As everyone knows, the last few years have been challenging in many ways. They have made us reevaluate our priorities and helped us realize that gratitude is not something we should practice just on Thanksgiving. It should be something we do every day. For everyone at Boldr, it has been a very challenging yet extremely rewarding year. Being part of a team that is resilient and supportive in every way has made 2021 an experience unlike any other. This is our small thank you to everyone who helped make this year incredibly special!
We are shaped by our leaders. They are the ones that inspire us. The ones that pave the way. The ones that take the burden, and the ones that help us grow. We decided to ask our leadership team what they were most grateful for this year.
Here’s what they had to say:
“I am grateful for each and every single one of you. We couldn’t have done it without you. 2021 was an incredible year full of growth, challenges and lots and lots of learning. I am grateful for my family, my meditation teacher and my kitesurfing instructor.”
— David Sudolsky, Chief Impact Officer
“Like everyone, I spent 2020 scared, lonely, and uncertain as we all endured the lockdowns, sad news, and horrible reality that COVID wrought. It was hard to find hope and light in all that darkness. What a difference a year makes. Joining Boldr has brought me happiness, joy, and optimism that I hadn’t felt for over a year. I am so grateful for David asking me to join the team. I am grateful for all that you have built here at Boldr and all that we will build together. While we’ve still got a long way to go to beat COVID—and we will feel the losses of our friends and families forever—it feels great to be working on so many important projects with you all. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
— Steve Goldenberg, Advisor for Boldr
“Every evening at bed time, I ask my boys to share with me what they are grateful for that day (what are your “Thank you’s”). When they have a hard time identifying something specific from that day, we always start with the basics – I am grateful for my mom, my dad, my brother, my fish, and my cat.
In a year that has presented us with it’s fair share of challenges and opportunities, there is a lot to be thankful for, and we cannot help but go back to the basics. Being thankful for our health had seemed like something we took for granted, now it is one of our most sincere “thank you’s”.
At my core, I am thankful for my family, for their health and wellbeing. Expanding from there, I recognize the blessing that it is for me to get up everyday knowing that I get to connect with amazing inspiring human beings and I get to be part of a story that I am so proud of! Thank you to each and every one of you who share your light with me.
And thank you for the fish and the cat too :-)”
— Mari Parker, Chief Operations Officer
“The past two years we have seen nothing but fortune taken away, liberty deprived and loved-ones removed, both temporarily and in too many cases, permanently. Our every-day options and possibilities have been severely reduced, without any one of us contributing to its cause.
Naming 3 things I’m grateful for, first thing in the morning, became a survival technique.
But as suffering & despair groomed our planet I took comfort that we, Boldr, could say we tried to make it a little brighter. Our success unfolded possibilities for the community we blanket ourselves in. Our very presence set new standards for how to treat people in the workplace and provided much needed jobs and job security. We honestly strive to be the place where anyone can grow and develop into the person, and professional, they desire to be. And you are accepted for who you are, regardless of how quirky or “misfit-y” you feel.
Is this achieved because of a Logo or a handful of leaders? No!
This is only possible because of YOU!
So today, I choose to say:
I am grateful for You!
I am grateful for the people around us,
I am grateful for Boldr!
WE, make things a little brighter.”
— Erlend Johannesen, Country Director for the Philippines
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” –John F. Kennedy.
The end of the year inevitably makes us all ponder how far we’ve come and how much we have accomplished. For Boldr, our defining pillar is built upon giving back. And this year, we are grateful for the opportunity to make a difference. With the help of our nonprofit partners, here’s a small glimpse of what we have been able to achieve this year, together:
Streetlight
We supported 197 children and teens through the Boldr/Streetlight E-Learning Hub. We covered monthly administrative costs, which applied for school supplies, tutoring fees, government benefits, and Internet allowance for students.
One Child
One Child is a beneficiary of our Boldr Outdoor Bike Challenge. Our team members biked 5109 km, equivalent to USD 5109 in donations! This will help support the needs of 50 Dumagat and Tagalog children in San Juan del Monte, Bulacan from December 2021- December 2022.
It fills our happiness cups to the brim that we were able to contribute to these two amazing causes!
If one thing is true, it’s that anyone can make a difference. At Boldr, we focus on empowering our team members to work on any impact initiative they want to pursue. This way, we can help co-execute the project and turn their impact idea into a reality. We asked these inspiring Boldranians to speak up about their projects and how they felt after executing their own initiatives. Here’s what they had to say.
“For me, it is important to help others because sometimes we don’t realize what we have and that we can make a difference. Even with small acts, the important thing is never to forget that although we may not be able to summon our future, we can change the present. And I really hope that our present allows us to grow as much as we want. No matter how much we fear the unknown, the unknown does not exist—only the temporarily hidden and misunderstood. There will always be a way out of each box, a solution for each puzzle; it’s just a matter of finding it.
I decided to suggest the initiative of Pet shelter donations for Hogar Colitas MID and Gladys Perez Shelter because the animals need us. Many of them live on the streets and suffer hunger, abuse. I know that it is impossible to help all of them (although it would be ideal). However, through shelters or on our own, we can make that difference, no matter how small, because together, it will be greater. Because sometimes, that feeling is all we humans need to start making a difference.
I’m very grateful that this year has been one of positive experiences, for having the opportunity to rediscover myself as a person and regain hope. Likewise, I want to thank my loved ones, and true friends, for all their love and support during difficult times. Because step by step, we are going forward; all of you are important and an essential part of my life.
Finally, I want to thank Boldr for allowing me to share these words with you; it’s very pleasant to be part of a company where you are valued and trusted, not only to be heard but where there is also support and respect at all levels; as well as the opportunity for professional growth.”
“Amidst the pandemic, I have a lot to be thankful for concerning my personal and corporate life. I am grateful to be part of Boldr and for all the opportunities to contribute to the organization and my professional growth. I’m thankful that my family and I are all in good health, COVID-free, fully vaccinated, and all our needs met.
I believe that we are blessed to be a blessing and that it’s more blessed to give. No words can explain the joy there is in helping others. As long as I can, in every little way that I can, it’s my prayer that I will be able to continue to help. That is why I got involved in the impact project for the Community Pantry in Lumban, Laguna.
A close friend leads this voluntary activity, and he depends solely on people’s donations and sponsorships. By seeing his posts on his social media page every day, I learned how their efforts help their hometown. I grabbed the opportunity to endorse Boldr’s impact project so that the community pantry can last another day to help our kababayan.”
“I am thankful mostly for our lives and the people who impacted them. Grateful for all the work that we have, the clients we are working for, and for all the extra blessings we receive.
For me, it is very important to help others. When I was young, I saw children with no slippers, and I thought to myself it could be because their slippers were with me. Helping small is really helping big – it means so much more. For most, it takes time, some even need the courage to make the decision to help, but eventually, when you give that gift, you made an impact on someone, then you know the gesture mattered. Not trying to take credit at all, but it certainly makes us feel happier. Helping connects us as human beings.
The proposals I made for the impact project were very close to heart. Scholarship – I wasn’t supposed to go to college if it wasn’t for the financial help from schools that believed in me. RVM sisters had COVID, and this impacted me, my family, and everyone’s families in ways I never had imagined. We are trying to help out 14 families whose property was burned down near our apartment. This one hit close to home because I found myself fleeing with my family with very little as well.
We usually choose anonymity, most especially about helping, but as many cannot speak their gratitude, I will try to represent those that you’ve helped. From the bottom of our hearts – thank you, and may you and your family be blessed as well on Thanksgiving and throughout the rest of the year.
“I’m thankful for steady employment after the uncertainty of COVID. I’m thankful for my health and my family. I want to leave the world a better place when I am gone and have a positive effect on those around me to teach my daughter good values. The reason I chose this impact project is that my passion is mixed martial arts and I have dedicated a lot of my life to growing the sport and helping its athletes, especially now that we know that good health and exercise can help fight the effects of COVID.”
“I’m thankful not just for this year, but thankful since my first day working at Boldr. For this year, it creates my personal perspective in life: being grateful in so many ways and things. Grateful for my family being healthy all the time, thankful for waking up every day, grateful for having my job, because it provides for my family’s daily needs, grateful for being part of Boldr as a company, thankful for all the daily learnings, grateful for being able to generate impact in our community.
It is very important for me to help others, because help is not being asked, helping runs in our blood. We can help even in the smallest ways if we want, and by being a Boldranian having a community impact project it opens a wider door for me personally to help those in need. Being a part of this company, I’m grateful that my proposal projects were approved. The willingness to help others is in my heart but without the capacity to do so, but through the Boldr Community Impact Project it happened, the feeling of being used as an instrument by helping those in need is incomparable.
I chose my specific impact project to give hope, inspiration, motivation, faith, and equality and let everyone know that even in the worst situation in their lives (testing positive for COVID), humanity is still there. In connection with Boldr Impact Community Project, we were able to reach, help, and boost every heart of every family member to keep on fighting the battle they were facing.”
“This is the 2nd year of the Pandemic and I’m thankful for getting the hang of it. I was able to travel locally, got promoted in my second year, and learned new things. During this period, we need more kind people. If we are allowed even a slim chance to help, let’s do so.
I chose this impact project because my brother was working in a public school and asked if he could ask for support for their Brigada Eskwela initiative. And we did. It was a chance taken.”
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to join Boldr and be part of a supportive team, whose colleagues became friends. Although I may have lost a few loved ones, I’m still thankful for the memories I have shared with them – memories that I will forever treasure and hold in my heart.
I initially wanted to propose an impact project for a home for the eldery, but a friend of mine referred me to a different impact initiative. It’s nice to know that the students are still eager to learn despite the challenges of virtual learning. Being able to cover their monthly load /data requirement would be a big help in continuing their studies.
This project was especially important to me because I was once a scholar and knew the impact of having financial support. I’m grateful to Boldr for giving us the chance to be involved in bringing impact to our communities.”
After the current crisis, health has become a number one priority, worldwide. For us, it’s no different. We are especially thankful for our Boldranians; their health is a priority for us. When the pandemic struck, crafting and executing an action plan that addressed this situation in a way that benefited our employees, our clients, and our communities was complex. But we managed to do it anyway.
Also aware that health is the most valuable thing we have, we implemented specific COVID benefits for our employees, like subsidized testing, vaccination leaves, personal time off, transportation, and accommodation for anyone who needed to isolate or undergo quarantine. The pandemic showed us what we really need: solidarity.
Some of our team members wanted to share their health experiences from this past year. This is what they have to say:
“As a family, we had been struggling these past few months since our son, Finn got hospitalized due to a sudden seizure. We found out that he had a viral brain infection, and we needed to stay in the hospital for weeks. During this time, our family members at home got sick one by one, and they all had been positive of COVID, including my then 7-month old baby, Gavinn. Mama and Papa had severe cases. They needed IV fluids and oxygen support. When we finally got home, they were all recovering already. Finn and Gav became so playful and active again. We were so thankful since the doctors said Finn might be bedridden and might lose his motor skills, but God is so good that he returned Finn stronger and healthier.
Unfortunately, two days after we were discharged from the hospital, PJ & I contracted COVID. We both tested positive with our Antigen and RT-PCR tests. It was so hard to fight the infection since our immune systems were down due to the stress and fatigue of being in the hospital for so long. We both had high fevers, difficulty breathing, body aches, pains, coughs, colds, and loss of smell and taste. The mental and emotional anxieties were great torture, also. PJ had had a very high fever for days and even had to get oxygen support since his O2sat had gone to 93. The 1st week had been such a battle. Our bodies were aching all over. We found it hard to sleep but, more so, to breathe well because our lungs felt so heavy and constricted. We kept on coughing really hard. Thoughts of passing had already crossed our minds, but we just kept praying and thanking God for another chance to live. Looking back, we are so amazed at how we all survived and can tell people what we’ve been through together as a family.
You can see news about COVID everywhere. People had been dying. So, please do whatever you can to protect yourselves and your families. Most of all, try to be kinder. Life is short. Every breath is a gift from God. Appreciate everything you have, especially your family. This pandemic seems to stay for long, so we must learn to adapt, equip ourselves and protect ourselves well.
We would like to thank everyone who has been helping and assisting us throughout this journey, especially our Boldr Family. They were there when things got so heavy and challenging. They gave us COVID leave, which lasted for 30 days. They looked for some meds that were not easily available near our place and constantly checked us to ensure our health was improving. Our boss even assured us of still having our jobs, no matter what. They just wanted us to get well and be in the pink of health before returning to work. Hats off to everyone, from David to Suneet, our managers and HR team, our company nurse, and supervisors. They all showed great love and concern, especially the Impact Team. I could never ask for a better company than Boldr! We are so thankful to God for everything, and we are so blessed we have a family in Boldr!“
“I am thankful becauseI have a job during this time of the pandemic. Boldr allowed me to enhance my skills and knowledge further, and the company wants to show more potential until you achieve what you want to help you grow in your career with them. When I had COVID symptoms and until I was confirmed positive, our PH Office Operations and HSE Lead continuously checked on me almost every day. I do appreciate that she was so caring and willing to extend help if needed. I am also thankful to my supervisor, who has always been supportive and is just one call away if I need help. Finally, I am so lucky and proud to be part of Boldr, my extended family, who is always curious, authentic, and dynamic.”
Practicing mindfulness and reflecting on anything for which you feel gratitude is a fantastic way to end the year. Your family, friends, and loved ones. Every day gives us a reason to be grateful. On behalf of all the team members at Boldr, thank you for reading all our articles and keeping up with Boldr. To sum it up, we’re grateful for you!
Here’s to wishing everyone a happy holiday filled with insightful reflection and safe celebrations!