Cisco Systems Foundation Awards $735,000 to 71 Bay Area Non- Profits - FAQ, advises, how-to, reviews, selections, online sales

Popular articles

Cisco Systems Foundation Awards $735,000 to 71 Bay Area Non- ProfitsToday, the Cisco Systems Foundation announced its 2005 San Jose Impact Grants that support non-profits within a 50-mile radius of Cisco's headquarters. In this grant cycle, $735,000 in funding will aid 71 organizations that provide essential services to the Bay Area community. These non-profits offer technology and art education for youth and adults, health services for low income families, and food and shelter for the area's homeless.

"At Cisco, we believe in building strong communities in which every individual has access to quality education, the means by which to live, and the opportunity to succeed," said Sylvia Allen, Cisco Systems' Senior Director, Corporate Responsibility. "As a company, we are proud to support these local non-profits who share our values, our vision and our goal to build lasting solutions that will improve the lives of those in the community."

One of the grant recipients was Resource Area for Teachers ( RAFT ), a non-profit organization located in San Jose that provides over 5,000 Bay Area teachers with supplies, hands-on interactive learning materials for their students, and professional training workshops. RAFT has benefited from Cisco Impact Grant funding, as well as support of Cisco and its employees who have donated products and time.

To mark the company's 20th anniversary in 2004, Cisco's 35,000 employees volunteered the equivalent of one day each in their community and effectively gave back more than 20 years ( 175,200 hours ) worth of volunteer service. Over 4,000 hours were donated to RAFT by 1,000 employees from Cisco's San Jose headquarters. While at RAFT, the Cisco employees filled backpacks with school supplies for low income children, organized supplies for distribution, helped refurbish old computers and assembled educational kits that teachers use for classroom lessons. In a normal year RAFT produces 14,000 educational kits; but, with the help of Cisco's employees, that number doubled to 28,000.

"We are extremely grateful for the many ways Cisco has assisted us over the years," said Mary Simon, RAFT's Executive Director. "Without their active hands-on support, our program would not reach nearly as many children and teachers as it does today."

Through Tech Soup, a Cisco partner organization that connects non-profits with donated and discounted technology products, RAFT has obtained Cisco hardware and software that supports their internal network and server as well as their teacher training center. The products donated by Cisco allow RAFT to operate more efficiently and reach more children in need. Cisco also donates paper and other office goods that go directly to schools that lack basic supplies.

"Our work with RAFT is a perfect example of how Cisco takes advantage all of the company's assets in our philanthropic giving," said Cisco's Allen. "Instead of only providing funding, Cisco also donates company products and employee expertise to ensure long-term sustainability."

The San Jose Impact Grants reflect the Cisco Foundation's dedication to providing basic human needs to overcome the cycle of poverty, granting access to education to foster opportunity, and promoting responsible citizenship. The Foundation awards grants to Bay Area organizations twice a year - once in the spring, once in the fall.

Since the inception of the grant awards in 1993, the program has awarded more than 975 community grants amounting to approximately $14 million to Bay Area non-profit organizations.

The following is a list of organizations awarded funding:

Organization Name City State
---------------------------------------
AIDS Alliance The Center For AIDS Services Oakland Calif.
African Immigrant & Refugee Resource Center San Francisco Calif.
After-School All-Stars Of Greater San Jose San Jose Calif.
At The Crossroads San Francisco Calif.
Bay Area Community Services Oakland Calif.
Bill Wilson Center Santa Clara Calif.
Boys & Girls Clubs Of Oakland Oakland Calif.
California Academy Of Sciences San Francisco Calif.
Catholic Charities CYO San Francisco Calif.
Chabot Space & Science Center Foundation Oakland Calif.
Challenge Learning Center Mountain View Calif.
Community Breast Health Project Palo Alto Calif.
Community Housing Partnership San Francisco Calif.
Community Partners For Youth, Inc. San Jose Calif.
Crisis Support Services Of Alameda County Oakland Calif.
Day School Summerbridge San Francisco Calif.
Digital Clubhouse Network San Jose Calif.
Edgewood Center For Children And Families San Francisco Calif.
El Camino Hospital Foundation Mountain View Calif.
Eldergivers San Francisco Calif.
Foundation For A College Education East Palo Alto Calif.
Girls For A Change San Jose Calif.
Hospice Of The Valley San Jose Calif.
Industry Initiatives For Science & Math Education Santa Clara Calif.
Innvision The Way Home San Jose Calif.
Institute On Aging San Francisco Calif.
Jewish Family And Children's Services San Francisco Calif.
Junior Achievement Of Silicon Valley & Monterey Bay, Inc. Santa Clara Calif.
Kidpower*Teenpower*Fullpower International Santa Cruz Calif.
La Clinica De La Raza - Fruitvale Health Project, Inc. Oakland Calif.
Larkin Street Youth Services San Francisco Calif.
Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen San Jose Calif.
Mercy Housing California San Francisco Calif.
National Kidney Foundation Of Northern California San Francisco Calif.
New Connections Concord Calif.
New Horizons School Santa Cruz Calif.
North Peninsula Neighborhood Services Center, Inc. S San Francisco Calif.
Opnet Community Ventures, Inc. San Francisco Calif.
Pacifica School Volunteers Pacifica Calif.
Peninsula Stroke Association Palo Alto Calif.
Project Cornerstone San Jose Calif.
Project High Expectations Learning Program Sunnyvale Calif.
Project Match Inc Milpitas Calif.
Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley San Jose Calif.
Recording For The Blind & Dyslexic Palo Alto Calif.
Refugee Transitions Oakland Calif.
Resource Area For Teachers San Jose Calif.
Resources For Indispensable Schools And Educators San Francisco Calif.
Rotacare Bay Area, Inc. Gilroy Calif.
San Francisco Jazz Organization San Francisco Calif.
San Jose Conservation Corps San Jose Calif.
San Jose Museum Of Art Association San Jose Calif.
San Jose Repertory Theatre San Jose Calif.
Santa Clara Family Health Foundation Campbell Calif.
Save San Francisco Bay Association Oakland Calif.
School Health Clinics Of Santa Clara County San Jose Calif.
Second Harvest Food Bank Serving Santa Cruz And San Benito Counties Watsonville Calif.
Sensory Access Foundation Sunnyvale Calif.
Shalom Bayit Oakland Calif.
Shih Yu-Lang Central YMCA San Francisco Calif.
Society Of Women Engineers, Santa Clara Valley Section Sunnyvale Calif.
St. Vincent De Paul Society Of Santa Clara County San Jose Calif.
The Better Health Foundation Oakland Calif.
The Imagine Bus Project San Francisco Calif.
The Morgan Center Santa Clara Calif.
The Unity Care Group San Jose Calif.
Transaccess San Jose Calif.
Tri-City Homeless Coalition Fremont Calif.
University Of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Calif.
Wardrobe For Opportunity Oakland Calif.
Yes Reading Menlo Park Calif.

About the Cisco Systems Foundation
The Cisco Systems Foundation was established in 1997 by a gift from Cisco Systems, Inc. As Corporate Philanthropy's primary cash investment vehicle, the Foundation provides grants to select organizations with long-lasting, local or global impact. More information on the Cisco Systems Foundation is available at www.cisco.com/go/foundation.

About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. ( NASDAQ: CSCO ), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, celebrates 20 years of commitment to technology innovation, industry leadership and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

# # #

Contact Information

Press Contact( s ):

Abby Smith
Cisco Systems, Inc.
408 525-8548
absmith@cisco.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alba Spectrum popular articles series: FAQ, Reviews, Introductions, Product Selections, Advises, Definitions, online marketing

We are serving wholesale & retail customers in Illinois, California, Texas, Wisconsin, New York, Washington, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Utah, Virginia, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Colorado, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia. We also serve customer internationally in New Zealand, Europe: UK, France, Poland, Italy, Germany, Russia, India, Byrma, Thailand, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Indonesia, Austria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Equador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Asia: India, China, Philippines, South Korea, plus business metros: Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Boston, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Fargo, Seattle, Miami, Orlando, Detroit, Buffalo, Toronto, Paris, London, Montreal, Denver, Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Rome, Karachi, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Dehli, Mumbai, Beigin, Cairo, San Francisco, Fremont, Naperville, Oakland, Mellburn, Sidney, Sent Petersburg, Tampa, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, Mexico City, Bogota, Caracas, Lima, Salvador, Recife, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Curitiba, Goiania. http://www.albaspectrum.com