Employee Volunteer Events: A Day Of Giving Is A Day Of Receiving
When my family and I started Second Chance Toys seven years ago, our main objective was to collect gently used plastic toys, clean and refurbish them and then donate them to children in need. We never imagined that 8 years later our collection and cleaning drives would become one of the most sought after employee volunteer initiatives in the communities we serve. The winning combination between helping underserved children, and saving the earth resonated with sustainability and human resource representatives at major corporations such as Viacom and Johnson & Johnson because those companies knew that this type of program would foster, among other things, employee engagement.
The event is so simple in nature. The company holds an internal collection of gently used plastic toys prior to the event. We set up cleaning stations, an area where employees get tot tag the toys and write a nice note on them for their new owner, and then they are packed up for delivery to their new homes. As a treat for employees, we often have music, dancing, face- painting, and celebrity appearances. Combined with the teambuilding effort to accomplish a common goal, these events have helped our corporate partners engage their employees and fine tune their teamwork skills with a fun and rewarding activity.
