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International Day of Charity is 5th September and is intended to raise awareness and encourage charitable efforts worldwide. At Cohesity, we actively encourage all our employees to get involved through volunteering opportunities, donation drives and nonprofit partnerships, with a focus on sharing time, talent and resources for the causes we care about.
This International Day of Charity, we wanted to hear from some of our leaders who truly embody this space.
I lead Cohesity's sustainability strategy, including our Cohesity for Good program, from environmental work like hitting our 100% renewable energy target a year ahead of schedule, to creating ways for every employee to show up for the communities we're part of. Watching that turn into 3,920 volunteer hours logged in FY2026 alone, a 57% jump from the year before, is one of the most energizing parts of the job. It's proof that when you give people the resources and the invitation, they show up.
Giving back isn't a once-a-year moment for us. It's built into how we work. Every employee gets 40 paid hours a year to volunteer for a cause they care about, and we run structured giving moments throughout the year, like our annual Giving Season each November and December, alongside local donation drives led by our employees around the world, from clothing drives in Pune, India, to food bank shifts in Austin, Texas, to beach cleanups in Dublin, Ireland. We weave giving into moments that already matter to our people: at year-end, employees can choose to donate the value of their holiday gift to a charity of their choice, and points earned through our internal recognition program can be donated as funds to a cause as well. The gift of giving can be the most powerful reward.
Start small and start local. At Cohesity, we've built an AI-powered tool internally that gives employees a shortlist of nearby nonprofits to connect with, based on their interests and location, so no one has to spend time hunting for where to begin. Beyond that, my advice is simple: check what's already happening at your local office, remote hub, or with your team, whether that's a volunteer day, a donation drive, or a community-led initiative. And don't underestimate what a single afternoon can do; show up once, and you'll usually find a cause and a community that keeps pulling you back in.
The Impact Belonging Community is our way of working here in Pune, and it’s how we make sure Cohesity's success turns into something real for the communities around us. This past year, that's meant helping nonprofits set up computer and science labs in ten government schools, running free eye check-ups and diabetes screenings that reached thousands of people, and building a hostel so students no longer sleep in the same classrooms they study in during the day. It's also the smaller stuff that gets people involved, painting gullaks (piggy banks), assembling solar lamps, running a Diwali flea market where proceeds went straight to our NGO partners. None of it works without people showing up, and this year, close to 15,000 lives were touched by the time we added it all up.
For me, this was never about a single event or a day on the calendar. I wanted giving back to be part of how we work at Cohesity, something people look forward to, not something they're asked to do. Leading Impact let me put my energy into building real relationships with the NGOs we support and being able to point at something concrete; a school with a computer lab, a kid who got glasses, a hostel where students finally have a place to sleep, and knowing we did that together. That's the spirit I hope International Day of Charity carries: not a reminder to give back, but a celebration of what we're already doing.
The one that stays with me is our Diwali flea market this year. It wasn't just a nice team activity; employees came out in full force and bought directly from the NGO stalls. We ended up raising ₹65,000 for the NGOs we partner with. Add to that the 600 kg of clothes people donated, the evenings spent painting wooden piggy banks together, and the solar lamps we assembled for underprivileged students. It wasn't just people giving their time; it was people giving energy and resources because they wanted to, not because they were asked to. That's the moment that tells me this is working. Everyone who showed up made a difference, and you could feel it.
It's a good day to look back and feel proud of what the Impact Belonging Community has done this year, the schools we have equipped, the screenings and eyeglasses that reached people who had no other access to care, the hostel at the school that means kids finally have a place to sleep. That's real, tangible impact, and days like this are a chance to sit with that for a moment instead of just moving on to the next activity.
But it also makes me look ahead. We have gone from one-off initiatives to something with real momentum, and the next step is bringing more employees into that work, making giving back less of an occasional activity and more a natural part of how people experience working at Cohesity. So, for me, this day is equal parts celebration and a nudge to keep building.
There is a quote that has always stayed with me: "The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others." That sentiment has always resonated deeply with me. Throughout my life, I've been fortunate to have people invest in me, encourage me, and help me see possibilities I couldn't always see for myself, and that's one of the reasons service has always mattered to me.
Over the years, I've volunteered in schools with underserved children and in elder care homes, and both taught me the same lesson: making a difference is rarely about grand gestures. More often, it's about showing up, listening, and being present for someone else. The people being served often leave a greater impact on us than we leave on them.
That's what drew me to the Impact Belonging Community. It's a chance to come together with others who believe we have a responsibility not just to do our jobs well, but to contribute to the communities around us. For me, belonging extends beyond the workplace, it's about creating positive impact wherever we can. Above all, I see service as a privilege. Not everyone has the time or opportunity to give back, and when we do, I believe we should embrace it with gratitude.
One of the moments I'm most proud of wasn't a large event or a fundraising milestone. It was spending time with underserved children and seeing their eyes light up as they began to realize their future didn't have to be defined by their circumstances. I remember speaking with students who had rarely been exposed to careers or life experiences beyond their immediate environment, and helping them see what might be possible, even briefly, was incredibly meaningful. In a different setting, volunteering at elder care homes taught me that something as simple as listening or sharing a conversation can have a lasting impact.
What I'm most proud of isn't what I contributed, but what those experiences taught me: that every person has a story, every person deserves dignity, and small acts of kindness often matter more than we realize. The Impact Belonging Community creates opportunities for all of us to make those connections. It reminds us that giving back isn't about recognition or checking a box; it's about showing up for others and helping strengthen the communities around us. Those moments of human connection are what make this work so meaningful, and why I stay involved.
International Day of Charity reminds me that service is a privilege. It is an opportunity to look beyond ourselves and make a positive difference in someone else's life, whether through our time, our compassion, or simply being present for others.
Through volunteering experiences, I've learned that even small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact. The Impact Belonging Community gives us a chance to turn that belief into action and strengthen the communities around us.
For me, it's a reminder that while we're all busy building products, careers, and businesses, we also have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to contribute to something bigger than ourselves.
The same thread runs through every answer: giving back at Cohesity isn't reserved for one day a year, and it's rarely about grand gestures. It's showing up consistently. The scale differs. The spirit doesn't.
For this International Day of Charity, start small, start local. Show up once, and you'll usually find a cause, and a community, that keeps pulling you back in.
Learn more about our culture and Life at Cohesity here.
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