Volunteerism and resilience amidst trying circumstances and lessons learned from COVID
While the world watched, India went through a horrific 2nd phase of COVID earlier this year, taking over 450K lives. Almost everyone lost someone they knew, if not multiple folks; and the impact on families was devastating. However, there were several positives that came out of this disaster around resiliency of the human spirit and allyship.
While doctors and nurses are truly national heroes, it was heartening to see several companies and individuals unite to offer their help through money, time and partnering with NGOs in this time of need. Salesforce has always been a champion of business being the greatest platform for change. Employees are always empowered to champion causes and take the lead in showing up for our communities. This is precisely the spirit that led me to reach out to our leadership to create awareness and build a strategy to help our colleagues, their families and the community in India.
I started a small taskforce with colleagues given our personal impact. Little did we know that it would grow into almost 1300 volunteers in a few days! We ran a 24×7 global taskforce to run several initiatives. We built and staffed a volunteer hotline using our platform for our employees, their families and friends. Our brave volunteers curated on the ground information and handled every call with the utmost care. We delivered multiple planes filled with life-saving medical equipment and supplies. We ran medical sessions online to create awareness and help people where we could at home. We raised several millions of dollars to be utilized by our vetted partners in the region and we saw the impact. Our leadership prioritized employee well-being and safety and made every effort (moved deadlines, discounted hotel rates and provided wellness benefits) towards this goal.
While the onslaught was brutal, we fought back bravely. Several volunteers faced personal loss and despite their circumstances, they showed up for each other. We will always remember sweet memories of those we lost, but more importantly we must carry forward the allyship, sincerity and kindness showcased into our daily lives. It is a shared purpose, along with values-based organizations that will take us forward as humanity.
Divya Ashok is an ASEI Life member and serves on the board of Silicon Valley chapter. Professionally, she is a Vice President at Salesforce. Divya is a leader with 12 years of experience building and scaling global initiatives from the ground up. As Vice President of Strategy and Innovation, she is charged to lead the strategy around Salesforce’s India business and champion initiatives around India in San Francisco. Prior to her new role, Divya was in Product Management. Her teams led Salesforce’s efforts around scale, where she championed and delivered over 500+ unique product enhancements. She led product readiness for 50+ of Salesforce’s largest and most complex customers globally.
Divya’s passion for the empowerment of women and children led her to co-create the Salesforce Women’s Network. While she was Global President, membership increased by 350% to over 9,000 allies and expanded to 48 chapters globally. As for her accomplishments, Divya has been selected to join Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen global community 3 times to exchange ideas and perspectives with a select group of trailblazing women from across the world.
This article is based on conversations Aditya Guthey, an ASEI Silicon Valley chapter member and a career coach has had with Sania Jain for ASEI Youth Corner. A short excerpt is here ASEI has a partnership with MoonshotJr – a Silicon Valley based startup that accelerates youths’ path from STEM education to entrepreneurship. Click to avail special offers for ASEI community.
