Verifone gives back: San Jose

It’s the organization’s goal to afford its underprivileged students the same opportunities for education, employment, and income—to close the gaps that unfortunately exist.

On April 26th, SJCC+CS held its annual Spring Luncheon Celebration, held at the charter school campus. Chan suggested this year’s event be hosted onsite, which gave attendees a sense of why the school matters, why donations have been so important to its growth, and why more funding is still needed.

Mark Lazzarini, Board Member at SJCC+CS, speaks to the crowd.

“Last year, I took a backseat during the planning process to understand it better, and really experience the luncheon,” said Chan. “After the event, I analyzed the numbers and realized that we need to decrease our costs if we wanted the fundraiser to be successful.”

By holding the event onsite, and all the cost-saving that came with it, SJCC+CS was able to raise ~$40k more than last year, which is almost a 55% increase over last year’s luncheon. The number of sponsors also more than doubled, as awareness continues to grow for SJCC+CS and its efforts to help grow San Jose’s leaders of tomorrow.

More than just providing its students a high school diploma and career opportunities, SJCC+CS has a special focus on careers that also give back to the community, through efforts like environmental conservation, and the construction/rehabilitation of affordable housing spaces. The school strives to instill in its students the work ethic, self-sufficiency, team building, and leadership skills needed to become responsible, productive, and caring citizens.

Paola Flores, a graduate of SJCC+CS, is embraced by Mark Lazzarini, Board Member at SJCC+CS, as she speaks to the crowd at the 2018 Spring Luncheon Celebration.

“Without the Corps, I’m not sure where I’d be,” said Paola Flores, a graduate of the charter school, now attending a local community college. Flores, who spoke at the luncheon, has also gone on to internships at the Corps' Recycling Department and Projects Department, and hopes to transfer to a university soon to pursue an education in social work.

Alan Ha, Recycling Director at SJCC+CS, speaks with attendees at the 2018 Spring Luncheon Celebration.

Alan Ha, the Recycling Director at SJCC+SC, said corps members can engage in a variety of projects, related to sustainability and zero waste, while simultaneously enrolling in higher education and exploring work opportunities outside the organization.

“[SJCC+CS] helped me through some tough times in my life and always keeps pushing me to do better. They make me feel welcome, and even though I might stumble sometimes, they always tell me it’s never too late to find the right path,” said Flores.

Community programs like SJCC+CS exist all across the globe. After experiencing first-hand how impactful her involvement with the program could be, Chan made an effort to get other Verifone employees involved, whether it be through volunteering at or donating to this year’s luncheon.

Gi Lee, Designer at Verifone photographs the event.

“Seeing my coworkers volunteering at the event—one that we had been diligently planning for a while—was so inspiring, said Chan.  “It was the perfect amalgam of Verifone teamwork and community involvement.”

Whether it’s through one of our initiatives or something you’ve pursued independently, Verifone wants to recognize the great work our team does outside of the office and inspire others to do the same.