Volunteering with Brazil’s Social Opportunity Institute
Camaley Jennings @camaleyjennings1
Marketing & Project Manager, GitHub Social Impact
Pedro Lacerda @pedrolacerda
Senior Solutions Engineer, GitHubNovember 18, 2021 //
Encouraging employees to volunteer
As a part of Employee Volunteering Month each April, GitHub employees around the world are encouraged to give back to their local communities. From July 2020 through June 2021, they volunteered for an average of 24 hours each! Some staff members contributed by leveraging their tech skills to train youths and people with disabilities in Brazil.
Working with the Social Opportunity Institute
Founded in 1998, the Instituto da Oportunidade Social (Social Opportunity Institute) (IOS), is a nonprofit in Brazil that provides free professional training and employment readiness for youths and people with disabilities and social vulnerabilities—those who often have less access to opportunities in the labor market. Participants gain not only technical knowledge and theoretical training, but important behavioral skills that carry over from professional to personal livelihoods. IOS is proud of this work, as it provides autonomy for students to take the lead in their lives, and strengthen and restore social bonds within their families and community. The Institute has supported more than 40,000 young people through training and work, and graduates an average of 3,000 students per year. What’s more, IOS has increased students’ families’ income by around 49%!
Providing opportunity: Volunteer Month 2021
This past April, the Social Impact team—together with the Octogatos, GitHub’s LatinX Employee Resource Group—developed programming with IOS. Members of the Octogatos participated in two virtual ‘Coffee Break talks,’ which were then uploaded to IOS’ YouTube channel. These discussions provided students with even more access to volunteers, and themes included having a career in tech, the Brazilian job market, and how to work in a global company. The presentations were given in a colloquial way, providing students with a safe and comfortable space to ask questions in the chat.
It was an amazing experience! I was able to reflect on working at a global tech company, while encouraging young people to prepare for their careers by thinking about what’s possible in a global market.
~ Volunteer Alessandro Stein (@alessandrostein), GitHub Software Engineer
Coffee Break Talk featuring Ruy Adorno, Senior Software Engineer, GitHub (@ruyadorno) and Priscila Heller, Senior Manager, Premium Support, GitHub (@talktopri). Watch the video presentation here.
What’s next for GitHub and IOS
The Octogatos are proud of their successful partnership with IOS and are currently working on a series of upcoming events together. Check the Octogatos’ Twitter to learn about what’s next!
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