Why Elastic paid me to work with 3 to 79-year-olds for a week

For two days, I was helping little hands at a non-profit preschool mold clay moons, stay (kind of) still during story time, and wipe their noses. Another day, I was helping an at-risk teen center organize their annual fundraiser materials in a 25-degree room. One day, I was at our local food pantry and community closet helping neighbors ensure they had food for the week and clothes for the impending cold. And the fifth day, I hit the grocery store, baked a ton of lasagna, and delivered pans to my elderly neighbors, one of whom is recovering from brain surgery. Afterwards, I gathered my kids, drove down to our local safehouse, wrote a sizable check, and proudly told them, "my company's going to match this. Thank you for everything you do."

So why all of this?

It's called Elastic Cares and it's made up of Volunteer Time Off (VTO; every employee gets 5 days per year, 100% paid) and charitable donation matching. Throughout 2018, I saw stories of destination volunteer trips where my teammates from across the seas gathered to help others. As a distributed-first company, we have teammates in 37 countries, so I love that there are opportunities outside of work to work together in a different way. I hope to do this in the coming years, but, with two small kids, I wanted to stay close to home (and not miss family dinner). As I was reflecting on how I wanted to spend my VTO, I realized that most of my previous volunteering was dedicated to animals. This time, I wanted to help, well, a different sort of animal. So, I mapped out my own local program centered in Nederland, CO USA with the theme of people and some very personal ties (but that's another story).

What I learned:

1. When things get tough for me, it's really not so bad. My stressors got shoved right back into proportion. Part of our source code at Elastic is HUMBLE, Ambitious. And it's easy to lose sight of proportion when you're enraptured in the day-to-day demands of high-growth tech.
2. Wages and cost of living are not aligned in many parts of the USA. My biggest learning from my time at the food pantry: Everyone who came in that day was working. That blew my mind! They just couldn't make ends meet, primarily due to the high cost of housing in our county. It was hard to swallow tears and smile as I helped a single dad and his beaming daughter pick out canned food. And why was that elderly woman who clearly had the flu alone picking up food?
3. If local communities took care of each other like family, loneliness and scarcity would be on the decline. I live apart from my extended family and I couldn't help but wonder: What if my parent's neighbors or my aunt and uncle's neighbors stopped by to visit, bring food, and check in as a regular part of life? What if the different generations in each area overlapped and included one another more? I can't affect everywhere, but I can affect my community and ensure we're knit together.
4. Many of us working in the technology industry are so damn fortunate. Let's not forget the role of compassion and acting with compassion. Working for a high-growth tech company globally based out of Amsterdam with US headquarters in Silicon Valley, it's easy to forget how blessed we are. The tech industry has been one of the leading industries increasing our GDP in the US and positively affecting virtually every state for well over a decade. And I think it's pretty awesome that a sign in the teacher's kitchen at the preschool gifted me such an important reminder:

"Usually our concept of compassion or love refers to the feeling of closeness we have with our friends and loved ones. Sometimes compassion also carries a sense of pity. This is wrong.

Any love or compassion which entails looking down on the other is not genuine compassion. To be genuine, compassion must be based on respect for the other, and on the realization that others have the right to be happy and overcome suffering, just as much as you.

On this basis, since you can see that others are suffering, you develop a genuine concern for them." -The XIVth Dalai Lama

As I've returned to work, I've carried these learnings with me. I feel much more at ease with the pressures of my day-to-day as well as curious about how I can help my community more frequently. As 2019 unfolds, I wish each of you the gift of proportion, community, and compassion. And if contributing to an organization that prioritizes giving back and humility alongside ambition sounds up your alley, we're hiring.