Meet the Super Volunteers Behind Xylem Watermark
Volunteering to solve water and create a better world is a shared passion that brings together Xylem colleagues around the globe. In 2022, 87% of employees, or more than 15,000 colleagues, volunteered through the company’s social responsibility program, Xylem Watermark – collectively dedicating 157,000 hours to education about water challenges, expanding access to safe water and sanitation, and supporting communities in crisis, among other focus areas. We asked five of Xylem’s most active volunteers, members of Watermark’s Make Your Mark club, to share what inspires them most about solving water.
Nina Steinhart, Xylem Customer Service, based in Ingolstadt, Germany
Nina has led or participated in more than 60 volunteer opportunities, including
Walks for Water to raise awareness of water issues, supporting youth sports and plogging (picking up trash while you jog).
“I love that Xylem allows us to use our employee volunteer hours for both internal and external volunteering activities. Who wouldn’t love to do good for our environment and at the same time have fun at work with colleagues? Our efforts not only help nature but also you and your loved ones to live an environmentally-conscious life.”
Maria Bugarib, IT Coordinator, based in São Paulo, Brazil
Maria is the Watermark Champion for Xylem’s São Paulo site. Her volunteer work includes mentoring, volunteering with an assisted living home, and working with Red Cross Brazil, among other activities.
“I love to volunteer. It’s a part of my life. My favorite volunteer activities are participating in Aquaton events where we can run, bike or walk and donate kilometers to raise money for projects related to water, and talking and singing with elderly people every Friday. We need to help each other, especially people in need.”
Watermark event in Brazil lead by Maria Bugarib
Lankesh Kumar, Deputy Manager, QA in Project Management, based in Vadadora, India
Lankesh’s volunteer activities include providing disaster response after heavy flooding in southern Karnataka, taking part in Walks for Water and plogging in Bangalore, and teaching children about water issues.
“The most important thing that motivated me to come to work at Xylem is the organization’s values, ethics and social responsibility program Watermark, which is providing humanitarian disaster relief and clean water solutions. It makes me proud to be a part of the Make Your Mark club. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve."
Sandra Blank, Specialist, Continuous Improvement, based in Weilheim, Germany
Sandra has participated in Watermark volunteer activities including youth outreach and donation drives for Ukraine relief. She also helped lead an innovative fundraising effort where Xylem employees at Weilheim raised money to provide Aquatowers to water-challenged communities in India, Mexico and Cambodia by selling used office furniture. Each Aquatower provides clean water for 1,800 people.
“The Aquatower project made me realize how important water is for people's education and health. A community in Cambodia that received an Aquatower from the funds we raised gave us a wonderful gift – a carpet showing the fingerprints of children in the community giving us their thanks. We are going to put it in the entrance area of our site at Weilheim. After we display it, I will probably have goosebumps for some time when I enter the building. It's a good feeling to do something good in the world, even if it's just a small step.”
Cambodia Aquatower event funded by the Weilheim office
Niklas Meyer, Sales Manager VVS & Partner, based in Göteborg, Sweden
Niklas donates his time and talent as a football coach for children.
“I’m one of the coaches for a football team for girls. Last year we spent around 500 hours together on training, games and tournaments. Besides seeing the development of this team, I hope I contribute to a healthier lifestyle for these girls for life.”
Jill Randolph, Product Security Program Manager, Information Technology, based in Charlotte, NC, USA
Jill has helped lead more than 70 Watermark events, including working with the nonprofit Catawba Riverkeepers in various plogging events and watershed protection advocacy, storm drain labeling and coordinating food drives in the community.
“I really appreciate that Xylem, and our CEO Patrick Decker specifically, really encourage us to take the time to do volunteer work. I think by getting out and volunteering you can see different needs in the community or different needs in the environment, and that really helps spur creativity and helps you to relax when you are out in nature. It also helps us think of additional ways that we can continue to help improve our surroundings and improve the world.”
Learn more about Xylem Watermark