“For the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world.”
-Siddhārtha Gautama
At Armor, we might be a cloud security company, but protecting people is our true business. In fact, the first pillar of our core values as a company is to Fight for the Greater Good. This means we are “Heroes” for our customers, driven by a cause greater than ourselves and fighting for what is right and just for the benefit of others. We do not take this title or task lightly, as we know our customers place a great deal of trust in us to protect their data in the middle of a virtual war zone.
Just as we have an unrelenting desire to eliminate cyber threats and virtually protect our customers, we also have an innate desire to care for the people of our physical world. Each Hero at Armor has a Greater Good story, rather it be fostering kids in need, empowering abuse victims, raising awareness for autism or anything in between, we’re part of the good happening in our communities.
However, we know we’re not the only ones. There are thousands of people every day fighting for the greater good – and we wanted to know about all of it! On September 4, we launched our first ever video contest, asking social media users to share their stories about how they are fighting for the greater good and giving back to their community.
How it works
Interested participants were asked to submit a video no longer than 2:30 minutes, illustrating how and why they fight for the greater good to Armor via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram tagging #GreaterGoodContest.
By the September 28 deadline, we had a total of 13 ENTRIES – all with unique and interesting stories about the differences they are making. We got to hear stories of college students raising money to fight childhood cancer and using their own privileges to help others in need, teachers volunteering with their students to tutor elementary-aged refugees, parents fostering children, people donating warm clothes to those in need and individuals serving the same community that once served them.
Drum roll please…
On Oct. 24, the following winners were announced as Armor’s first Fight for the Greater Good contest winners:
Third Place Winner: Jennifer Owens
Jennifer is the winner of $150 cash and a WONNIE Indoor Camera because of her dedication to her youth ministry and volunteer work throughout the Irving, Texas community.
Jennifer’s energetic, hardworking personality inspires young teens in her church youth ministry, and she strives to give back to her local community – through The Main Place, Irving Cares and John R. Good Elementary School. We THANK YOU for your devotion to uplifting kids and teenagers and dedication to reducing the devastating impact of homelessness on individuals and families in the Irving community.
Second Place Winner: Meeri Kangas
Meeri is the winner of $300 cash and a $500 donation to the Refugee Youth Project because of her inspiration to the young boys she teaches and mentors, as well as her extended work in the community of Baltimore.
Not only did Meeri win the 2018 Teacher of the Year, she’s dedicated her time to taking her students to volunteer every week outside of their school and learn more about the world around them. They partnered with a program, Refugee Youth Project, to tutor, study with and accompany elementary school students who have sought a new life and hope in the United States. In addition, she runs Socktober every year with her students and have collected thousands of pairs of new socks for shelters throughout the city. We THANK YOU for your commitment to the youth in Baltimore!
First Place Winner: Maghan Achimon
Maghan is the grand-prize winner of the 7-Day West Caribbean Cruise for two, as well as a $1,000 donation to a nonprofit of her choosing, The Isaiah Closet, because of her commitment to the Greater Good!
She and her husband serve the Greater Good through their role as foster parents. They’ve been fostering for nearly a year now impacting the lives of five kids. They became foster parents because they realized how many blessings had been given to them, and they have a lot more love to give. We THANK YOU, Maghan for your continued dedication and improving the sometimes short – yet powerful – time with the kids in your home!
Perhaps the only downfall to this contest, was having to only choose three winners (which is why we let you vote – we simply couldn’t make the decision on our own!). Hearing stories from our customers, partners and social media followers about how they are making a difference in their community is empowering. We look forward to continuing to spread the importance of fighting for the greater good and getting to know more about how Armor’s broader community is having a positive impact on the world around us.
After all, good things happen to those who fight for the greater good.