Last week, 150 members of the NetSuite product team came to our headquarters in San
Mateo, Calif., from offices around the world to participate in an annual team-building
week. After a week of innovative idea-sharing and friendly competition, the
group spent its final day participating in a SuiteImpact Team volunteer event at the First Step for Families Shelter in San Mateo. Employees stepped away from their traditional
day-to-day work of developing the NetSuite platform and devoted their
determination and passion to complete a series of renovation projects for the
shelter.


First Step for Families is part of the InnVision Shelter Network, providing immediate shelter and services for families from the moment they become homeless. Families can stay at the full-service shelter for up to 60 days, until they find permanent housing or move on to one of Shelter Network’s transitional housing programs or another residential program. It was our privilege to join their hard-working, dedicated staff for the day’s event.

As we unloaded at the shelter, it was clear just how much passion the group had for
giving back—everyone was eager to get started on their projects and we could
see the opportunity to make a big difference right in front of us. Ten teams
spent the day repainting interior rooms for shelter residents, weeding and replanting
community vegetable and butterfly gardens, sprucing up and repainting exterior
fences, and sorting food, clothing and toy donations. Meanwhile, other employees taught technical skills and worked on resumes with clients, cooked a BBQ lunch for residents and hungry volunteers, and painted a beautiful series of murals to adorn the walls of the on-site preschool.

Last, but certainly not least, one group of super volunteers tackled a landscaping
problem that the shelter had been hoping to fix for over five years. Over 30
NetSuite employees attacked the project with determination, clearing a large
area of thick brush, weeding the area and laying down mulch. The shelter will
replant the area with plants that are easier to maintain, less dangerous and
require less water, allowing the shelter to cut back on its water bill and
redirect those funds to other programs.

The day went by in a flash—with sweaty, cheerful employees giving the project their
all. As the day continued, volunteers found new projects to tackle, including
cleaning and fixing the outdoor toys and bicycles used by the many children
living at the shelter. One final push after lunch, and we had completed the
entire list of tasks—something that the shelter employees said would have taken
them quite some time to do on their own.

It was a great pleasure and honor to spend the day at First Step for Families, and
we’d like to give a huge thanks to HandsOn Bay Area, a volunteer coordination group that helped coordinate our event. We were thrilled to contribute in our own way to the
fantastic work that the InnVision Shelter Network takes on each day.

If you have volunteer opportunities that you’d like the NetSuite.org SuiteImpact
Teams to tackle, let us know at giving@netsuite.com.