Returning for a second charity team building workshop with a company is such a rewarding experience. While we’d done a Rescue Buddies™ workshop for pharmaceutical company AbbVie on-site a few years ago, this time, they asked for a workshop in conjunction with their Finance & Operations Excellence Awards event.
AbbVie Gives Back to Lincolnshire, IL Children
The company’s event organizers asked for something fun and memorable. They wanted a way for folks to give back after a morning of conferring and celebrating awards. Helping local children was especially important. And so we arranged for a Mission: Kids Care™ program that would benefit the students of Forrestal Elementary School. Organizers secured a charter bus and made plans for students to arrive at the end of the program to accept their new backpacks full of supplies.
Mission: Kids Care™ Succeeds
One thing we didn’t plan on was a snowstorm! The area was blanketed with more than the foot of snow expected. It was beautiful to see; however, it did affect attendance, too. Only about half of the folks who were expected arrived, and the school children ended up having a snow day! In the end, it was still an amazing experience for all involved. The people who did come brought positive attitudes, high energy, and a great deal of enthusiasm for the Mission: Kids Care™ event. They managed to pack more than 1,800 items for local kids who needed school supplies desperately!
AbbVie Rolls with Weather, Still Completes Workshop Goals
The teams we’d arranged all worked together well. The Mission: Kids Care™ program provided an opportunity for AbbVie employees to explore the idea of preparation, and put those thoughts into practice. Even though our plans with Principal Inez Mitchell and the students of Forrestal Elementary School fell through, AbbVie employees played hard, packed dozens of backpacks for kids who needed them, and better understood tangible ways to improve workplace productivity and efficiency. They participated (and excelled!) in challenges and games designed for practicing workplace skills. Even though the day didn’t turn out quite as expected, the participants who did come learned a lot, enjoyed the experience, and still gave back, even if the kids didn’t receive their school supplies until some time after the program.