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Cydcor wouldn’t be what it is without a culture of generosity. Here’s a look at some of the incredible things that our team has accomplished (plus initiatives that will keep us busy well into the future).
Our 30th year in business is almost over. This has been a chance to recognize the hard work that’s taken us to where we are today… and remind ourselves why all of this effort is important.
Of the many causes we have supported in Cydcor’s first three decades, Liberty Children’s Home in Belize has been incredibly important to our team and the network around us.
Home to more than 50 abandoned and once-neglected children, Liberty is restoring and rejuvenating lives, helping kids overcome incredible odds. For years we have been proud to assist their team as much as possible, and have raised over $130,000 to date.
Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Cydcor’s “people helping people” culture, and this was on full display at our National Conferences last August. When we put out a fundraising call during our Awards Ceremony, the Cydcor family answered — Raising $10,000 across our three events.
Our team got creative to make this fundraising a fun and meaningful experience. We sold merch, tickets for opportunity drawings, and even pins with Liberty’s signature butterfly (a representation of hope).
These weren't just fundraising activities; they were moments of connection, reminding everyone that business success and social responsibility can coexist beautifully.
These funds go towards everything from school supplies to major facility upgrades. They also help Liberty provide essentials, such as medical supplies, food, and clothing. We are proud that every dollar is spent in support of growth and new beginnings for these children. It's not just about giving them the essentials they need to live happy lives — it’s also about supporting and nurturing the dreams they have for the future.
And as the holiday season approaches, so does our annual drive for clothing, shoes, and toys. Every child deserves a spectacular Christmas morning, and we aim to show up big for Liberty every year.
While Liberty Children's Home holds a special place in Cydcor's heart, our commitment to giving doesn't stop there. As the holiday season approaches, our team will soon transform into a force for local good in Ventura County. For many years now, the annual Spark of Love initiative sees us collaborating with local businesses to help ensure no child goes without during the festive season.
This isn't your typical corporate toy drive. Picture Cydcor employees donning elf costumes and holiday garb, packing toys, sports equipment, and non-perishable food items — all destined for thousands of local children and teens. It's a reminder that true corporate responsibility starts at home… and that we don’t have to look far to find people who need our support.
From our local community to worldwide philanthropy, giving back sits at the heart of Cydcor’s DNA. Our "people helping people" culture isn't just a slogan — it's evident in every fundraising event, every volunteer hour, and every initiative they undertake.
And looking back at our last three decades of impact, the message is clear:
Corporate success and social responsibility aren’t mutually exclusive — they’re mutually reinforcing. And if you’re someone looking to take the next step in your career, or you’re a business leader looking to keep growing your team, this is where the true impact and legacy lies.
You don't need to raise thousands or transform an entire organization overnight. Start where you are. Join local initiatives like Spark of Love. Organize workplace fundraisers. Support causes that speak to your heart.
Remember, every butterfly pin sold, every toy packed, and every dollar raised creates ripples of change that extend far and wide. In a world that often seems divided, these acts of generosity are more important than ever.
The question isn't whether you can make a difference - it's how will you choose to do so,
As Cydcor has shown us for thirty years, the greatest business success stories aren’t just written in profit margins, but also in lives transformed.
People helping people – that’s essential to our culture as a business. But what happens when people help people help other people? Here are the results of our latest Philanthropy Challenge and powerful takeaways that will help you use collaboration to create positive change.
At Cydcor, one of the most cherished partnerships we have is with Liberty Children’s Home – an orphanage in the Central American country of Belize. Known as a sanctuary, Liberty provides love, safety, and growth to over forty children, many of whom have been previously abused, abandoned, and neglected.
To heighten our efforts to support this charity organization, we organized a Philanthropy Challenge. Kicking off at NatCon 2022, this initiative ran from September 12th, 2022 to April 30th, 2023. Independently owned and operated companies, or ICLs, from across our network, were invited to participate.
All in all, the wide array of teams involved were able to raise over $70,000! Our team is currently working with the people at Liberty to determine how the funds can best be used to support the children.
From our network of independent companies, 32 teams took on the Philanthropy Challenge. These teams came from locations across the country – and allowed this initiative to have a presence in a variety of different communities.
If we were to go into this effort alone, we would have been limited by the reach and perspective of Cydcor. Inviting these independent teams to join us gave us new angles to consider how to maximize our efforts. This made us all the more powerful, overnight.
If you’re trying to leave a positive impact on the world, this is the first thing to consider. Who are the people that can bring another element to your initiative? What are the communities that are eager and ready to help out (if only someone would reach out to get them involved).
It’s corny to say, but we really are stronger together!
Everyone has different talents. The Philanthropy Challenge wouldn’t have had the same impact if we didn’t get every brain in the game. We leaned on the creativity of organizers to design pins, t-shirts, organize opportunity drawings with donated prizes, and even put together a paddle raise at our last event. These creative talents aligned in collaboration with the interpersonal skills of the people who conducted outreach and raised the funds.
Whatever your talents are, there are opportunities to serve your community and beyond. The secret is to align with a diverse network of people to form a dovetail of skill sets that create the most change possible.
Healthy competition, or social motivation, has been shown in research to improve attention on sustained physical effort. Inside all of us there’s a competitor (though some people take this to a whole other level). When collaborating on a charity effort, some friendly competition is a great way to keep everyone motivated and push beyond what was once thought possible.
Cydcor, in alliance with a network of ICLs, has long enjoyed a good-old-fashioned competition. Creating metrics for success, curating an exciting collection of donated prizes, and sprinkling in a healthy dose of fun is one of our team’s favorite things to do.
For this Philanthropy Challenge, the big prize is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which also allows for the winners to continue to experience the joy of serving others. The top three winners will soon join Vera Quinn, our CEO, on her next trip to Belize. While there, they have the opportunity to volunteer at Liberty and meet the children the Challenge was created to serve.
Because collaboration is always the key to success, these winners will be inviting two team members to join them on this incredible journey of servant leadership.
Making it a competition created an atmosphere of growth. The success of one person would inspire another to push the envelope even further – and so on. This created a ripple effect of social motivation, making the astounding result of over $70,000 going to Liberty possible.
At Cydcor, we don’t believe in finish lines. So long as there are people on earth, there will be people in need of help. One day, we’ll be gone, and the next generation will be called on to provide support, service, and love to those in need.
With collaboration, we ensure that there will always be people ready, eager, and empowered to help people, because we create a movement that’s bigger than just us.
The success of the Philanthropy Challenge doesn’t just lie in Cydcor’s efforts, but also in those of the ICLs and the communities that they live and work in.
We’re committed to planning out even more ways to continue our support of Liberty Children’s Home, in addition to many more future initiatives that create positive impact in our community and beyond.
Collaboration will continue to be our greatest tool in accomplishing all this!
To learn more about the incredible work happening at Liberty Children’s Home, visit their website.
What do you want the impact of your life to be? We would all like to leave the world a better place – so how can we use our careers to make a positive difference?
This may at first be a difficult question to answer. We can often think of our careers as separate from the legacy we’re leaving behind. But with the right mindset and approach to living out your values, you can find your place on a team that aligns with your mission to better your family, community, and world.
It’s 2023. Our world faces many challenges, from climate change to poverty. With so much work to be done to leave a better world behind, our careers must play a role in how we act out our higher values.
This isn’t just the right thing to do – this will enrich your life and help you reach your goals. When motivated by a mission bigger than yourself, you can experience a life of fulfillment, hold the joy of generosity, and form deeper connections with the community and world that surrounds you.
So, what does a career with positive impact look like? Let’s explore.
Most careers revolve around bringing a product, service, or solution to people who need it. Therein lies the first way that you can build a meaningful career that serves as a net benefit. If you can take pride in what you are offering clients and customers and the business that you work for, you’re on the right track.
For the entrepreneurs reading who either have or are soon to start their own businesses, thinking about what you offer is critical. Remember, sales is about leading people to the things that they need, so the best success comes when your first mission is to enrich the lives of your customer or client base.
As an example, we can develop the best methods for clean energy, but if there’s no business set up around making it available to people, it cannot have any impact. We tend to think that creating positive change is a job best left for charities, missionaries, and the like – but when we look at doing good in this light, we see that every career can have a positive impact.
Whether you’re in sales, marketing, accounting, or anything else, by aligning with brands that are bringing products and services that better the planet, your career can have a positive impact!
Success in your career means that you will find more opportunities to give back. Whatever you do, there are always ways that you can share the wealth of your hard work with others.
This is something that we at Cydcor hold very dear to us. We believe that you can make a career out of caring and we continue to discover philanthropic efforts that allow us to impact both our community and the world at-large.
In a past partnership, we were able to raise nearly $1 million to offer free cleft-lip and cleft palate surgeries to children in underserved regions across the globe. These are life-changing operations, which brought healing to nearly 4,000 smiles.
As of this blog, we are currently working with Liberty Children’s home, a Belize-based orphanage.
In addition, our Neighborhood Leader Program helps the independent sales companies in our network direct their passion and talents towards great causes in their local communities.
Philanthropy offers you many ways to take the gifts that your career has grown and share them with those who need a helping hand. This can help you find fulfillment and leave a meaningful legacy.
We’d do anything for our families. That’s why it’s important to consider the people in your life when creating a career of positive impact.
Building wealth that brings comfort, opportunity, and wellbeing for your spouse, children, and other dependents is likely a major reason why you show up to work. We want to provide for the ones we love. Keeping this at the forefront of your values is a surefire way to unlock motivation on even the most difficult of days.
But it’s not just wealth most people want to give their family and friends. Time is the most valuable thing of all! When building a career of positive change and fulfillment, remember to leave space for you to enjoy quality time with those who matter most.
Once you’ve found a way to offer something better, get involved with philanthropy, and support your family, what’s next? The positive impact your career can have does not stop there!
With a fulfilling and meaningful career established, next comes the beautiful opportunity to pass your knowledge, experience, and wisdom onto others – so that they too can create an impactful legacy through the work that they accomplish.
When you teach others, your positive impact multiplies. Knowing that the people you teach will then build on that knowledge and teach others – well, there’s no better or easier way to change the world than that!
Whether you’re just starting out your career, or are simply looking for something more, take some time to intentionally think about the legacy you can leave behind.
Let’s all commit to careers of positive impact!
At the heart of Cydcor’s culture is the tenet of “people helping people.” Cydcor stands behind this idea by fostering a work environment that promotes both personal and corporate philanthropy and by offering team members a paid volunteer day each year to serve a cause that matters to them. Our service mindset is grounded in the concept of servant leadership, which focuses on empowering and developing our people, building a better company, and giving back to the community.
One example of how we’ve put this mindset into practice is Cydcor’s Philanthropy Club, founded by team members to provide employees with corporate philanthropy and volunteering opportunities throughout the year. Here are just some of the ways Cydcor’s Philanthropy Club has made a meaningful impact on the community in 2019:
March: Pizza Sale — Liberty Children’s Home
Liberty Children’s Home is a sanctuary in Belize that offers a safe, loving environment to more than 40 abused, abandoned, and neglected children — some with special needs or suffering from HIV or AIDS. At a Leaders Meeting in March, team members sold Costco pizza with all proceeds donated to Liberty to support learning, activities, medical care, facility improvements, and basic needs like electricity, clothes, and food.
April: Crayfish Removal
Team members partnered with Mountains Restoration Trust to help preserve and protect the streams and creeks of the Malibu Creek Watershed by removing invasive, non-native crayfish. Harmful to the ecosystem of the Santa Monica Mountains, crayfish prey on native species, reduce water quality, and worsen creek bed erosion. Prior to our arrival, scientists set more than 100 traps along a stream bed in Oak Park. Cydcor volunteers removed crayfish caught in these traps and cleaned up trash along the banks. Additionally, they measured the size of caught crayfish to help record and collect data.
May: Special Olympics Regional Spring Games
Special Olympics of Southern California provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Philanthropy Club participants volunteered at the Ventura County Special Olympics Spring Games held at Oaks Christian Highschool, featuring swimming and flag football competitions. Responsibilities included coaching, time keeping, score keeping, and cheering in the stands to show Cydcor spirit and support for local athletes.
June: Heal the Bay
For 35 years, Heal the Bay has been mobilizing communities across Los Angeles to protect the California coastline, restore waterways, and advocate smart water policies. Cydcor volunteers gave time at a monthly Heal the Bay event to pick up trash along a Santa Monica beach. After a full morning of cleanup, the team enjoyed a group lunch in Venice, a popular beachfront community.
July: Learn Earn Return
Learn Earn Return is a nonprofit organization focused on providing students and teachers with the necessary school supplies for a successful school year. Team members collected and donated items that might otherwise have been a heavy financial burden to students and their families, such as backpacks, composition notebooks, wide-ruled paper, glut sticks, scissors, rulers, and more.
September: Operation Blankets of Love
The Philanthropy Club held a volunteer event for Operation Blankets of Love, a leading animal welfare and emergency relief nonprofit organization that provides food and critical supplies for more than 12,000 animals a year in shelters, in rescue groups, and with pet owners experiencing homelessness or another hardship. Cydcor volunteers collected blankets, towels, toys, and other badly needed pet supplies donated during the event.
September: Pet Adoptions
Team members partnered with L.I.F.E. Animal Rescue, a nonprofit organization that rescues homeless or abandoned dogs and cats and places them in permanent, responsible, and loving homes. Cydcor volunteers supported L.I.F.E.’s weekly animal adoption event at a local PetSmart to help pets find their forever home.
October: Alzheimer’s 5K
Team members joined their local Walk to End Alzheimer’s® 5K, an Alzheimer Association event held annually in more than 600 communities nationwide to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research. Participants walking in the Westlake Village, California 5K surpassed their goal of $500 by raising $1,788. Cydcor matched donations of $500.
November: EARTHS Thanksgiving Food Drive
Cydcor volunteers supported the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive of the Environmental Academy of Research Technology and Earth Sciences (EARTHS) Magnet School in Newbury Park, California. Individual and department donations provided holiday favorites, canned food staples, and grocery gift cards to help 100 local families in need enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.
The contributions of Cydcor’s Philanthropy Club show the positive difference that employee-driven corporate philanthropy and volunteering can make on our schools, neighborhoods, and charities. Through community service, our team members embody Cydcor’s culture of “people helping people” by uniting behind a shared purpose, collaborating to overcome challenges and accomplish goals, and serving causes that matter.
Cydcor was proud to support our local community and fellow Californians as the premier sponsor of Rock the Recovery, a night of food, and music in support of California Strong. Funds raised at the benefit concert, which took place on Sunday, Aug. 4th at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, will help California Strong provide disaster relief funds to California residents impacted by future local tragedies like the Borderline shooting in Thousands Oaks, as well as the Camp, Woolsey, and Hill fires that wreaked havoc across our state.
Rock the Recovery was founded by Ava Flora Friedman, a Westlake High School senior who was inspired by the power of music to bring people together. The event featured performances by an exciting lineup popular local bands from a variety of genres: JACQX, Goodnight Kiss, Sitting on Stacy, Jake Parr, The Malibooz, and headliner Ray Parker Jr. and his all-star band. Hosted by professional comedian, author, and speaker Joe Dungan, the evening also included heartfelt words from Cydcor President Vera Quinn, as well as Rock the Recovery founder Ava Flora Friedman, California Strong Director Danielle Stone, Borderline shooting survivors Hannah Michalak and Cassidy Addison, Congressman Brad Sherman, and community member, painter, and poet Cindy Martia.
Check out video highlights from the event!
Through ticket sales, Rock the Recovery merchandise sales, and prize raffle sales, the event surpassed its fundraising goal, bringing in $35,000 in proceeds on behalf of California Strong.
Drawing on a shared love of music and their home town, event attendees danced, laughed, and rocked out, proving that when communities unite, they can overcome anything. Cydcor was grateful for the opportunity to play a role in making this remarkable event a successful one.
Cydcor is thrilled to announce that our 2018, annual Day of Smiles fundraising event is underway! This week, Cydcor team members, along with volunteers from Cydcor's network of independent sales companies will stage a variety of fundraisers around the country. Teams will put their sales talents to work, building awareness and raising funds on behalf of Operation Smile. One of the oldest and largest volunteer-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and lives of children worldwide, through access to surgical care, Operation Smile provides life-changing cleft lip and palate corrective surgeries at no cost, to children in need.
Teams participating in the event will get creative, planning fundraisers that vary from car washes and apparel sales, to bake sales and sporting events. Each year, Cydcor's Day of Smiles event brings in thousands of dollars to support Operation Smile's mission to ensure every child has access to safe surgical care. In addition, Cydcor team members and participants from the network of independent sales companies have had the opportunity to attend five Operation Smile medical missions around the globe that they themselves have helped fund through their outreach efforts. On Operation Smile medical missions, surgical teams comprised of credentialed medical volunteers provide life-changing surgeries for children with cleft lip and cleft palate, as well as free medical assessments, and support for family and loved ones of patients. Recently, Operation Smile’s founder, Dr. Magee personally thanked Cydcor for its ongoing contribution.
Cydcor has been partnering with Operation Smile since 2010, collaborating with the sales company owners in Cydcor’s network in a variety of fundraising projects. To date, Cydcor has raised nearly $1,000,000, to help Operation Smile ensure no child goes without surgical care. That’s enough to heal more than 4,000 smiles. This is an important year for Cydcor’s Day of Smiles, as we have that $1,000,000 mark in our sights and we plan to hit our goal!
On March 8th, 2017, a team of eight volunteers, including top fundraisers from our network of independent sales offices, as well as a Cydcor team member, returned home from their life-changing medical volunteer trip to Guadalajara, Mexico. There, they worked alongside a dedicated Operation Smile team of volunteers for an adventure they will never forget. While on the mission, volunteers Amanda Tram, Ben Gouwens, David Espinal, Donny Boyer, Melissa White, Mouad Alami, Sandra Tejada, and Yesi Andrade assisted the Operation Smile medical team by attending patient screenings, escorting patients to their surgeries, entertaining children and their families as they wait for their procedures, and reuniting families with their children post-op.
While these much-needed surgeries can transform the lives of children who may not have been able to eat or speak properly prior to having the procedure, or who do not attend school for of fear of being teased, participating in the medical missions and witnessing children’s emotional journeys can often have a profound effect on the volunteers as well.
“There is one moment of the volunteer trip that will be etched in my mind forever. Alejandra, the little girl we fell in love with, had a pretty severe cleft lip and was very aware of how she looked, despite being an extremely happy child. When she came out of surgery, I used my phone to show her what she looked like. She stared at herself for a couple seconds as if she didn’t recognize herself, until she gave the sweetest smile I have ever seen. My heart melted. The trajectory of her life at that moment was changed forever!” said Melissa White.
“I am impressed by the courage and strength these kids have. I was very touched by Paulina, an 11-year-old who traveled with her brother from far away in hopes of getting the surgery that would restore her smile. I can't imagine everything going through Paulina's head; first time out of her village, seeing a big city for the first time, not being able to understand anyone but her brother. The most incredible moment was seeing her look at herself for the first time. She was in shock, almost confused. A few minutes later, you could see tears rolling down her cheeks. I could not stop crying, I will remember that moment forever,” shared Cydcor team member Yesi Andrade.
In addition to our corporate volunteer program, Cydcor has been partnering with Operation Smile on fundraising initiatives since 2010. Cydcor holds an annual Day of Smiles event, along with many other fundraising events throughout the year, to help provide free cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries for children from low and middle income countries. With the support of more than 3,000 dedicated volunteers from our network of more than 375 independent sales offices, we have raised more than $800,000 to date. That’s enough to bring smiles to the faces of nearly 3,500 children.
Operation Smile’s vision of a world where no child suffers from lack of access to safe, well timed, and effective surgery fits well with the values of our business.
“We are a people helping people business, and it is evident from the way Operation Smile treats their patients, the community, and their volunteers that they are as well,” said Donny Boyer.
Cydcor CEO, Gary Polson explains the immense value of lending our support to great causes like Operation Smile. “We can achieve the great lives we aspire to live, by taking actions that improve the lives of others. We must be compassionate and help those in need. We must take initiative to help others beat the odds. We must act with humility and set the example. Our business gives us countless opportunities to help other people. I am so proud of who we are and what we accomplish together. We become great when we do great things, especially when we do them for others."
“What unites us all is the shared belief that we have an obligation to provide people with an opportunity to lead a better life. This extends far beyond the boundaries of our business, to helping people in our communities and in faraway places.” Said Cydcor President, Vera Quinn.
Cydcor continues our commitment to helping Operation Smile change lives through both our corporate volunteer program and fundraising efforts, and we look forward to achieving $1 million dollars raised on the organization’s behalf.
To learn more about Cydcor and our support of Operation Smile, please visit our donation home page.
Operation Smile is an international medical charity that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. It is one of the oldest and largest volunteer-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and lives of children worldwide through access to surgical care. Since 1982, Operation Smile has developed expertise in mobilizing volunteer medical teams to conduct surgical missions in resource-poor environments while adhering to the highest standards of care and safety. Operation Smile helps to fill the gap in providing access to safe, well-timed surgeries by partnering with hospitals, governments and ministries of health, training local medical personnel, and donating much-needed supplies and equipment to surgical sites around the world. Founded and based in Virginia, U.S., Operation Smile has extended its global reach to more than 60 countries through its network of credentialed surgeons, pediatricians, doctors, nurses, and student volunteers. For more information, visit www.operationsmile.org.
On Wednesday, May 17th, at West Edge, NYC, Operation Smile held its 2017 New York Smile Event to celebrate 35 years of providing free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip or cleft palate conditions. Over the years, this philanthropy event celebrating helping hands and generous hearts has become one of the most anticipated events of the spring season, bringing together 250 guest from Manhattan and around the globe to celebrate the cleft lip and cleft palate charity, including New York business and community leaders and other philanthropically-minded individuals passionate about this worthy cause.
Cydcor, along with our network of more than 3,000 volunteers from 375 independent sales offices, has been partnering with Operation Smile since 2010, holding an annual Day of Smiles fundraising event, along with many other fundraisers throughout the year.
Cydcor invited four top-fundraising independent sales office owners to attend the philanthropy event, which included a gallery exhibit, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and dancing. Also in attendance were Cydcor Vice Chairman Jim Majeski along with wife and Operation Smile Founders Circle Award winner, Barbara Majeski.
To date, Cydcor has raised more than $800,000 for Operation Smile, and we look forward to achieving more than $1 million raised on the organization’s behalf. Accomplishing that goal will make us smile too.
To learn more about Cydcor and our support of the cleft lip and cleft palate charity Operation Smile, please visit our donation home page.
Operation Smile is an international medical charity that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. It is one of the oldest and largest volunteer-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and lives of children worldwide through access to surgical care. Since 1982, Operation Smile has developed expertise in mobilizing volunteer medical teams to conduct surgical missions in resource-poor environments while adhering to the highest standards of care and safety. Operation Smile helps to fill the gap in providing access to safe, well-timed surgeries by partnering with hospitals, governments and ministries of health, training local medical personnel, and donating much-needed supplies and equipment to surgical sites around the world. Founded and based in Virginia, U.S., Operation Smile has extended its global reach to more than 60 countries through its network of credentialed surgeons, pediatricians, doctors, nurses, and student volunteers. For more information, visit www.operationsmile.org.
Servant leadership is a concept which holds that adopting a service-focused mindset simultaneously benefits corporations, their employees, and the community at large. At Cydcor, the Agoura Hills based leader in outsourced sales, we know first-hand that our “People helping people” motto is more than just good PR; it’s good business. The benefits of participating in community service stretch well beyond creating a “feel good” vibe around the office (though they include that, too). Servant leadership empowers employees, builds critical skills to succeed in business, and fosters a sense of teamwork, community, and renewed commitment to the organization’s shared goals.
1) Empathizing with Others: Acting as servant leaders helps team members better relate to customers and to each other. Finding common ground is a necessary first step for building trust and is a key ingredient for forming strong and lasting partnerships.
2) Learning to Listen: Serving others forces employees to master the skill of listening. Indispensable and hard to teach in these times of selfies and tweets, the ability to hear and process information from others offers inarguable advantages in sales or any kind of business interaction.
3) Getting the Message Out: Servant leadership is all about gaining and raising awareness for critical issues affecting the global community. This push to spread a message for good can help employees hone the marketing and sales skills they’ll also use to advocate on behalf of their clients.
4) Dreaming Big: In order to envision a better world, servant leaders must set ambitious goals and create plans to achieve them. In business, the ability to think big and devise viable action plans to attain goals is critical to realizing personal and organizational growth and success.
5) Looking Ahead: Having foresight helps servant leaders anticipate and sidestep roadblocks in advance and create contingency plans to overcome the challenges that might lie ahead. Employees who master this skill through service can support their organizations with the strategic planning necessary to sustain business growth in a competitive business landscape.
6) Changing Minds: A critical task of servant leaders is to effectively persuade others to care, to give, or to volunteer to help achieve a common goal. They learn how to use consensus, not manipulation or coercion, to bring others on board and reframe thinking. This power to unite teams, recruit participants, and boost enthusiasm for causes and goals can give employees an edge when selling and promoting products, training direct reports, and building their crew.
7) Being Model Mentors: A defining characteristic of servant leadership is stewardship. Servant leaders see their role as one of developing others and helping them hone their skills to take on greater responsibility. Growing the leaders of tomorrow benefits the individuals, promotes growth within an organization, and trains future advocates for the community at large.
8) Committing to Growth: Good servant leaders make it their mission to help others achieve their goals and reach their full potential. They push others to venture outside of their comfort zones and create bold visions for the future. This passion for growth can help organizations stay competitive, inspires innovation, and builds a culture where employees believe success is achievable.
9) Building Community: A concept that spans employee teams, organizations, and society at large; employees who feel a strong sense of community view themselves as vital parts of something larger. They are motivated to perform because they know that what benefits the community, benefits them as well.
10) Taking Joy in the Journey: The greatest servant leaders are those who help spread excitement throughout organizations and into the community. They help maintain a positive outlook and thrive on the thrill of overcoming challenges. Acknowledging employees’ hard work and rewarding them for their achievements helps foster a community of servant leaders who express pride in themselves through excellence at their jobs.
Encouraging employees to act as servant leaders has benefits across every aspect of a business. It improves moral and unity, it fosters a positive relationship between companies and their communities, and it helps develop a workforce that is well prepared for the complex challenges of tomorrow.
Every 3 minutes, a child is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate. Operation Smile is one of the largest volunteer-based medical charities providing cleft surgeries to these children, free of charge. Through a partnership with Cydcor, hundreds of dollars have been raised to benefit this amazing children’s medical non-profit.
“Operation Smile is about more than just one child’s before and after,” said Dr. William Magee, Jr., Operation Smile Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “It’s using that child as a metaphor, and that metaphor essentially says, “Involvement can create change.”
“One surgery costs as little as $240. Operation Smile heals thousands of children each year. Cydcor has used its reach to introduce how individuals can help somebody else who may be half way around the globe. These individuals may never remember our name, but will never ever forget our kindness."- Dr. Magee shared.
Cydcor has partnered with Operation Smile since 2010. Cydcor has changed thousands of lives with a goal of raising more than $1 million dollars.
“Cydcor and Operation Smile fit together. We take care of children; people at Cydcor take care of people,” said Kathy Magee, Operation Smile Co-Founder and President. “Can you imagine Cydcor people not being able to smile at their clients? They’re showing their social responsibility by being a part of a charity that makes changes everywhere. You can make all the money you want in the world, but when you start to care about people, it really comes back to you tenfold.”
Vanessa Castaneda McCaffrey, an Operation Smile Ambassador for Cydcor said, “Philanthropy is a part of who I am, and one of the main reasons why I wanted to be a part of Cydcor. I think this is a platform for us to work with our offices and show them that the skills that we teach them to build their companies can be used in different arenas that can make a bigger impact around the world.”
“We have an expression in our business that if someone doesn’t have a smile, give them one of yours, and being able to change their lives and help them get the confidence to smile and live a happy life—it really touches your heart,” added Jim Rothermel, an Operation Smile Ambassador for Cydcor.
The annual “Day of Smiles” is Cydcor’s largest fundraising event. This is a day where Cydcor and its network of sales offices around the US, Canada and the UK, go door-to-door fundraising for Operation Smile.
Eric Chapman, an Operation Smile Ambassador for Cydcor, spoke about his experience participating in the Day of Smiles. “On Day of Smiles, I was standing on the side of the road. I was collecting money, and I was a little anxious about it ’cause I thought a lot of people probably wouldn’t want to give money. But instead, I was overwhelmed by how many people did, and I had people roll down their windows and tell me that they had been on a mission, and that Operation Smile was something very important to them.”
Cydcor and the sales offices have funded thousands of cleft surgeries, changing lives around the world.
“I got the opportunity to go to Guatemala last year: Absolutely amazing experience. It was sometimes heartbreaking, it was very emotional, but ultimately to see the kids when they’re healed and they’re happy … I mean, you can’t put a price tag on that,” said Ed Cunliffe, who attended the Cydcor and Operation Smile funded mission trip to Guatemala in 2015.
George Papalexandratos, another Operation Smile Ambassador for Cydcor added, “Our business is all about giving back, and it’s about becoming a “servant leader” to your people, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with Operation Smile: We’re developing our people and the future of this company to be a servant leader in our business, and a servant leader to our community.”
“The world needs businesses like Cydcor. They have energy, they have enthusiasm, and this is a group that really can come behind us,” said Kathy Magee.
“If you ask any one of the Cydcor representatives that went on trips with us, whether it be to Brazil or to Mexico or wherever, they’ll come back and tell you that they never realized how lucky they were. They never realized how much they could help, and that also changed their life. It has given them a different perspective,” concluded Dr. William Magee.
“Those individuals in Cydcor that have gone out of their way, and whether it’s door to door or whether it’s through corporations, to introduce Operation Smile—they’re the ones that have really created change, and it’s a beginning of getting our communities more stabilized and more understanding what the simple truth in life is, and that is to care about other people.”
Cydcor has recently raised enough funds for a 7th medical mission in benefit of Operation Smile, to take place in a location to be determined.
For additional information about Operation Smile and to learn how you can help, visit http://www.operationsmile.org/
For additional information about Cydcor, visit http://www.cydcor.com
The evening of May 12th, everyone was smiling at Cipriani’s in Midtown Manhattan—the destination of Operation Smile’s New York Gala. Cydcor joined Operation Smile and their supporters to celebrate amazing medical missions that brought life-changing care to those suffering from cleft palates and other facial malformations.
Cydcor has partnered with Operation Smile for six years already, each year raising funds and awareness to help children facing difficulties from having facial problems. "At Cydcor, we can't imagine a day without a smile—it is that immediate connection with people—and we are humbled to help make smiles possible through the work of Operation Smile," said Cydcor President Vera Quinn.
At the New York Smile event, actress Kate Hudson was presented with the Universal Smile Award for her volunteer efforts to improve the lives of those in need and for providing an inspiring example of outstanding leadership. Other prominent guests at the event included Jaimie Alexander, Oliver Platt, Diego Klattenhofff, Colin Donnell, and Jason Weinberg. “It was an inspiring experience for the Cydcor team to be among these highly recognized celebrities making this event even more special.” Manilynn Disuanco, Cydcor’s red carpet correspondent during the Smile Event shared, “Meeting Kate Hudson was really cool!” But, for her, the real celebrities were some of the award winners being recognized for their outstanding contributions. “I really enjoyed hearing Andrew Dolce, 2016 John Connor Humanitarian Award winner speak. He brought his grandchildren on stage with him. His family joined him on his medical mission trips to Nicaragua. His example has inspired me to get more of our Cydcor family inspired and hopefully get my family involved, too!”
Volunteering to raise funds for Operation Smile gives those involved an opportunity to share a rewarding activity with their families and coworkers. Chris Minger, President of Philiadelphia Elite Group, Inc., said that the Cipriani event reaffirmed his commitment to this volunteer effort. He explained, “What was most enlightening to me was hearing about how other Operation Smile supporters had been able to involve business and family networks to help this cause. Volunteers are doubly blessed. We can raise money and build bonds between our family members, friends, and coworkers. Volunteering for Operation Smile is a win-win situation for everyone involved—the volunteers, the organization, and, most importantly, the families we serve.”
Cydcor’s Chief Information Officer, Dwight Coates, walked the red carpet at the Operation Smile Gala as well. He mentioned he was moved by the passion that fuels Cydcor’s volunteers. “Not only was the Cipriani event beautiful, but the passion and desire to help others was as beautiful as the space itself. People helping others, especially children—there is no better way to help and give back,” he said.
Over the last year, Cydcor volunteers around the country held fundraising events to raise money for Operation Smile’s medical missions. Top fundraisers from Cydcor were recognized with an invitation to join a medical mission to Bolivia in March 2016. This trip gave operations to 134 people in need, with 180 total procedures performed.
Earlier this year, Cydcor also supported a mission to the Dominican Republic, adding to the list of medical missions Cydcor and Operation Smile have worked on together, including Guatemala (2014), Mexico (2014), and Brazil (2012).
The Cipriani Operation Smile Gala highlights the fundraising efforts and medical missions performed by Cydcor volunteers. Mouad Alami, from Cydcor Canada, had a profound personal moment while attending the gala. “I felt emotional when I saw a video at Cipriani. One of Operation Smile’s missions took place in Morocco—where I was born! I felt grateful to everyone who donates for great causes like this one. Operation Smile knows no boundaries for their humanitarian work,” he said.
Cydcor's fundraising totals for Operation Smile have been primarily achieved through the annual Day of Smiles fundraising event, which includes a variety of fundraising efforts across the US, Canada, and the UK. Cydcor hopes to hit the $1 million fundraising milestone by the end of 2016.
“There is nothing more precious than the life of a child,” said Kimberly Mendoza, one of Cydcor’s top fundraisers who attended the Operation Smile event. “You can make a huge difference in these children’s lives by donating, coming up with different fundraising ideas, or even just getting the word out about Operation Smile and the incredible work they do.”
The Operation Smile event in New York was an eye opening experience for the Cydcor team where they got to see the impact their fundraising efforts make in saving children’s lives. The team is excited to contribute even more during the upcoming Day of Smiles fundraising event. To help support Cydcor's fundraising efforts for Operation Smile, visit www.operationsmile.org/cydcor. Donations are welcomed.
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About Cydcor
Cydcor is the leading provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales teams to a diverse client base of companies in a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, office products, retail, energy, and financial services. Serving Fortune 500 and emerging market clients in the business-to-business, residential, and retail channels through in-store marketing initiatives, Cydcor works with a network of more than 350 independently owned corporate licensee (ICL) sales offices, providing clients access to more than 4,600 sales professionals. The privately held company is based in Agoura Hills, California. For more information about Cydcor, go to www.cydcor.com.