Being a volunteer is spreading the passion to add to the lives of others

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities around the world, solidarity has been key not only now, but throughout the history of humanity, where the sum of efforts can create positive change to improve quality of people’s lives, give hope in the most difficult moments and build a fairer world for everyone. Thus, the value of volunteering is incalculable, since it is the engine of love, respect, trust and equality that we need to get out of the crisis and create resilient and sustainable communities.

Within the framework of International Volunteer Day, at AMEXTRA we thank the corporate volunteers of Fundación ADO who have supported highly marginalized communities in Chiapas during the most critical economic moments of the pandemic, by opening doors of opportunity to commercialize the honey produced at the Centro Agroecológico Pej’pem in Palenque, at points of sale in Villahermosa and Tabasco.

Thanks to Mtro. Robert Montejo Galicia, Head of Volunteering at Fundación ADO in Villahermosa and Coatzacoalcos, as well as Lic. Gledy Montoya Escobar, Head of Volunteering for Chiapas and Central America, because thanks to their support, Fundación ADO volunteers have been trained, sensitized and have carried out various actions with social impact and in favor of the environment with Amextra.

This honey distribution network program for the beekeepers of Palenque was very successful, not only internally, because the collaborators were committed to the sale and promotion of honey, but at an economic level, because thanks to that, honey could be mobilized that would probably have been very difficult to move.

In an interview with Fundación ADO, they shared with us that the rapprochement between colleagues and fellow collaborators is very diverse and extremely personal, when volunteering, because a bond of friendship is generated so valuable that it goes beyond the institutional one, and a life friendship is generated.

“Because what motivates volunteering is generally their own motivations to help and each one has different causes. They are people who bring in their hearts the impetus and the essence of supporting and collaborating in activities to add to the quality of life of other people”.

Among the experiences that have given them great joy when volunteering, is the project focused on the area of education, where it was possible to establish a formal educational system with the help of volunteers who had knowledge in various areas such as mathematics and history and became teachers. Also, there were private classes in Excel and English, specific courses for mechanics and drivers, fellow who did not have an email learned to use it, among other training that looked to take advantage of the knowledge of employees for the benefit of others.

Tina’s story has been very significant, since she was a colleague who couldn’t  read well and had a son in the United States, who sent her letters and told her to learn to use the Internet. At that time, smartphones were just beginning to be used and the son insisted that she learn. During that time Mrs. Tina was with Fundación ADO, she learned to use all this and today she can communicate perfectly with her son. Stories like this have positively marked the volunteers, as it motivates them to continue helping.

The corporate volunteering promoted by Fundación ADO is implemented through volunteer committees, these are located in the different regions where the Mobility ADO company is located, because being a corporation all the company’s collaborators can join in being volunteers.

“The idea of being a volunteer at Fundación ADO is that the collaborator adds, supports, teaches, contributes to the quality of life of his fellow collaborator. The idea is to help collaborate to improve the quality of life of those who have a lower standard of living”.

Thus, one of the lines of volunteering consists of sharing their knowledge or talents as collaborators of the company, through mentoring. For example, if you have a community tourism project, and among the volunteers there is someone from the commercial side who knows how to write the customer service code, this knowledge is shared with the base group or organization, to potentiate and professionalize that knowledge. In addition, of the activities that are mapped with the organizations that can be: joining the summer course, supporting the health fair, accompanying a toy delivery on January 6 or having a community day.

“For Fundación ADO, social investment is not only given from a financial point of view, in fact, that is the last step, for us investment is always given from all these fronts, which is not only an economic resource.”

Finally, “volunteering is a vocation and being a volunteer is spreading the passion to add to the lives of others. It really has to do with an essence that is part of being, that is of heart and vocation”.