While many companies host charity team building events for employees, Crowe Horwath changed it up a bit. They hosted a Wagon Builders™ workshop for their interns. The company planned on using it as an assessment tool to help decide which interns they might recruit for employment.
Crowe Horwath’s Wagon Builders™ Highlights Interns’ Efforts
We met with about 25 interns, plus several members of the Crowe Horwath team. They’d arranged for the interns to be grouped into teams of five. They also had a few employees join in to work alongside them. This gave staff a chance to see how well interns responded to challenges, and to really see folks’ personalities in action. Crow Horwath staff planned on using what they observed about the interns to help decide which folks might be approached through recruitment for employment.
We played popular team building games like Air Counting, Flip Cup, Prediction, and Cup Stack. Teams that competed earned extra parts and tools for wagon building. We modified our games slightly to emphasize teamwork, and really helped folks showcase some of those soft skills that are so essential to success.
Working for the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club
The interns were really engaged and excited to do something nice for kids in the Bronx, NY. Crowe Horwath had arranged for the wagons to go to the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club. As a surprise, several of the children from the group were on-hand at the end of the workshop to receive the donated wagons full of toys. Not only were the children surprised to see their new treats, but the interns were equally surprised! It was heartwarming to see how well the interns responded to the kids, and vice versa. Sinclair J Hollingsworth of the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club accompanied the children. He also made a few remarks to the group. He talked about the importance of leadership and giving back. This was a great opportunity for the interns as a group to see how committed Crowe Horwath is to community giving.
Making a Difference in the Bronx
A short de-briefing session at the end of the Wagon Builders™ program gave everyone a chance to talk about what they learned. Participants also shared how they felt, and what they hoped their next steps would be. It was a strong finish to a fast-paced, fun, and productive charity team building workshop. It really made a difference for some kids in the Bronx.