They buildOn: Listen Up Espanol Follows Its Core Values by Building School in Nicaragua

For the first time ever, buildOn is building a school thanks to the fundraising efforts of company employees based in Mexico and the United States. Listen Up Espanol, a call center for the United States Hispanic market based in Portland, Maine, is raising money to build a school in Nicaragua with us during the last week of November.

Listen Up Espanol’s Co-Founder and President, Tony Ricciardi, was connected to buildOn through a personal connection on our board. He was completely enthusiastic about working with buildOn and loved the idea of collaborating because it aligns with the company’s core values for employees to go beyond themselves and grow brain cells. Employees involved in the fundraising and the building of the school will improve the lives of women and children who will have a better learning environment.

Listen Up Espanol started a campaign to raise money for the school in March and have raised $30,000 up to date. While directing calls from a variety of television infomercials, call center employees asked if clients wanted to make a $1 donation to buildOn after explaining our mission at the end of the call. While Listen Up Espanol has collaborated with other charities, this is a unique partnership for them because it fits in with their company core values.

“We know that there’s more out there than besides our company,” said Nelson Hill, Listen Up Espanol’s Director of Strategic Initiatives. “We’re not just talking about it, but we’re putting our dollars, resources and mindset into this partnership with buildOn.” Hill added that Listen Up Espanol is planning on building a second school in Haiti at the end of its first quarter fiscal year 2013.

Employees going on the trip were selected from the United States and from Mexico. They haven’t met and not all of them are bilingual, so having them come together will be an incredible team-building experience. There were so many people that wanted to go on the trip; Hill said employees were selected on the US side based on two-minute videos they made stating why they wanted to go. The selection process was more competitive in Mexico because of the large number of agents working there, so the company selected employees who had raised the most money for buildOn over the phone and had an interest in charity work.

We’ll be following Listen Up Espanol’s progress and providing updates via Twitter and Facebook. Learn more about Listen Up Espanol by visiting its campaign page.