Why I Volunteer: ‘The joy of giving’

Earlier this year, Dan Javlekar’s daughter made the four-hour drive from New York City to Boston to spend time with her dad on Father’s Day. She knew how he would want to celebrate: volunteering in his community.

Dan grew up in a home where volunteering was a regular part of his life, including birthdays, holidays and other moments of celebration. It’s a tradition he brought with him from India to the U.S., where he and his wife raised two daughters with the same values. He still regularly volunteers at local nonprofits, living out a principle that runs deep in his faith.

“With Hinduism, the focus of Seva — a selfless service — is the whole world is one family,” says Dan, Lead Director, Agile Practice Management, Digital, Data, Analytics and Technology (DDAT). “Wherever you live, that is your family. If you live in Boston, and you go to a homeless shelter, that is your extended family, and you need to take care of your family. Based on that principle, we need to take care of each other and support to those in need.”

When Dan began working at CVS Health 17 years ago, he was unaware of any group volunteering happening on his team. This motivated him to organize the team’s first volunteer opportunity at Cor Unum Meal Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

“It was February and heavily snowing outside,” Dan remembers. “There was a grandmother with her granddaughter, who was about 4 or 5 years old, standing in line outside that night waiting for dinner. No one should be waiting outside in the snow for their dinner. That moment stayed with all of us. We were deeply moved and made a promise right then: We’d come back, not just once, but every single quarter.”

Since then, Dan has expanded the team’s volunteering efforts beyond Cor Unum Meal Center. He’s set up monthly opportunities at Lowell Transitional Living Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, and biannual opportunities at Old Colony Habitat for Humanity in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, and Amos House in Providence, Rhode Island. Dan attends all of his team’s volunteering events.

Why do you volunteer?

At the end of the day, it fills your heart. Every time we step into a homeless shelter or a meal center, we give our energy, our time and our hearts — more than four hours on our feet, chopping, cooking, staging meals and traveling back and forth. By the time we get home, we’re exhausted. But inside we feel something far greater. It’s the joy of giving. It’s knowing we’ve made someone’s day a little brighter.

During Thanksgiving and Christmas, donations pour in. But in summer, when schools close, many children go hungry without their daily meals. That’s when help matters most. At one summer event, a dozen kids came by, their faces glowing with happiness. We cooked Indian food — rajma masala [a kidney bean curry], a cholay [a garbanzo bean curry], basmati rice, seasoned vegetables and a fresh salad — and the warm aroma filled the air. It drew in those kids and nearly 250 others that day.

How has creating volunteer opportunities for CVS Health colleagues helped the nonprofits where you volunteer?

After we prepare the meal, we always ask if there’s anything more we can do. Sometimes it’s simple requests like, “The bathroom needs a quick clean” or “please make sure the kitchen is ready for the next group.” Whatever they ask, we’re happy to help.

Every time we volunteer, they send us a heart-warming thank-you note saying, “Your group is one of the best. The place is always cleaner when you leave than when you arrived.” They never fail to express their gratitude, both for us and for CVS.

How have you applied what you've learned while volunteering with your colleagues to your job at CVS Health?

Volunteering has taught me to step into my colleagues’ shoes. I see their struggles clearly and understand why they react the way they do. It has transformed the atmosphere on the team. It’s no longer you versus me or manager versus employee. We’ve become one team united by purpose. Every effort matters. This experience has given me humility and deep empathy. It’s helped me create a space where people feel valued and respected.

How has the company supported your volunteering?

 We log our hours in Community Crew, and we’ve received Volunteer Challenge Grants for the past several years.