Schwab volunteer week: Paramjeet Anand

Schwab Volunteer Week: Paramjeet Anand

By Melissa Brandon on 05/21/2018

"I've been part of Schwab Volunteer Week (SVW) from the beginning," says Paramjeet Anand, a software applications engineer based at Schwab Headquarters in San Francisco. "When the first event was announced, I was one of the first to say I was interested and got selected to participate."

Paramjeet has been with the firm for more than 18 years and engaged in SVW for each of the last 15 years. His passion for volunteering began as a child in his home country of India where his mother taught him about giving back to his community. 

"I attribute my interest in volunteering to my parents, especially my mom. She took me to our Gurdwara Sahib (Sikh temple) to volunteer when I was little. And by the time I was in about sixth grade, I joined a team of other volunteers and started cooking at a regular lunch at our Gurdwara Sahib that served about 200 people attending the services or anyone visiting."

Paramjeet found that Schwab's commitment to volunteerism and community service has been a good fit between his professional interests and personal values.  

"I really like Schwab and the work culture.  We are a team and people here work together.  And every year we come together to help our communities."

In 2010, Paramjeet had the opportunity to volunteer with CEO Walt Bettinger for a nonprofit called Larkin Street that provides food and clothing to homeless youth.

"Larkin Street does such important work in our community, and that year there was a small group of Schwabbies working right alongside our CEO Walt. It was really good to get to know him in that setting."

During this year's SVW, Paramjeet will be donating his time to Raphael House, a homeless shelter in San Francisco. In his spare time, he's passing along his spirit of volunteerism to his two young children, who volunteer at their Gurdwara Sahib, just as their dad did in his childhood.