Our Core Values: Integrity

Our story at Cultivate begins and ends with our core values. They communicate the essence of our existence that we invite every team member, volunteer, client, donor, partner—and you—to embrace and participate in. In a world that often looks to trends and buzzwords, we believe our core values are more than just a set of inspiring words or concepts. Rather, they are a declaration of the underlying ethos that forms the entire culture and activity of our organization. Every action we take does not precede, but rather proceeds, out of our deeply held values. As we enter a new season as an organization—as Cultivate—we invite you to learn more about the core values that guide us. We begin this series today with integrity.

Demonstrate Integrity in Every Action

Let us be the first to acknowledge that not only is it hard to live a life of integrity, but it can also be difficult to even define or describe the concept itself. We often use words such as honesty, ethics, virtue and honor to describe integrity, and we do affirm and seek to embody each of these values. On a more fundamental level, however, the word “integrity” derives from the Latin word “integer,” which means "whole” or “entire.” This speaks to the importance of demonstrating both a consistency and unity of thought and action in every aspect of our life as an organization. To that end, when we say we strive to “demonstrate integrity in every action,” our commitment is to be consistent and whole as we live honestly, generously, compassionately—fill in the blank here with any admirable quality—in relationship with our community.

At Cultivate, we believe that a strong, sustainable organization must be guided by core values such as integrity. We invite you to join us in embracing this value, and to help us live it out every day as we serve our senior neighbors.

To further illustrate this core value, we have asked a member of our team to share their perspective about integrity. Watch the video below to hear from our very own Director of Communications, Shun-Luoi Fong, about how his own name contributed to his understanding of the importance of demonstrating integrity in every action.