To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Cloudera’s Capable ERG volunteered with Be My Eyes, a free app that connects Blind and low-vision people with 1:1 support at a moment’s notice to help complete daily tasks. Over a 24-hour period, 20 Cloudera volunteers lent their sight to app users for tasks big and small, with one goal in mind – to assist blind and low-vision people lead more independent lives. Clouderans answered 372 calls – wow!
“The calls ranged from more serious in nature – like identifying different medications – to fun, such as identifying a candy bar to eat for a chocolate party,” shared Autymn Harris, DE&I Program Success Specialist and Be My Eyes volunteer.
Other calls included helping people cross the street, picking out clothes that match, identifying produce at the grocery store – you name it!
At first, connecting 1:1 with app users and the idea of helping to complete an unknown task was intimidating. However, once volunteers started receiving calls, meeting the users and helping to complete tasks successfully, nerves melted away and a sense of shared accomplishment took their place.
“Navigating the online platform to help someone cross an intersection was exhilarating! Both of us were thrilled we achieved it! Very satisfying experience,” Manjunatha Rao, SVP, Engineering Operations based in Santa Clara, CA shared.
Not only did volunteers feel a sense of accomplishment for tasks completed, but they were energized from seeing the direct impact of their time and effort.
“A lot of volunteering opportunities can be general, but this opportunity allowed us to be in direct contact with those who needed our help. This event supported a group in the community who may be overlooked, so being able to help was a unique opportunity.” – Ashley Lim, Sr Talent Acquisition Advisor, Singapore.
“Each call only lasted about 1-2 minutes, but in that short time, I was able to help individuals complete tasks that I may often take for granted. For example, matching socks, identifying expiration dates, or redeeming a gift card online…It is great to connect with people to provide them with support throughout the course of their day.” Shara Rutiaga, Senior Benefits Manager in Austin, TX.
This opinion was shared across all of the volunteers so it was not surprising that all quickly responded “yes!” when asked if this was something they wanted to do again.
“I always look forward to volunteering opportunities, and this one was very interesting. I enjoyed assisting people, and will look forward to doing so again.” –
Rhythm Shah, Sr. Deal Desk Analyst based in Santa Clara, CA.
“I am so interested in doing this again! It was nice to be able to connect with so many different people to help with a lot of varying tasks. With other events, you’re usually focused on one person or a small group, and you may not be able to see your impact in real time. It was nice to know I was able to assist so many people in such a short time and that it made an immediate difference.” – Autymn Harris
Be My Eyes’ mission is to make the world more accessible for 285 million people who are blind or have low vision. Cloudera was thrilled to be a part of this extraordinary effort. To learn more about Be My Eyes visit. https://www.bemyeyes.com/.
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