Ramiro Cortes, National Training Development Manager for MarketSource, has made giving back part of his work. So much so that his colleague dubbed him MarketSource’s “Chief Give Back Officer.”
The moniker is fitting because he’s led joint Give Back Events with our client since joining MarketSource 10 years ago. In these events, our team partners with our client on opportunities to serve local communities. In one year, Ramiro’s district participated in six Give Back Events—more than all the other districts combined.
What began as one man’s desire to infuse his work with greater purpose and to improve his community has become a burgeoning philanthropic movement, activating hundreds of MarketSource and client volunteers and benefiting dozens of charities around the country.
Before joining MarketSource, Ramiro served in the Navy where he witnessed people suffering unimaginable hardships firsthand. After leaving the service, he made a commitment to give back to those in need whenever, wherever he could. He also wanted to infuse his work with a deeper humanitarian purpose.
In 2016, he had the chance. And it was infectious. His colleagues noticed he had requested a weekend day off—very unusual for him—and asked why. When he explained it was to take the Polar Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics, several decided to join him, including a member of the client’s team. Since then, the group has participated in the Polar Plunge four times, with the group growing each time.
Ramiro Cortes, National Training Development Manager for MarketSource, has made giving back part of his work. So much so that his colleague dubbed him MarketSource’s “Chief Give Back Officer.”
In addition, the Give Back team has rallied to:
- Bring water and Kool-Aid to reporters and families waiting to get news of their relatives in lock-down after the San Bernadino terrorist attacks at the Inland Regional Center. Read more here.
- Collect jackets for the homeless in 2018 through a collaboration with the Improv Comedy Club
- Build and donate bikes to veterans through Bikes4Vets
- Help rehab and clean the animal sanctuary and rescue/restore Monarch butterflies in partnership with Animal Planet
- Raise $2,000 in one week for an American Legion Post 289 following vandalism during COVID
- Renovate an American Legion Post 289’s banquet room so they could resume renting it, a significant source of their operating funds. Following the rehab, the Post was able to earn $24,000 in one year in rental income.
- Assemble and donate 500 food care packages for Feed the Children
- Work in the Long Beach Homeless Shelter kitchen to help feed 200 people
- Collect 753 toys in a toy drive for Spiritt Family Services
- Hold a virtual food drive and collect 3,450 pounds of food for Spiritt Family Services
Ramiro reflects, “Not only does offering our team vehicles to give back incentivize them to stay and grow with MarketSource, but people who participate often become some of our top performers. I think there’s a direct relationship between tapping into our desire to serve others that brings out the best in ourselves.
“As an example, Jacob Jimenez, MarketSource Mobile Department Lead and a consistent outperformer on our retail team, has participated in every Give Back Event we’ve held since 2020, either by volunteering time, money, or donations. There’s something about giving back that inspires us to want to show up in our best way every day for those around us, whether that’s at home, at work, or in our communities.”
In addition to initiatives throughout the year, our national client team holds an annual Give Back Event at our joint client conference. In 2023, our teams built and donated 14 bikes to Blaisdell YMCA in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. And MarketSource collected and donated over 6,000 pairs of socks at its annual leadership conference, Elevate.
In 2022, Ramiro suffered an unimaginable tragedy—the loss of his brother, Alex, also a MarketSource employee. To honor and celebrate Alex’s life, Ramiro started a charitable foundation called the Three Little Birds Project. The name is a tribute to Alex, who was fond of singing the Bob Marley song to cheer people up. For the Project, each of the birds represents a sphere of our lives—community, family and/or team, and self. The foundation’s goal is to improve lives in each area.
Still in its start-up phase, Three Little Birds teams up with other grassroots charities to impact people’s lives. In Q4 2023, they held three campaigns. In October, their shoe drive collected 467 pairs for Souls4Soles. In November, they held a food drive, collecting 84 cases of water and enough to feed 60 families. They’ll donate those resources and the toys they collect in December to Spiritt Family Services.
Says Joe Shebroe, MarketSource Director of Client Services, “Ramiro has tapped into our teams’ collective desire to contribute to the communities we serve. It gives us all a deeper connection to the people in those communities and elevates our purpose beyond our daily work to help others in ways that matter. We often find we benefit as much as—if not more than—the recipients.”
Ramiro embodies one of our core values—serving others. And he’s not alone. We’re privileged to be part of a team full of people who are trying to live that out. To learn more about our exceptional people, visit our blog, The Real People of MarketSource.
About MarketSource
MarketSource, an Allegis Group company, is a sales acceleration company focused on delivering better outcomes for many of the world’s most iconic brands. We design and operationalize managed sales and customer experience solutions in B2B and retail environments. Our solutions are purpose-built and tech-enabled to deliver measurable improvements in business outcomes.