Nicolla Hewitt Saudi Gazette Corporate philanthropy has long been part of “doing business” in the United States. Companies like Goldman Sachs, Coca Cola and WalMart give away hundreds of millions of dollars in charity every year. But it is not just about the dollars they donate. Many of these companies also encourage their employees to donate their time to charitable issues and cases. And by donating their time, they mean volunteering. More and more US companies have what is officially known as the “Corporate Social Responsibility” department, so that employees have a dedicated office within their company to volunteer. It is estimated by the US Department of Labor Statistics that in 2014, over 62 million Americans volunteered their time, with the most active volunteers being aged 35-44. Those numbers for volunteering now have some healthy and welcome competition thanks to an organization called, “Us to US,” which encourages students from Saudi Arabia studying in the United States volunteer their time within their local communities in the US. Their dedication to volunteering will be recognized Friday (May 22) outside Washington D.C., when over 60 Saudi students will be honored for the time they donated to helping others while studying in the United States. The awards will be given at the largest job fair outside of the Kingdom, where over 120 leading businesses from Saudi Arabia will be showcasing their economic future and hiring future business leaders in the Kingdom. However, one booth at Friday's event is sure to stand out as they are encouraging Saudi business leaders to take a great role in philanthropic engagement on a volunteering basis. Adham Gari, who runs “Us to US,” told Saudi Gazette: “We want to promote our volunteer philosophy that we learned in the United States to big businesses and big business leaders in the Kingdom. We want to show them, that they can learn from us. There are over 14,000 graduates expected, and we look at that as 14,000 opportunities to make a difference.” In the past year, over 1,300 Saudi students have volunteered in 35 different states, and in over 80 different cities. Some of the projects they have done include planting flowers in a community center in Florida; teaching Arabic to young Americans aged between 5 and 15 in Milwaukee, and running a hijab program in Connecticut for locals who wanted to try to understand why women from the Kingdom were covered. “It has been wonderful to see how grateful and accepting people are when you help them, and volunteer your time. Humanity was leading all of us on this. None of our time volunteering has been about anyone's religion. It has been about being well-organized, and giving back. We have proved Saudi students want to help. People have been so grateful. Now we want to grow that role model back at home in the Kingdom,” Gari said. With major executives from companies including Aramco and Saudi Arabian Airlines attending the job fair, Gari's mission is simple: to meet with business executives and say, “It is time for these big businesses in Saudi Arabia to grow their corporate social responsibility programs back home. We have seen the impact and benefit to people who volunteer and give to others. Companies may be about making a profit, but we want them to start thinking about impact they have in their local communities too by volunteering. We need more grassroots outreach at home. It's not just about giving money. It's about giving time too.” Many of those students who volunteered this past year for “Us to US” will be heading back to Saudi Arabia with their degrees in their hands, and a message in their hearts. A message that while they may be new to the job market, employers in Saudi Arabia must donate more personal time to others. As Oscar Wilde said: “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”
