Helping Communities Connect and Thrive Through Volunteerism

It's our 2nd annual Lift Our Communities Month, and we're celebrating the everyday volunteerism of our colleagues who are helping communities around the world to connect and thrive.  

Earlier this month, we highlighted the efforts of our Otis colleagues who volunteered to mentor the next generation of STEM innovators through our Made to Move Communities^TM program. We're turning our focus now to our colleagues who volunteer their time with other Otis and community partners. 

At Otis, we see corporate citizenship as both an ethical responsibility and a business imperative – and we embrace the idea that in order to do well, we must do good. We encourage colleague volunteerism and nurture a workplace culture of diversity and inclusion. It's also why we set the goal of dedicating 500,000 colleague volunteer hours to support STEM education, social equity and inclusion, and efforts to create vibrant communities globally by 2030.  

Here we spotlight four of our Otis colleagues who are helping us reach that goal, and the causes to which they generously volunteer their time and talents.  

Vijay Lakamraju, Project Security Officer, Americas

For the last five years, Vijay Lakamraju, Project Security Officer, Otis Connecticut, USA, has coached and mentored local teams participating in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics challenges (FRC, FTC and FLL), which seeks to help students think innovatively and critically, solve game challenges and learn critical STEM skills. 

"The program helps middle and high school students feel the joy of solving problems through science and engineering," said Lakamraju. "At the same time, we’re supporting their experience with competing professionally." 

As a result of his volunteerism, the number of students interested in robotics in the town of Avon, CT, has grown tremendously, and the number of teams participating in the FIRST Competition has increased. Local groups have also matured dramatically over the years, winning awards at state championships. 

"I love giving back to the community," said Lakamraju. "Volunteering has also helped me personally in many ways; it has helped me become a better engineer." 

Quentin Bezault, IoT Application Engineer, EMEA 

During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021, Quentin Bezault, IoT Application Engineer, Otis Gien, France, wanted to help students who were falling behind in their remote schooling. Having struggled with math himself when he was young, he now understands how to explain the subject clearly to students. After placing an ad on Facebook, he quickly found several local collège (junior high) students to whom he gave lessons remotely. 

"The tutoring allowed students to get their heads above water and be proud of themselves," said Bezault. 

He presented the initiative to the Otis Gien Management Committee, who empowered him to lead a group of five Otis Gien volunteers giving academic support. They collected feedback from families involved in the program and one student's mother shared, "Our little Sasha, who was terrible in maths, has seen her grades increase significantly! She loved her classes with Mr. Bezault!" 

 Added Bezault: "Tutoring is expensive, and I didn't want to ask for money for sparing a little bit of my time. I was lucky enough to be able to undertake higher education, and now it's my turn to give others a chance."

Judy Jiao, Communications Manager, China 

"Many groups of people around us need help, and volunteering can help them," said Judy Jiao, Communications Manager, Otis China Limited, Tianjin, China. "Sometimes, a small act can lead to the possibility of change, which makes volunteering very meaningful to me."  

For Jiao, that small act was helping the China Women's Development Foundation implement the rollout of a new STEM scholarship, sponsored by Otis, and planning a training camp for the 90 scholarship recipients. She believes that the scholarships and training will help women develop STEM skills needed in the modern workforce and open new and exciting career paths for them.  

"I also believe the added value that volunteerism creates can become the core competitiveness of enterprises," said Jiao. "If we can use our expertise and resources to help the community to address issues and challenges, not only can we create more value for the community but also the business itself."

Yojiro Aoyagi, Manager, Johoku Service Station, APAC

A dedicated volunteer with the Special Olympics Nippon's annual "Walk & Run" charity festival, Yojiro Aoyagi, Manager, Johoku Service Station, Nippon Otis, Tokyo, Japan, was disappointed when the event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So when the 2021 "Walk & Run" was announced as a virtual event, he was excited. 

"I was interested in this new attempt," said Aoyagi. "I was looking forward to meeting the athletes — people with intellectual disabilities — after waiting such a long time."  

From November 13-20, Aoyagi walked with his team members and reported the walking distance through an online system. Their progress was posted on the Special Olympics Twitter feed. 

"Through the event, I wanted to show our Otis colleagues how wonderful teamwork can be while having fun," said Aoyagi. "We can create a better work environment if we have a more flexible approach to diversity." 

To learn more about how Otis mentors are helping to advance inclusive mobility and empower the STEM workforce of the future, visit our Social Impact page.