Life at Cadence Blogs

Giving has always been a special part of our culture at Cadence. It’s one of the reasons why I truly love working here. Our employees are so passionate about giving back to the communities where they live and work.

Each year, Cadence employees around the world come together to participate in our largest annual volunteer campaign called Season of Giving. Over 40 Cadence volunteer leads across 32 different offices organize volunteer events with local charities to support causes that are meaningful to them and their communities. Our Season of Giving provides an opportunity for employees globally to make one BIG impact during the holiday season.

Last year was a challenging year for many people around the world—a time of anxiety and uncertainty. With most of our offices closed and employees working remotely, we launched our first virtual Season of Giving, giving employees many different ways to contribute to their communities right from their homes. Cadence set a goal to support 80,000 underserved learners and educators in developing countries around the world. During this time, school closures and a lack of remote learning resources impacted students’ access to education and their livelihoods, especially in developing countries where education is a critical means for them to rise from poverty.

We partnered with Team4Tech, a Silicon Valley-based nonprofit that provides pro-bono immersive service-learning projects worldwide, to support disadvantaged youth who are trying to develop skills to further their education and help pull themselves out of poverty. We worked with Team4Tech and to schedule 11 events for employees to learn from, donate to, and volunteer with six different nonprofits to provide the technology and training they need as they integrate distance learning in their classrooms.

I was inspired to see the response from our employees and how they came together virtually from across the globe! Over 1,200 employees across 24 different sites got involved and as a company, we raised over $275,000 for Team4Tech and their nonprofit partners. Read below for all the amazing ways our employees gave back this Season of Giving and the impact they had!

Volunteering Virtually, a New Experience

Over 650 employees volunteered virtually to support Team4Tech’s nonprofit partners from Cambodia, Costa Rica, Kenya, Malawi, Paraguay, Tanzania, and Vietnam. For six weeks, volunteers met an hour per week and interacted with teachers from each nonprofit to understand the challenges they are facing. Using Human-Centered Design, a creative approach to problem-solving through building empathy for beneficiaries that leads to generating ideas, the volunteers teamed up to prototype possible solutions, and presented them to the nonprofits.

In one workshop, employees supported the Cambodian Children’s Fund by proposing ways for students to lead garbage removal and decrease environmental impact in the south of Phnom Penh, an area that used to be one of the largest dumpsites in Cambodia. These solutions helped Cambodian Children’s Fund win a grant that will help them pilot a student-led waste management system, solving an important need in their community and empowering students as leaders. We’re excited to share more about this story in a future blog post!

One of our volunteers, Sumeet Aggarwal, said, “[Volunteering] gives me a lifetime of experience from learning about different cultures, understanding different issues and society setups. [This experience] was very structured and taught me to develop leadership capabilities. It gives meaning to employees and allows them to connect as a family. It gives employees a belief that they are not just working for money, but also making a difference in communities where people find it hard to earn a living!”

Amplifying Donations

Another way Cadence employees gave back was by donating through our special 2-to-1 match campaign. These donations go directly to purchase technology to support teaching and learning. For example, a donation of $25 can fund five students access to mobile Internet and a $1,000 donation can provide a classroom with access to educational software for two years.

One of our avid volunteers, Peter Shepherd, said, “The last time I was searching for a job, I was narrowing down opportunities to companies that were charitable and cared about where they do business. Cadence not only said they did, but over the 13 years I've worked here, they do care and they are willing to make community and charity a top goal. I find that coworkers are much more diverse, committed, kind, and effective because we have programs such as these. It gives me a sense of belonging.”

Making a Difference Every Day

Our Missions program gives employees a way to make a big difference by completing small actions to support education for underserved students, give back to their local communities, and improve their personal wellness. This includes volunteering virtually with Team4Tech, thanking healthcare workers, learning how to make a mask, performing a daily health assessment, and more!  By completing activities, employees are able to earn points and win charitable prizes, which they can give back to a charity of their choice. Within seven weeks, over 180 employees completed almost 1,400 activities. Ten employees won $1,000 that they could designate to a charity near and dear to their hearts.

Tulio Leao said, “I love the gamification on the Missions program because it pushes me the extra mile. It motivates me to go and complete a mission. I also liked that it has a range of actions, some of which are just instructional, like how to practice social distancing. It motivates people who sign up to seek for information.”

I’m extremely grateful to be working for a company like Cadence, that provides us with meaningful opportunities to give back to communities around the world. I’m truly amazed at what our employees were able to accomplish together in a remote environment and how we continue to make a difference as One Cadence—One Team!