It's a numbers game for good!

Every Cisco office. Every country. Every year. That's the multiplier for how Cisco's employees invest their working hours to give back to the local communities. Plus, it's all about the local needs, too!

In Ljubljana, where the Slovenian office is located, we used one of our days to come together for kids with special needs to make one of THEIR days a little more special by visiting the local ZOO with the residents of Education and Care Center CUDV Draga for children, adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities.

I would like to share some more numbers with you from that day:

• 1kg, the weight of the ostrich's egg
• 5 m, how tall an average giraffe is
• 40 years, how long a snake can live
• 11 -how many employees in Slovenia participated
• 25 kids -how many lives we touched
• 60 -how many hours total were volunteered
• 5 days -how much time each Cisco employee has to take off and give back
• 1 day -the time it took to make a difference

Let me tell you a little about our day. With employees, kids and companions, we were in total more than 30. The day was just perfect for this kind of outdoor activity. From the very first moment the kids were so happy, that some strangers (for them) would spend half of their day with them.

First we went to the "ZOO classroom," where the kids could touch a snake and pet a dove. Afterwards the guide went with us to the animals in ZOO (tigers, elephants, snakes, ... and the most exciting for the kids: elephant).

If that wasn't fun enough, at the end of our time we went to lunch together and gave them small presents. The kids were very joyful, they gave us high-fives, hugs, a lot of "thank you's" and some of them even gave speeches in front of us.

I really wish that everyone could be more thankful for the small things that they receive everyday, that's probably something that we can for sure learn from those kids. Every time I met with them, they give me a special energy to appreciate them, people close to me and to think how lucky we are to be who we are.

I am a virtual systems engineer for Cisco, specializing in Collaboration Solutions. I'm always learning, going to weekly trainings, getting instant feedback from my colleagues. I can use Cisco technology for my job, but also to help my customers! Plus, this is only my second year at Cisco, so I have the resources of the Early in Career network as well!

But collaborating in this way with my team was extra special. This was also my second (official) giving back day at Cisco. I am proud to be a part of this kind of initiative that the company fully supports, and even encourages like this!

Want to join a team that gives back to their local community? See openings here.