60 staff members from Extra Space Storage participated in one of our Rescue Buddies Charity Workshops in Memphis, many accompanied by their children. Rescue Buddies Workshops are an ideal way to combine subtle teamwork skills, nuanced communication, and community service. On this occasion, the Extra Space Storage team set a goal of assembling 60 stuffed animals for the American Red Cross to distribute to children during disaster situations. We’re happy to say they achieved this goal in an extremely limited amount of time.

Intense Focus Leads to Great Results

The setting was the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. We needed to work quickly because of time constraints, so we divided the group into teams and got things going with a competitive warm-up activity. This activity worked to break the ice, establish focus, transition everyone quickly into the toy assembly phase.

We next took the management from Extra Storage through a quick version of the parts earning stage of the workshop. After that, every person in the room was putting their egos aside for the good of the team and bringing stuffed toys to life at a truly impressive pace. It was very gratifying to us to watch as adults and children alike used advanced teamwork skills to help children in need.

There’s No Time Like The Present To Give to The American Red Cross

Just like it says on their website, there’s no rest for the American Red Cross when giving disaster relief to imperiled people. As you already know, this is an organization that works down in the trenches every day to save and improve lives that have been endangered by terrifying events. That’s one of the many reasons we were so happy that the Extra Space Storage Team had chosen to donate the toys they built to such a historically great organization.

Just as importantly, the involvement of the American Red Cross gave everyone all the motivation they could ever need to come together as a team and work for something bigger than their individual selves. What the Extra Space Storage team (along with their children!) accomplished in such a short time was the embodiment of this wonderful ideal. The end result was that they brought 60 adorable toys to life and presented them to representatives from the American Red Cross. Without a doubt, this was a lesson they’d take back to the office with them when the workshop was done. It certainly was for us.