Sustainability
Corporate Social Responsibility
Our Presidio Education® Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is simple. We encourage all teams, including our faculty, staff and college interns, to go out into communities to support children and education in proactive and creative ways. Oftentimes, we encourage our teams to take time off work just to volunteer. Unless we are teaching students, work can wait. We want to build strong relationships with community members. Please contact our Sustainability Team to volunteer with us!
Volunteering with elderly Hong Kong residents. Source: Rachael Ng, 2023.
Volunteering with elderly Hong Kong residents. Source: Keith Wong, 2023.
Students Volunteering with the Elderly
In November 2023, our faculty encouraged our students to volunteer within their communities. Two of our students, Rachael Ng and Keith Wong, were very enthusiastic about strengthening their communities in Hong Kong. Rachael and Keith brainstormed many ideas, including farming and waste removal. Ultimately, they decided to volunteer with elderly residents. They realized that many elderly residents in Hong Kong do not receive sufficient support.
When asked about volunteering with elderly residents, Rachael Ng replied:
My friend Keith and I volunteered at a public housing estate in Cheung Sha Wan, Hong Kong. We delivered pre-packed fortune bags consisting of food and supplements to mainly elderly people living alone. We were struck by how the elderly welcomed us into their modest homes and opened up about their health struggles, daily routines, and life stories. We couldn’t believe how eager some of the elders were. Our visiting time was marked on their calendars because it was the highlight of their week. Yet for us high school students, it was just a free Saturday morning when we sacrificed a bit of sleeping in. This contrast shows me how impactful outreach to the elderly community is, especially on elders that experience isolation during and after the pandemic.
Unfortunately, many elderly residents struggle financially and often find difficulty with securing nutritious food. But more than that, elderly Hong Kong residents often lack social interaction. This is precisely why Rachael and Keith wanted to volunteer with the elderly. Our students understood well that the elderly should not be forgotten. Spending even a few hours every week with elderly residents can bring such joy and happiness to these beloved individuals.
When asked about volunteering with elderly residents, Keith Wong replied:
During my time volunteering, I visited a few elderly homes and spent 15 to 20 minutes chatting with them. Through these brief interactions, I was able to learn so much about their lives. Their faces would immediately light up when you provide them with companionship. It was definitely very rewarding to see the impact these brief conversations can have on their lives. Throughout the numerous visits, there was one couple that had a family member with medical issues. We notified the center immediately to see how they could help. This experience showed me just how impactful one can be on an elderly's life by simply talking and listening to them.
We hope these short stories from Rachael and Keith will inspire younger students to volunteer within their communities. Even a short visit once a week can provide so much joy for elderly residents. We encourage students, as well as parents, to contact our Sustainability Team for more information on how to support elderly residents.
Delivering Food to Elderly and Low-Income Communities
Every week our Presidio Education® Admin Team volunteers to deliver food to local elderlies and low-income community members in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services sponsors a program called the SF-Marin Food Bank, which brings large quantities of food from the city of Marin to San Francisco. These heavy grocery bags are filled with frozen chicken, eggs, potatoes, fresh vegetables and fruits, canned goods and sauces. Our Admin Team then delivers these much-needed grocery bags to residents that struggle to obtain healthy and sufficient food.
When asked about weekly volunteering to help deliver food to elderlies and low-income community members, one of our Admin Team members replied:
This is our community. We grew up in this neighborhood. We know everyone. It’s important that we help each other out. Sometimes it’s really hard for the elderly to go grocery shopping. They’re older and it’s really hard to lift such heavy bags up stairs. Some of our older community members can’t even walk. It’s also harder for the elderly to buy food because of COVID-19. The elderly are at much bigger risks when they go out into the public right now. The Marin-San Francisco program also provides a lot of fresh food for those who can’t afford it. Residents are able to receive large amounts of protein, fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. This is a really great weekly program.
In January 2022, Ryan Young, Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, joined the Admin Team to help deliver food. This was a refreshing but also heartwarming experience. We encourage students to volunteer within their communities. Unfortunately, too many people around the world suffer from food insecurity. According to the United Nations, approximately 70-161 million people around the world suffer from food insecurity just because of the COVID-19 pandemic (United Nations, 2022). This makes securing healthy and sufficient food sources even harder for those who are elderly, low-income, or disabled.
Weekly pickup of heavy groceries from the SF-Marin Food Bank in San Francisco, California. All food is then individually delivered straight to elderly and low-income residents. Photograph by Ryan Young, Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, 2022.
Beach Cleanup at Lung Kwu Tan, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong with Wayne Man, Presidio Education® Math & Social Science Teacher, and Advanced Placement (AP) students Bobby Li and Daniel Shi. Source: Presidio Education, 2021.
Volunteering for a Hong Kong Beach Cleanup
In April 2021, Wayne Man, Presidio Education® Math & Social Science Teacher, volunteered with two of our Advanced Placement (AP) high school students, Bobby Li and Daniel Shi, to pick up litter and plastic waste in Lung Kwu Tan, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. Despite intense AP training schedules for the May 2021 AP exams, the students took time out of their study schedules to meet Wayne for this beach cleanup. Bobby Li provided the plastic gloves and large garbage bags.
When asked about volunteering to pick up litter in Lung Kwu Tan, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, Wayne replied:
We use a lot of plastics in our daily lives. We know how useful they are, but most people do not realize how harmful they are to our environment. Within a few hours of our beach cleanup event, Bobby, Daniel and I had filled eight large garbage bags full of litter. A small amount of effort can make a big difference. I was also surprised to see how much waste gets washed up onto beaches, especially beaches that are not managed by the government like Lung Kwu Tan. The students deserve a lot of credit, Bobby for organizing the beach cleanup, and Daniel for helping out. It's great to see students take an interest in volunteering and sustainability projects.
Beach cleanups are a fun and easy way to make a positive difference. Plastics are incredibly harmful to marine life and beach ecosystems. Reducing pollution and ensuring that our environments are clean and healthy are crucial. We encourage students to continue to give back to their communities and set positive examples for others.
Helping During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
In January 2020, our San Francisco faculty started searching local stores for 3M 8511 masks and hand sanitizers that could be donated to those impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Asia. This has been our priority. Although our teachers often stood outside in long lines at 5:30 AM, supplies regularly ran out. Securing supplies was a continued challenge. Nevertheless, our teachers have never given up and have gone back day after day. At Presidio Education®, we believe in pushing sustainability initiatives and helping communities both in the United States and abroad. We all need to work together with compassion and empathy. Please contact our Sustainability Team to find out how you can help!
First set of Presidio Education® gift packages filled with 3M 8511 masks and hand sanitizers sent to those impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Asia. Photograph by English Teacher Martin Nobida, 2020.
Presidio Education® faculty and College Intern teams volunteering at day camp with children with intellectual disabilities from the Po Leung Kuk Yu Lee Mo Fan Memorial School Dormitory at the Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, 2018.
Volunteering with Children with Intellectual Disabilities
Our team volunteers with children with intellectual disabilities from the Po Leung Kuk Yu Lee Mo Fan Memorial School Dormitory in Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong. Bus rides are organized to take these wonderful children to the Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, to play, dance and eat together. This is a fantastic opportunity for the children to have fun with friends.
When asked about volunteering with children with intellectual disabilities from Po Leung Kuk Yu Lee Mo Fan Memorial School Dormitory, Ryan Young, Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, replied:
A large part of our sustainability mission is to promote inclusivity, especially for children. Volunteering with children with intellectual disabilities is truly heartwarming. All children need compassion and to know that there are people who care about them. Many of us had fortunate childhoods, educations, and had family and friends to support us during difficult times. Unfortunately, not all children receive the same type of support, love, or hope. There is nothing more heartbreaking when children are forgotten. We must band together to give back to our communities and support all children with the very kindness and compassion they equally deserve.
Volunteering with children with intellectual disabilities is often humbling, but also a lot of fun. These children are full of energy, smiles and laughter. They are full of warmth and full of curiosity. We also enjoy meeting fellow volunteers to find ways to improve resources for these children.
Volunteering at San Francisco Public Library
Our team volunteers with the San Francisco Public Library book giveaway program. Libraries are especially important for children who do not have access to the Internet or academic resources, or need guidance on how to research. This program has been particularly important for Yunju Chen, Presidio Education® Director of Product Management, who completed her Master of Science in Information Management at the University of Washington. Yunju has worked hard to make educational materials more accessible and useful for students.
When asked about volunteering at the San Francisco Public Library, Yunju replied:
For educators, I want to use technology to connect educators and students and make their learning experiences engaging and effective. It’s important for us to focus on the human aspect of technology. Technology is just a tool to help us do our work faster and better. To be successful as a sustainability company, we need to connect different dots together and make a full circle. We teach our students not only to be successful academically but also to be responsible members of society. Students must learn to care about other people and the environment around them to know how to give back when they enter society. If we can teach students to build communities, we will have great potential to make big impacts.
The reality is that not all students have access to academic resources. For example, the assumption that all students can afford smartphones and computers is a fallacy. This is why public libraries are crucial for many, especially for under-resourced students. Libraries provide access to scholarly research databases, print texts, knowledgeable librarians, who can assist with homework and research assignments, and a safe study environment.
Presidio Education® faculty volunteering at the San Francisco Public Library book giveaway. Photograph by Yunju Chen, Director of Product Management, 2018.
Helping impoverished art students at the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Kowloon City Children and Youth Integrated Service Centre in Kowloon City, Hong Kong. From left to right: Wayne Man, Math & Social Science Teacher, Kenley Lou, Social Science Teacher, and Isaac Ng, Data Analytics (College Intern), 2018.
Volunteering with Impoverished Children and Families
Our team volunteers to help underprivileged children create beautiful art projects at the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Kowloon City Children and Youth Integrated Service Centre in Kowloon City, Hong Kong. Education is neither simply about teaching memorization nor methods. Fostering creativity is very important for student growth.
When asked about volunteering with underprivileged children at the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Kowloon City Children and Youth Integrated Service Centre, Wayne Man, Presidio Education® Math & Social Science Teacher, replied:
Helping underprivileged children at the Inside Out workshop is immensely rewarding but also surprisingly a lot of fun, too. We learn to build a rapport with children. All it takes is a big smile and a willingness to get involved! It is important to give back to the community by volunteering rather than just donating money to charity. Volunteering only a few hours can have a big impact on the lives of the less fortunate.
Art project programs provide children prime opportunities to illustrate their innovation. This is especially important for impoverished children, who may not otherwise have the chance to prove their creativity. Furthermore, helping children design art projects enables volunteers to participate despite language barriers. Even when some of our team members may not speak local languages, this will not stop us from giving back to communities, especially for impoverished children.
Building Relationships with Local Businesses
At Presidio Education®, we are proactive with building relationships to strengthen communities. We meet local business leaders to strategize on how to push sustainable business innovation. We all share the same environment and benefit, but also suffer, from the environmental decisions that each of us makes. Watching local businesses motivate children to incorporate sustainability into their lives is wonderful. Please contact our Sustainability Team to work together!
Meet Scott Pastorino
Proprietor of Pastorino Farms
Half Moon Bay, California, United States
We use crop rotation to keep the soil at a high standard. We compost our old and unused flowers and plants to help fertilize the soil. To help reduce waste, we also recycle and reuse old pots, planters and vases for plants and flowers. In order to mitigate pollution, we avoid herbicides and pesticides that could possibly leach into groundwater and contaminate drinking water. Water management is crucial to farming and communities, especially when Northern California undergoes drought periods. We train our employees to grow and use native plants that don’t require a lot of water. In fact, while we clone and use cuttings to regenerate new generations of flowers and plants, we use old sunflower seeds and pumpkins for future crops.
Community strength is very important to us. We work with our city, the local chamber of commerce, schools, senior centers, the local YMCA and use agricultural tourism to help educate the general public on the importance of farming and our challenges with climate change and drought. We give farm tours and donate flowers, pumpkins and straw to local charities and schools. We have a farm camp where young people can come and learn how the farm operates, how much work is involved in the upkeep of live plants and animals, the growing process, how we use greenhouses to grow and how we use our farm equipment.
We share our information and practice with other local farmers, the state and government departments of agriculture. Educating oneself on new farming methods and being well-read and willing to change methods in important areas, such as using solar for energy or aquaponics, is critical to growing a sustainable business. Teaching younger generations the importance of building sustainable businesses is extremely important because we all share the community. When building a business, our responsibility is to protect the environment.
Meet Sofia Robles
Sustainability Team Captain (College Intern)
Sofia Robles, our Sustainability Team Captain, is one of our rising college interns. From Burlingame, California, United States, she enjoys learning about health and mathematics. As a Public Health major, her studies focus on food safety and various diseases to develop plausible solutions. Mathematics is also one of her favorite subjects. Statistics intrigues her with analyzing graphs to draw real-life conclusions.
As Sustainability Team Captain, Sofia is training to solve urgent health and safety problems both locally and abroad. For our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Sofia is working to allocate vital resources, such as food, clothing, toiletries and even medical supplies, to homeless people in the Bay Area, especially in San Francisco and San Jose where there are higher concentrations of homeless. Simultaneously, Sofia is working hard to resolve education inequality for impoverished children overseas. Unfortunately, poverty can really hurt a child’s opportunity to receive a quality education because they often may not have the necessary books or Internet access to learn. Consequently, Sofia hopes to help solve these problems with future Presidio Impact projects that she will be leading.
Sofia is a wonderful team player and a rising leader among her peers. With a very positive attitude, she takes initiative with problem-solving and is open to critical feedback from her supervisors without being defensive or sensitive. She understands well that we are all here to learn, work and solve together. Moreover, her persistence to learn more about new communities is quite admirable. Engaging community members to establish positive connections reveals Sofia’s strong effort to build trust and constructive dialogue. This is why Sofia works so hard to build long-lasting impacts for communities.