Today, Acronis is proud to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Acronis Cyber Foundation Program, a set of philanthropic initiatives designed to engage with partners on community development projects and provide volunteering opportunities to team members around the world. Marking five years of monumental success and continuous growth in improving education accessibility, the Program’s key focus is aimed at making education readily available to all and has evolved to include humanitarian disaster relief efforts and environmental projects.
Founded in 2018, the Program has been strongly dedicated to education by funding school construction and bringing IT skills training to communities around the globe. The Acronis Cyber Foundation Program, with collaboration from partners, has built 18 schools in 22 different countries with five additional schools in construction. This initiative has benefited over 5,500 students who now have access to quality education. To further support education, 12 schools have been equipped with computer classrooms to provide students with access to technology and the chance to benefit from learning in a digital environment.
In addition to building schools, the Program has engaged in educational projects with over 14,000 people taking part in Acronis IT Skills Training programs and has brought humanitarian aid to over 5,000 individuals in underserved communities. The Program also directly affects the volunteers involved, providing rare exposure to distant parts of the world and the unique experiences each culture offers with 92% of Acronis Cyber Foundation Program volunteers continuing their humanitarian efforts on a yearly basis. In 2023 and beyond, the Program plans to expand its focus and include environmental projects on its roster while continuing their educational and humanitarian efforts of previous years.
“Not only has the Acronis Cyber Foundation Program brought boundless educational and career opportunities to the future tech leaders of the world, but the Program also has reiterated the importance of philanthropy and helping those less fortunate,” said Patrick Pulvermueller, CEO, Acronis. “The future of the world depends on the youth of today, and we need to make sure we equip them with the right resources and education to get started.”
Education has a solid and positive impact on people’s lives, paving the way for future careers in technology, a flourishing global industry. The Acronis Cyber Foundation’s IT training programs are geared towards ex-offenders, migrants, veterans, youth, and seniors — individuals who may not have access to advanced educational resources. The initiative in Singapore helped over 120 students complete certification training and gain valuable skills to secure employment, in partnership with Yellow Ribbon Fund. The Program recorded that over 70% of IT Skills Training graduates received employment within just one month following course completion. The IT Skills for migrants in Switzerland program, in partnership with Integres, an organization aimed at integrating immigrants into Switzerland, helped the migrant population of Schaffhausen refine and gain critical career skills, helping over 70 students in the span of three years.
“The Acronis Cyber Foundation represents the same values that encouraged me to build the school in a village in the Dominican Republic,” said Sebastian Noelting, Managing Director at RNT Rausch. “We are convinced that problems such as poverty and hunger can only be solved sustainably through education. That is why education must be available to everyone all over the world. I’m glad that we have been able to partner with Acronis and are now working together towards this goal.”
In 2020, the Acronis Cyber Foundation launched a humanitarian aid program in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, supporting communities in Guatemala, Peru, Senegal, Lebanon, and South Africa with food supplies, sanitary packages, and stationery items. In 2021, the Acronis Cyber Foundation supported the unprecedented drought south of Madagascar which led to famine-like conditions for over one million people. Partnering with a non-governmental organization, GemsOfMadagascar, the Acronis Cyber Foundation purchased fresh food and clean water from nearby communities and brought them to those in need. These are only a few examples of the many endeavors the Acronis Cyber Foundation takes on, with other projects such as educational books and e-learning opportunities to help further the mission of accessible education for all.
The success of the Acronis Cyber Foundation has been achieved thanks to the help of Acronis’ service provider partners, including GoDaddy, CloudFest, RNT Rausch, Zebra Systems, Climb Channel Solutions, BusyMouse, Ubistor, and many more. The Acronis Cyber Foundation Program’s official charity partner, Groundbreaker, ensures compliance and handles all construction aspects in the implementation process for school building projects.
“Acronis has been an important partner for us since the beginning and we are grateful for their commitment to providing access to quality education worldwide,” said Leoni Rossberg, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Groundbreaker. “They show how relevant and impactful corporate responsibility is and we hope they can encourage even more companies in the tech sector to do the same.”
The Acronis Cyber Foundation Program is focused on partnering with other organizations to make a difference together. Acronis invites all businesses, large or small, to engage in joint projects. For partners wanting to develop their own community development plans, the Program can help in supporting other initiatives as well. To join our mission or to learn more, please visit www.acronis.org.
To discover more about the Acronis Cyber Foundation Program’s milestone five-year anniversary, check out our latest blog here: https://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/acronis-cyber-foundation-program-celebrating-five-years-of-achievement/
