Beyond NordPass: Sharing Our Passion to Help Others With the Community

Oleksandr, Backend Developer

What is the good deed that you’ve done?

For 7 consecutive years, I participated as technical support in a youth social advertising festival. The team and I did everything there: from creating a website to preparing offline activities during the festival itself. Nowadays, I develop things like messenger bots or site modules for local NGOs in my spare time.

Why was it important? What message does it send?

About the festival, I believe that our work helped young people to reveal their talents or even choose their future careers path.

About the other activities, I believe that some of them help people to learn something new and interesting.

What did it mean to you personally?

For me, it’s a good chance to network, learn something new, and improve my skills as a developer. Also, it's an opportunity to make the place around you better: your city, region, or even country.

Any advice for people considering a similar activity?

Volunteering is not only about cleaning parks or helping old people. You can apply your own skills to good deeds. Developers can join some open-source communities and develop community projects or share their knowledge.

Egle, Executive Assistant

What is the good deed that you’ve done?

When I couldn’t get together with my loved ones during the pandemic, I decided to spend this time taking care of an old lady in my neighborhood. She was living alone and could not take care of herself properly. So I helped her with food, shopping, cleaning, took her to the hospital, and just talked.

Why was it important? What message does it send?

Volunteering is important because it enables people to help others in a selfless way. When you give something and have no expectations to get anything in return, you always get a lot.

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It kept me in regular social contact with that old lady and now I realize that we developed a support system for each other: I took care of her and in return a real friendship developed.

Volunteering is helping those who need it. It can show you that your own problems are not as big as you thought they were.

What did it mean to you personally?

It brought me joy and happiness every time I went to see her. I had a plan for when I would call her and what kind of soup I would make for her.

Any advice for people considering a similar activity?

If you are still thinking about whether to volunteer or not, do not waste your time thinking anymore. It will give you a lot more than you can expect and there are no words to describe it. You will get a lot of personal and professional benefits.

Rita, PPC Manager

What is the good deed that you’ve done?

Our family took in 3 orphan kittens for foster care until they were strong enough to be vaccinated and moved to permanent homes and loving families. Over 3 months, there was a lot of mess and a lot of laughter at our home. Just unforgettable!

Why was it important? What message does it send?

I believe that stray cats and dogs are a problem of society, not only the government. Most of these strays are obviously housepets somebody got rid of. Just like the somebody who left 3 barely walking kittens by the cemetery bus stop. And that somebody is a part of our society. I, as a part of the same society, want to help fix the issue of stray, unwanted, and unloved pets.

What did it mean to you personally?

I personally got loads of positive emotions from this volunteering activity. It was amazing to see the little ones grow beautiful and strong, their characters developing. When the right permanent homes were found, I took good-bye pictures of all the kitties with their new parents, and these will stay as a heartwarming memory with me.

Any advice for people considering a similar activity?

We can help animal shelters in quite a few ways. One is donations, which is great. But human time and attention is also necessary for any animals living there, even more so for those who are too vulnerable to live in the shelter. Please consider it: maybe you have a couple of hours a week to spare for good-doing? You may get more than you give.

Samantha, Front-end Developer

What is the good deed that you’ve done?

I have visited seniors and orphans and taken care of babies given up for adoption.

Why was it important? What message does it send?

It’s important to know that there are people outside of our bubble that may need help or even some quality time since they feel so lonely. I think they get the message that they are worthy and have not been forgotten.

What did it mean to you personally?

It was part of a subject I took in high school, about participating actively in our society, and at first it may seem like a chore, but after having some quality time with these people, you feel fulfilled.

Any advice for people considering a similar activity?

You should definitely do it. Even a small gesture can change someone’s day or even life.

Agne, QA Automation Engineer

What is the good deed that you’ve done?

• I adopted a kitten from “Tautmilės Prieglaudėlė” shelter — his name’s Meduolis.

• Forwarded a percentage of my taxes to the “Lesė” shelter.

• Donate to some cases asking for support in Facebook shelter groups and pages.

• Encourage all of my friends to do the same — help shelters and their inhabitants in any way they can.

Why was it important? What message does it send? What did it mean to you personally?

The first time I had ever visited a shelter was when I was a little girl. I was left heartbroken and literally left it crying after seeing so many puppies and kittens crying in their cages, asking for just a bit of love and showing how much of it they could give back if given the chance. That was when I came up with my plan to adopt at least two kittens from a shelter and try to support the cause at least a bit. As most of shelters’ income and resources do come from donations, and so much is needed for so many abandoned pets, every bit helps.

So, as soon as I started paying taxes and found out how to dedicate that 1.2%, it went straight to a shelter. And, as soon as I had a stable life of my own and could provide a stable life to an animal myself, I did that, and I’m planning on getting him a step-sibling to save another life and make him less lonely when he’s home alone, even though I know cats sleep most of the day anyway…

When the pandemic hit, I was also hearing more and more people from my social circles considering getting pets, so I looked for and used every opportunity to spill out a monologue about how adopting a pet is the way to go and it saves two lives — one you take home, and the other will find a home at the shelter you’ve just helped vacate. I also spammed them with links of shelter animals looking for loving homes.

Any advice for people considering a similar activity?

A pet will be just a part of your long life, but for the pet you will be the center of its life. Having seen trouble, sickness, and loneliness in their past, shelter animals might bring some difficulties into your home, because, just like humans, they might develop a trauma and you will need time, effort, and patience to deal with it. But, given a chance and just a bit of love, a shelter pet will give you so much more in return! Animals feel as much as humans and can express it in their own ways, and there is no better thing than a human-animal bond that grows over time and experiences.

Kamile, Affiliate Marketing Manager

What is the good deed that you’ve done?

For 5 consecutive years, I have been a member of “Global Shapers”, a non-profit organization with a mission to make a positive impact in local communities. Currently, there are around 448 Global Shapers city hubs in 150 countries. As a member of the Vilnius hub, I am involved in creating initiatives to support various good causes. Some of our previous initiatives were centered around helping women to get into the ICT industry, providing digital, data-driven tools for healthcare professionals to tackle global pandemic, encouraging professionals living outside the country to give back to their local community and contributing to sustainable development goals in Vilnius municipality.

Why was it important? What message does it send?

Volunteering gives me a great opportunity to understand that we’re all responsible for creating the environment we want to live in. It’s an important aspect of my life as I get to meet many inspiring, like-minded professionals who cherish the feeling of being able to contribute and give back. In my opinion, volunteering sends a message that we are all connected, and it is the perfect activity to get closer to our roots.

What did it mean to you personally?

Being a member of an NGO and involving myself in numerous initiatives to support good causes made me more aware of distinctive groups of people within the society and the challenges they face. Women in the ICT industry, healthcare professionals, teachers, and entrepreneurs are just some of the groups within our community that need more support and representation.

Any advice for people considering a similar activity?

Find a cause that you’re passionate about. Find out if you can make a change, even if it’s a small one. Join an NGO or find like-minded people to support you along the way. Deep-dive into it and enjoy the process!

Ema, Talent Attraction Partner

What is the good deed that you’ve done?

A few years ago, I was participating in a lot of non-profit organizations’ activities, and it was basically my life. At first, I was searching for places to volunteer, and those places were totally random. However, over time I became a council member at the NPO Interact Club “Ad astra” and I was a vice president at the NPO JKL. With both organizations, we organized events for children and elderly people, went to homeless shelters and donated mostly money or food, visited animal shelters and donated everything we could as well as our love to those cute little animals.

Why was it important? What message does it send?

I believe that volunteering and doing good deeds is a big lesson for everyone. You learn to appreciate other people, start thinking about others and not just yourself, and can see the bigger picture, which is all important while growing as an individual.

What did it mean to you personally?

As I mentioned before, volunteering was my life. For me, it wasn’t that I expected to do myself some good by doing something good, or that I was feeling good about myself when I did a good deed. It was different. I felt a must in this. I felt that there was no other way. You must do good, you must take care of others, you must at least try to provide for those who are unable to take care of themselves. That’s how I saw all of this.

Any advice for people considering a similar activity?

If you do a good deed, someone who sees you doing it will also consider doing a good deed, and this will create a chain reaction of people helping others. That’s why it’s worth doing volunteer work, and that’s why you should do it.

Julija, Product Manager

What is the good deed that you’ve done?

Last year, I volunteered as a mentor in an initiative known as Women Go Tech, which is the first mentoring program in Lithuania dedicated to helping women start and accelerate their careers in IT and engineering. During my time as a volunteer, I met an awesome lady who had an idea for a product but lacked the know-how and skills to make it come to life. So, in a sense, I was helping someone achieve their dreams.

Why was it important? What message does it send?

Being a part of Women Go Tech was important to me on a few levels: I was able to help someone make their dreams come true, and I also introduced talented people to the IT industry.

What did it mean to you personally?

For a very long time, our society thought (and, in some instances, still thinks) that the IT industry is reserved for men. I found myself within this industry quite early in my career, so now that I have the know-how, it is fun to bust some myths and help other women find their place in the IT industry. During my time as a mentor, I learned as much as I taught. It helped me grow as a professional as well as an individual.

Any advice for people considering a similar activity?

If you’re interested, don’t hesitate. Just remember that being a volunteer or a mentor requires one to be open-minded. Oh, and don’t be surprised when you learn more than you might have anticipated.

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