{"id":70314,"date":"2024-04-22T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T13:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/?p=70314"},"modified":"2024-08-22T17:02:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T21:02:01","slug":"humans-of-samsung-embracing-the-spirit-of-volunteerism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/humans-of-samsung-embracing-the-spirit-of-volunteerism\/","title":{"rendered":"Humans of Samsung: Embracing the Spirit of Volunteerism"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was younger, my parents taught my brother and me the value of volunteering<\/a>, instilling in us the importance of giving back to society and making a positive difference, whenever and wherever possible.<\/p>\n

Over the years, I\u2019ve carried forward these values by taking part in various volunteering activities. From coaching my daughters\u2019 sports teams to being an active member of their schools\u2019 parent-teacher association (PTA) and serving as a Girl Scout Troop leader, I\u2019ve been instilling in my daughters the joy of helping others. Recently, I organized a trip for their Girl Scout Troop to support Feed My Starving Children<\/a>, fostering a spirit of giving back. We packed hundreds of bags of soy and rice; each bag provided enough sustenance to feed a child for an entire week.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Recommended News<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Read\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Humans of Samsung: Openly and Honestly Embracing My Haitian Roots<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Read More<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n

This experience inspired me to introduce my team at Samsung Electronics America to the nonprofit, which distributes meals to schools, orphanages, humanitarian agencies, and missions around the world. After we launched the Galaxy S24<\/a>, I helped organize a team-building experience with the Retail Operations and Channel Management teams, spending a morning at Feed My Starving Children. In a few short hours, we packed 111 boxes, providing enough food to feed 65 children in Haiti for an entire year! We not only strengthened team bonds, but also discovered that volunteering can be more fulfilling than traditional team-building exercises. I was pleasantly surprised by how well-received the activity was and its impact on shifting the team’s mindset.<\/p>\n

Even when you\u2019re unable to volunteer in person, there are ways to support organizations remotely. I am involved with a summer camp called Wa Wa Segowea<\/a> in Massachusetts. I attended this camp for many years as a child. This camp was a cornerstone of my childhood, profoundly shaping who I am today. There I gained independence, alongside practical abilities like building a campfire and setting up a tent. The camp also introduced me to diverse people and perspectives<\/a> from an early age. Living close to nature for a few weeks, unplugging from technology, and stepping outside of one\u2019s own little bubble is amazing and life-changing. In gratitude for my wonderful experiences, I\u2019ve supported the camp\u2019s scholarship program for over 15 years. I\u2019m also currently involved in fundraising efforts to help make the camp ADA-compliant and wheelchair-accessible. About 40% of Wa Wa\u2019s campers rely on financial aid to attend camp, and it\u2019s fulfilling to know that the camp caters to children from various backgrounds.<\/p>\n

At Samsung, we are fortunate to have Citizenship programs like Volunteer Time Off (VTO) and corporate matching for employee charitable donations, demonstrating the company\u2019s commitment to community support<\/a>. As Bree Abel wisely noted in Chicken Soup for the Soul<\/em>, \u201cYou never know what happiness a simple act of kindness will bring about.\u201d I strongly encourage everyone to engage in VTO and contribute to causes close to their heart. Together, let’s continue to foster a culture of giving at Samsung and in our personal lives to make a lasting impact on our world.<\/p>\n

\"Samsung

Kara Showers (front row, fourth from right) with team members from Retail Operations and Channel Management <\/p><\/div>

\"Samsung

Samsung employees packing bags of soy and rice<\/p><\/div>

\"\"

\"Volunteering can be more fulfilling than traditional team-building exercises.\"<\/p><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
About \u201cHumans of Samsung”<\/strong><\/h6>\n
Inspired by Humans of New York<\/a>, our blog series features intimate stories from Samsung employees<\/a> sharing their triumphs over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) challenges, immigration experiences, coming out journeys, cultural celebrations, and accomplishments in the face of abilities-driven obstacles. Join us as we shine a spotlight on the impressive individuals shaping Samsung\u2019s inclusive culture, showcasing their resilience, and celebrating the strength that diversity and inclusion bring to both personal and professional journeys.<\/h6>\n
\n\t\t\n\t\t\"EPP\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Kara Showers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":70313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29719,17571],"tags":[30379,91,29654,289,30378,24213,29967,890,30400,29811],"blue-badge":[],"class_list":["post-70314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corporate","category-corporate-workforce","tag-affinity-group","tag-citizenship","tag-employee-resource-group-erg","tag-employees","tag-humans-of-samsung","tag-life-at-samsung","tag-national-volunteer-week","tag-samsung-culture","tag-wise","tag-workforce"],"acf":{"turn_off_retargeting":false},"fimg_mobile_url":"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/19121518\/kara-showers-200x200.jpg","fimg_url":"https:\/\/img.us.news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/19121518\/kara-showers-432x286.jpg","primary_category":{"term_id":17571,"name":"Workforce","slug":"corporate-workforce","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17571,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":29719,"count":195,"filter":"raw","term_link":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/category\/corporate\/corporate-workforce\/","term_path":"corporate\/corporate-workforce"},"badge":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70314"},{"taxonomy":"blue-badge","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blue-badge?post=70314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}