Giving Back is Not Just Good for Business, But Also the Soul
When we started Neora ten years ago, we were determined to create something different. We wanted to establish a culture of empowering people to become their best selves and to pursue a life on their terms every single day. I believe our greatest asset as a company is the people associated with it. We are more than just a business, we are a family of caring, compassionate and positive people, and we believe the secret to our success is helping others.
Help Others, Help Yourself
Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., a respected researcher in the science of happiness and the author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, says the prosocial behavior of giving back can lead to a cascade of positive consequences. In other words, the good that we do for each other creates a ripple effect that can spread exponentially helping to bring more good into the world.
With that mindset, we created the Neora Ripple Foundation built on the purpose of Making People Better. The foundation’s goal is to inspire Brand Partners to take the initiative to make their world a better place, both individually and collectively. If we can make life better for one person, we believe they will be inspired to do the same for someone else.
The Neora Ripple Foundation aims to create an environment of loving, sharing, and caring that cultivates people who give back to their communities. We encourage our employees and Brand Partners to actively engage in those activities that benefit other people. We do this because we know it not only helps the people we serve, but it helps us too. Studies show that people who actively engage in volunteerism have better health, have a more positive outlook and feel more energetic than those who don’t. Prosocial behaviors lead to happier people. Happier people are also happier employees, and businesses with happier employees have happier customers.
A Joyful Journey
Aside from the obvious benefits to the greater good, making a positive difference in someone else’s life also provides you with what researchers theorize as the “warm glow.” This is the overwhelming joy that you feel when you know you are making a real difference in someone else’s world. I know firsthand how volunteering has changed my life. Ten years ago, I decided that if I was going to encourage others to get involved, I had better set that example myself.
The Gift of Empowering Others
As a company, we had already been working closely with Big Brother Big Sisters of America—raising more than $5 million since Neora first started—because their values closely align with ours: give people the opportunity to empower themselves to flourish in life. It wasn’t until I decided to become a Big Sister to my Little Sister Ryan that I truly knew what that meant. Through the years I have watched Ryan gain confidence in herself, and today she believes she can do anything she sets her mind to. Now, as she is about the enter adulthood, I know that she will have the life that she wants. What warms my heart more than anything, though, is when she says that each day is a blessing and that she can’t wait to make a positive difference in a little girl’s life who is just waiting for a mentor to enter her life. That is the true definition of the ripple effect.
Renee Olson is the Chief Leadership Officer for Neora. Renee is a regional sales trainer, inspiring motivator, public speaker and advocate for children’s causes. As a Board Member of the Neora Ripple Foundation, Renee is passionate about helping at-risk youth, families and communities across the globe and is actively involved in supporting our Big Brothers Big Sisters and World Vision International philanthropic partners.
Love this article so much!
So blessed to be a part of this company
LOVE this- so blessed to be a part of this community!!!
I absolutely agree with everything in this article! We are so much more than a business. Our culture of loving, sharing, and caring brand partners is the core of our success.
Dustin Mitchell