Editor’s note: Johnson & Johnson has more than 128,000 employees around the world. Throughout 2014, we’re going to bring you their unique stories. Whether they are employees who work with a nonprofit, mentor children, or simply volunteer at their local soup kitchen, we want to show that small acts of kindness can make big changes in the world we live in. These stories have inspired us, and we hope they’ll inspire you, too. “Those who can lead have an obligation to do so, in the realm of citizenship…” General Robert Wood Johnson, 1949
Name: Sandra Snook
Position/J&J Company: Senior Director, Discovery Sciences at Janssen R&D
Sandra Snook, Senior Scientific Director for Janssen R&D, volunteers with Ethiopia Reads to support literacy programs in Ethiopia, where illiteracy is still over 50%. In addition, Sandy and a team of colleagues run the Baker Elementary School Shoe Drive, collecting and donating more than 1,000 pairs of shoes for every child at the San Diego-based school. On her motivation and inspiration to volunteer, Sandy says, “I firmly believe in the concept that we are our brothers’ keepers. We should help out when we see a need that we can address. Every day I do something to help elevate another person, be it getting them the first pair of new shoes they ever owned or driving a literacy programs in Ethiopia, I feel like I have done a good day’s work.
