Give Back!

For many, a part of the holiday spirit includes doing things for others. Individuals and families have adopted traditions such as serving meals at a shelter or donating toys to children in need as part of their seasonal traditions. Whether your office group already has a yearly activity designated to help those less fortunate or if this is the year you plan to launch your effort, we’ve created a list of ideas here for how your office team can partake in a charitable effort this holiday season. 

A few of the tried and true ideas include adopting a family or foster children, volunteering at a soup kitchen, working at a food shelf or raising donations for your favorite charity.

Here are a few lesser known possibilities that may work well for your team: 

Team Up With a School

Schools always need “stuff” especially part way through the year when existing supplies may be going faster than planned. Reach out to a school in your area (maybe on where some of the children of your employees attend) and find out their areas of greatest need. Maybe it’s certain supplies, snacks, small electronics, a few cleaning items or otherwise. It’s often easiest to get people involved with giving when there’s a concrete list of needed items available. Once you have your list, promote it via sign up so items aren’t duplicated. When you drop it off, remember a card with your team members’ signature and the company name.

 Animal Lovers 

Locate a local animal shelter in your city and put out a call to employees to donate food, toys, bedding, towels, chewies, and more. For an added effect, have the shelter send you a few photos of pets up for adoption and include those in the promotion of your drive. (Hey, you never know – someone might stumble across their new fur-ever friend!) Prepare the items and have everyone sign a card. Take photos when you drop off the goods and be sure to tag the shelter on the company social media accounts so help them gain exposure. This one feels good, helps animals and promotes both the organization of both you and your benefactor!

Nursing Home Santa 

Contact a local assisted living facility or nursing home and find out what types of items might make the residents’ season brighter. Consider board games, books, DVDs, CDs, blankets, art supplies and more. Check to see if baked goods are allowed and add those to your mix. Schedule a time to drop off the items and visit the residents. If the facility only houses a small number of residents, consider a gift for each one. This will mean the world to some of the folks there who may not have family to visit them. 

Operation Gratitude

Write letters of thanks to deployed soldiers, wounded veterans, caregivers and more. Learn more here: https://www.operationgratitude.com/express-your-thanks/write-letters/

Operation Christmas Child 

Pack a box of goodies for a child in a poverty stricken area of the world. Consider adopting one child per work team and the company pays the $9 shipping fee. Learn more here: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child

Note – this one needs to be completed in mid-November to allow time for the gift boxes to make their way to recipients in remote destinations around the world. 

Good Neighbor

Bring goodies or small gifts to neighboring businesses. Deliver them in person and include a card. This is not only a nice thing to do but it helps build community among you and those who serve the area with you. It can be a source of additional exposure, safety (think neighborhood watch) and of course goodwill.

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate the holidays and spread cheer, we wish you and yours a happy and healthy season!