The holidays are about giving - not just to our families, but to others less fortunate than ourselves. In the spirit of the holidays, this month we will feature a three-part series highlighting just some of the wonderful philanthropic initiatives spearheaded by local Symantec offices. Thank you to everyone across the Symantec global community that is volunteering, donating and contributing this holiday season…and everyday! Today with hear from Amy Christopher, Channel Marketing Manager for Symantec's Asia Pacific Japan region.
Symanteclaus is coming to town…And he's handing out basketballs, skateboards, gift cards and more to teens across Australia. As part of the Symantec Pacific team I am proud to be part of our Symanteclaus toy drive with the Salvation Army for the eighth year in a row!
We all feel extremely passionate about Symanteclaus. So many of us come from privileged backgrounds and we look forward to celebrating the holidays and the end of year with our loved ones. To think about families, especially kids, who won’t enjoy the same kind of festive season that we do, is heartbreaking. We see such a surge of support and generosity from the Symantec team at this time of year. It’s a great way to wrap up the year and celebrate our professional and personal successes.
A few years ago, we changed the program slightly to focus on teens. At this time we became aware, through the Salvation Army, that teenagers are often overlooked in the season when toy and food drives run. To lend support, we decided to change our drive to focus on teens.
Through Symanteclaus, employees can buy and donate toys to teens through the Salvation Army. Gifts include a JB Hi-Fi gift voucher, Nike basketball, Tony Hawk skateboard, and more. We've tried to make giving as easy as possible – employees simply log onto the Symantec Marketplace to donate.
We estimate that between staff and Symantec donations we have contributed close to $100,000 worth of goods to the Salvation Army over the past eight years!
I am lucky to have such a fantastic team of elves in our offices around the region. This year I’d like to recognize and thank Hana Bygrave, Juliette Flowers, Janine Devrell, Chad Kelly, Cinde Symington, Debbie Sassine and Ashleigh Cropp. Our VP Brenton Smith, is also a fantastic advocate and champion for all our CRC events, and his support makes a huge impact. We also have fantastic agencies such as Freezer Design and Betta Concepts that offer their services to design our internal communications, procure the toys and sporting goods, and ship them to the Salvation Army for free. I am so grateful for their incredible generosity and support.
Employees, you can donate online through Marketplace up until Friday, December 14th, and/or you can bring gifts into the office up until Tuesday, December 18th. We look forward to continuing our Symanteclaus tradition and hope you will join us in making a difference for teens this holiday season!
Amy Christopher is Channel Marketing Manager for Symantec's Asia Pacific Japan region. She also leads our Pacific community outreach committee.