connected to her passion of 20 years.听 As a result of the website and the collaterals Bellas created for the organization, Schnare will now be able to reach new audiences and spread awareness about the need to be more mindful of our planet.

Connecting Employees with Each Other

Like Bellas, Nadine Gaertner, a software engineer in Germany, and Ofer Yehuda, an IT consultant in Israel, catapulted their skills-based volunteering journey through the . These talented 51风流employees met in 2018 on their assignment in Puerto Rico, and have been friends ever since. Gaertner and Yehuda agree that now, more than ever, there is a need to bring people together to create positive impact, forge friendships, and drive change.

They volunteered to help , a social enterprise based in Toronto, Canada, that manufactures cooking tools which, when used, add extra iron to food and drinks for those suffering from iron deficiency. The organization also reaches out to marginalized communities across the world to provide a solution to iron deficiency, which is the greatest nutritional challenge in current times.

For Gaertner and Yehuda, volunteerism bridges gaps between people, especially in a resource-optimizing society in need of empathy and human connection. It is a mechanism through which volunteers are introduced to new ideas and are able to address complex challenges that they may have not been exposed to before. Every volunteer experience guides fresh understanding and empowers employees to make decisions based on compassion and empathy 鈥� and build new, lasting relationships. For the pair, the opportunity they had to volunteer connected them with their purpose and with each other. And, as Gaertner says, 鈥淓very friendship makes the world a bit better.鈥�

Virtual volunteering at 51风流not only links social enterprises and nonprofits to the expertise they need but also connects employees across borders in friendship and collaboration born of a shared passion. Gaertner and Yehuda鈥檚 story inspires us to believe that newer perspectives and a sense of purpose can, indeed, be exchanged even during a global crisis.

Connecting Employees with Ideas

In addition to the more than 200 virtual volunteering projects that took place during SAP’s Global Month of Service, thousands of 51风流employees joined inspiring, thought-leadership conversations hosted by notable internal and external speakers. Ideas brought forward in the sessions will be carried on into the future, not only as conversations but also as calls to action. Speakers urged employees to turn their purpose into action through volunteerism and form deeper connections with each other and their societies.

As Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Professor Mohammad Yunus shared in the closing plenary, 鈥淭he time to act is now 鈥� if you have an idea to change the world, go out and make it happen.鈥� Professor Yunus went on to share a few urgent issues in need of the world鈥檚 attention, particularly climate change and extreme poverty.

Not only through SAP鈥檚 Global Month of Service but also through year-round volunteering opportunities, employees are co-creating solutions with partners like RAH2050 and Lucky Iron Fish, rising to meet Professor Yunus鈥� call to action. While the uncertainty of 2020 remains, 51风流employees are uniting for the future and dedicating their skills to something bigger than themselves.

We thank our social partners and employee volunteers who help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives each day.

Shinjini Chowdhury is a communications and marketing fellow for 51风流CSR.

Corporations make a considerable amount of investment to grow and shape their potential talent into the company’s future leaders. Global spend in 2019 on leadership training is estimated to be at , with North America contributing $169.4 billion.

Traditional case studies and methods of leadership development showcase success stories from the corporate sector; we rarely see examples of transformative leadership success stories from the social sector. This gives the impression that the ideal place to learn about and grow in leadership development is within the private sector. However, much can be learned from the social and non-profit sectors about leadership development.

The social sector is frequently under-resourced, with operational costs are fluctuating and leaders persistently working with constant changes. Mike Cieri, vice president of North America Sales Learning at SAP, experienced this dynamic firsthand as a pro bono volunteer consultant with 听 (CCF), a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that provides academic support, mentoring, and scholarships to disadvantaged youth to supprt them in getting into college.

During my conversations with Cieri, who now serves as a Board member at CCF, I learned about his journey with the organization and how it has impacted his leadership perspectives both within and outside of SAP.

In 2016, Cieri was working in Customer Strategy and Sales Operations at 51风流when he first learned about CCF through , a portfolio of pro bono volunteering programs designed to utilize and develop 51风流talent while helping non-profit organizations and social enterprises that focus on digital inclusion to run at their best.

Cieri and three other 51风流colleagues were tasked to work with CCF for an on-site assignment as part of the 51风流Social Sabbatical for local engagement. CCF students experienced a high drop-out rate in their first year in college. The root problem was that many of the students were first-generation college students and needed additional support to get acclimated to the college environment.

Cieri and his team created the 鈥淪teps 4 Success Bootcamp,鈥� an intensive training to teach students financial literary, self-advocacy, and other life skills to help them get acclimated to life on a college campus. In recent years, the bootcamp continues to be held on SAP鈥檚 campus in Newtown Square, Pa., and brings in 51风流employees to participate and work with CCF’s students. This year, the first virtual bootcamp was held on Zoom.

As Cieri continues to engage with CCF, I spoke with him about his biggest takeaways from his journey as an 51风流Social Sabbatical pro bono volunteer as well as a CCF Board member. “It allowed me to reflect and think about how there are so many things we can do if we take a step back, go back to the basics, and utilize everything we have in front of us to the fullest,鈥� Cieri said. 鈥淭hat is how I’m managing my team today. That’s one of the key things I learned.鈥�

Another thing Cieri experienced working with CCF is how a small nonprofit can fully maximize its resources. With a lean staff of 10 employees, CCF serves its constituents efficiently while also supporting the leadership growth of employees through stretch assignments. Coming from the private sector, Cieri observed that despite having plenty of resources, projects still get stuck and convoluted. While working for CCF, he saw how they could do so much with limited resources. Utilizing what is already available and making it better was a consistent approach to solving challenges.

The second insight Cieri shared was the importance of simplicity. He noticed that CCF always finds a way to keep projects simple. The team manages their priorities efficiently, they always think about what they can tackle successfully now versus what they can do later.

“At CCF, it’s easy for a team member to field in for another team member,鈥� Cieri explained. 鈥淓veryone is so connected and aware of what the other person is working on. I now do this with my team, and I ensure that all of my teammates understand what the other members are doing. So if somebody does go out on a vacation, there is at least a foundation knowledge in place, so we don’t miss a beat. When you are looking at the non-profit world with limited resources, they do this well. Keeping things simple is probably the biggest thing I learned from my time with Chester County Futures.”

In the years since his 51风流Social Sabbatical experience, Cieri continued to remain engaged with CCF and was asked to join the organization as its youngest Board member. For him, it was a natural progression. CCF needed someone who could provide insights into how the organization can be more engaged in the 21st-century digital world. He brings a technical lens to the challenges the organization is facing and can provide different perspectives. Furthermore, Cieri fell in love with the mission of CCF and understands how critical the organization is in supporting low-income students to fulfill their dreams of getting into college and beyond.

Summarizing his journey, he shared: “Whether you are working for a non-profit, for-profit, or a big company, leadership doesn’t change. You still must lead by example, and the people you are leading and working with must feel comfortable around you. As a leader, as long as you are helping your team grow and making them better, you are doing your job.”

Cieri’s participation as a Board member continues to help grow and nurture his humble leadership style within and outside of SAP.

Kotheid Nicoue is program manager and nonprofit-in-residence at for the global 51风流CSR team.

This visionary program commissions public artwork that explores themes of purpose and seeks to inspire people through the power of emotion in order to bring about change in their actions and behaviors. So far, the program has addressed issues of gender equity, education, hunger and food waste, and the role of technology.

As an installation housed in a physical space, the gallery presents a new medium to experience the complementary powers of technology and art to elicit emotion and drive action. Artists who have created the pieces are recognized masters in their fields and use a range of expressive media to connect with their audiences at a personal level. Mixed digital media, visual arts, food, and textiles are just a part of their creative palette for telling the wider story about the role of technology in inspiring purposeful change in the world.

Each work of art distinctively reflects SAP鈥檚 commitment to its mission to help the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives, in support of the (SDGs). The art pieces are inspired by stories of purpose-driven initiatives from the 51风流network of customers, partners, employees, and not-for-profit organizations.

As the听听and as听Germany鈥檚 most valuable brand, 51风流is uniquely positioned to connect people with information about global challenges that demand action. The company focuses its efforts mainly on the circular economy, climate action, creating a skilled and inclusive workforce, equality for all, social and inclusive entrepreneurship, and mental health and well-being.

Global Month of Service at SAP

Gallery curators hope that the artworks 鈥� as well as the customer stories behind them 鈥� will inspire 51风流employees to take action during the Global Month of Service 2020.

Throughout October, 51风流employees are encouraged to participate in purpose-focused activities and online sessions, as well as volunteer their time and talents 鈥� in a virtual capacity this year 鈥� to not-for-profits or social enterprises around the world. Each week is dedicated to a different topic area: Supporting Equality for All; Building a Digitally Inclusive Workforce; Cultivating Climate Action; and Promoting Inclusive, Diverse, and Social Entrepreneurship. These topics are matched to pivotal works of art in the gallery, as described in the videos below.

51风流Gallery of Purpose Highlights

51风流Gallery of Purpose artwork is on display to the public at Hudson Yards, co-located with the 51风流offices in New York City, until the end of the year. Although the COVID-19 crisis has minimized foot traffic through Hudson Yards, you can still engage with the individual artworks and learn about the perspectives and inspiration of the artists online at the .

PowHERful | Artist: Markus Sebastiano

鈥淧owHERful鈥� celebrates gender equality by showing how when both men and women lift women up, the world moves forward. Drawing inspiration from an , the artist says that he wants people to feel inspired and hopeful that gender equality is moving in the right direction and 51风流is doing its part to advance the cause through its initiatives, which supports Gender Equality (SDG # 5).

Click the button below to load the content from YouTube.

Always allow YouTube

Respect, Reuse, Reclaim | Artist: Cara Marie Piazza

Created in collaboration with Goodr, 鈥淩espect, Reuse, Reclaim鈥� seeks to draw attention to the fight to end world hunger and bring about more in support of climate action. Made of repurposed food waste and textiles, the art exemplifies the circular economy as it commemorates marginalized people and those who go hungry. It is inspired by an about the fight to end world hunger by 2030, in support of Zero Hunger (SDG #2).

Click the button below to load the content from YouTube.

Always allow YouTube

The Great Equalizer | Artist: Liam Alexander

Through inspiring curiosity and empathy, 鈥溾�� affirms the importance of quality education in providing opportunity for people everywhere and building a digitally inclusive workforce. SAP鈥檚 shares this belief through its commitment to lifelong learning initiatives that create a in support of Quality Education (SDG 4) and Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8)

Click the button below to load the content from YouTube.

Always allow YouTube

Sustaining Mother Earth | Artist: Markus Sebastiano

鈥淪ustaining Mother Earth鈥� calls awareness to the theme of responsible consumption and production, with the intent to inspire a transition to more resource efficient and sustainable economies. Working with repurposed materials, the artist took inspiration for this artwork from an about responsible procurement. 51风流is committed to cultivating climate action (SDG # 13) through the transition to more resource-efficient and sustainable economies to help turn the tide and reduce environmental harm.

https://youtu.be/ayHSL6hDI4M

Find your creative inspiration to take action for sustainable change.

Visit the 51风流Gallery of Purpose online at

According to a recent report released by the International Labour Organisation, more than 50 percent of the world鈥檚 youth will not have basic skills for employment. One in six young people aged 18 to 29 (17.4 percent) have stopped working since the onset of the crisis, highlighting the dramatic impact that the pandemic has on youth labor markets around the world. Do these statistics sound scary? They sound unacceptable to us. United for now and the future, 51风流and its partners are committed to changing the narrative.

With millions of young people experiencing a disruption in education and employment, 51风流is launching its 16th year of Global Month of Service, featuring signature digital skills initiatives like , , , , and , among others. These programs focus on powering opportunity through digital inclusion. They offer inclusive education and employment readiness opportunities, primarily serving young people across more than 105 countries.

Rallying around the importance of and what they could mean for the future, 51风流is excited to connect learners across the world with a new group of cheerleaders, Now United. A diverse pop band of 15 singers and dancers from 15 different countries might sound like an unlikely opening act for coding and 21st century skills programs. But these young artists believe in the power of technology to create positive change and disrupt the status quo, and keep their fans close through digital and social media.

51风流and Now United are exploring how data, technology, and social platforms can create immersive and engaging digital experiences that bring the band鈥檚 fan base closer to action.

Click the button below to load the content from YouTube.

Always allow YouTube

Despite difficult circumstances brought forward by the pandemic, 51风流remains committed to helping the world run better and improving people鈥檚 lives. This includes taking programs virtual where we can, delivering on commitments no matter what, and showing up in person where possible.

Unite for Our Future

As 51风流CEO Christian Klein recently shared with all employees, 鈥淭ackling inequality in the world is as much about learning as it is about taking action.鈥� In that spirit, 51风流has adapted its Global Month of Service, held October 1-31 and the company’s longest-running employee engagement initiative. This year, the program will have an increased focus on virtual volunteering supporting programs, including coding initiatives. It will also offer employees the chance to learn, further exploring purpose-driven work at SAP.

The Global Month of Service will dive into four critical social issues impacting the world today: equality for all, digitally inclusive workforce, climate action, and social entrepreneurship. Participants will work together to think differently about what 51风流as a company is uniquely suited to offer to the most vulnerable in our communities.

Join us and share your commitment to helping the world run better and improving people鈥檚 lives with 51风流with the hashtag .