Allen Wuescher is the CIO and Vice President of Toshiba International who, outside of his career, is passionate about philanthropic ventures and helping others. While he’s been volunteering and helping out in one form or another throughout his life, he wants to see the philanthropic area of his life grow and find new ways to offer service to others.

Allen is no stranger to the benefit that hospitality and philanthropy can have on a person’s life. He worked for years participating in Habitat for Humanity trips, helping to rebuild homes and communities that had been destroyed. Allen always enjoyed the trips he participated in, but it wasn’t until he found himself in a similarly debilitating situation that he realized the impact he was having on people’s lives.

Allen Wuescher is originally from New Orleans; in 2005 when Katrina hit, he joined an organization called GiveBack Cincinnati, where he worked with the team for more than a decade taking annual summer trips to New Orleans to help rebuild the community. He always enjoyed the trips, but it wasn’t until Hurricane Harvey hit that he truly saw the impact that helping others, no matter how small it might seem, can have on a person’s life.

Allen Wuescher’s home flooded five times across three years, and in the aftermath, it was the benevolence of his community that helped him get through the physical labor and emotional pain of recovery. It was during this time that Allen also came to realize that it’s difficult to know how to best provide assistance to people until you’ve been in a similarly awful situation; you have to know where someone is coming from to be able to help them get through it. He also found that, when you’re in a painful situation, it helps to be able to talk to someone who’s lived through the pain. Reflecting back on the assistance he received during his time of need, Allen Wuescher is better able to see the way he was actually helping people on his Habitat for Humanity trips, by not only providing them with the labor they needed, but the emotional support as well.

Allen’s cumulative experience has fueled his newest brainchild: a foundation for flood victims to help refurbish, restore, and rebuild their lives that’s still very much in its infancy. Additionally in his philanthropic career, Allen has served on the Technology Advisory Council at St. Jude’s Children’s hospital.

Learn more about Allen Wuescher and his work in philanthropy by checking out his blog!