Jacob Horr, skilled volunteer with Apparo since 2017, shares his perspective on the benefits of giving of his time and talent.
When we moved to Charlotte in 2016, I was interested in supporting my local community, but getting started was intimidating. It’s not like I can knock on Habitat’s door and ask them if I can do a consulting project for them, but Apparo has those relationships. Being a consultant, working with Apparo appealed to me. Not only the overall mission, but because I could get involved with one organization and work with multiple nonprofits instead of jumping head-first into working with one.
I really liked volunteering on CIPs [Community Impact Projects] and using my consulting skillset and mindset that I had built in my career. It’s nice to have ways outside of work to apply your skillset and finding opportunities to do that is rare. Apparo also makes it very easy to stay on scope and make a significant impact while balancing time for life and your day job. The ability to volunteer with my co-workers is another meaningful benefit. We deepen our professional and personal connections when we serve together and it’s a great way to allow team members to practice their consulting skills in a less risky environment than a client engagement.
More recently I’ve been volunteering with the CXO Tech Insights planning team. I can bring my experience focusing on trends of importance to the C-suite and make a positive impact on the community by bringing technology leaders together to learn from each other. It’s great for networking and getting exposed to more people in the industry. It seems like Apparo has every CIO in town involved and I’m so impressed by that. It really speaks to the strength of Apparo’s mission. After family and my work, I prioritize time for Apparo. Knowing the impact I can drive brings me great personal satisfaction.
Apparo’s Cerys Humphreys share her appreciation for Jacob, “For many years, Jacob has been instrumental in the execution of our CXO Tech Insights series of panel discussions. These topical panel discussions are not only a source of revenue for Apparo to continue to serve its mission to improve life in Charlotte through the power of technology, but they are also a unique way to convene local CIOs and other technology executives under a shared belief that technology and passion can change the world. We truly could not put on the caliber of event that we do without Jacob’s thought leadership on everything from topic ideation, guiding questions, and CIO panelists to company representation and day-of-event logistics. The CXO Insights Committee is eternally grateful for Jacob’s long-standing leadership and commitment to serving Apparo through the CXO Tech Insights series.”
