It’s tempting to describe this charity team building workshop as “short and sweet” because we only had an hour for a Mission: Kids Care™ program, but in reality, it was more like “small and mighty”: 300 people packed 20 boxes of backpacks for kids in Puerto Rico in 60 minutes.

Mission: Kids Care™ in New Brunswick, NJ

We had a great space at the New Brunswick Hyatt Regency. Janssen employees from the Global Cardiovascular & Metabolism TA Summit took a break from their conference for this important opportunity to give back. We created a Mission: Kids Care™ just for them, in response to the hurricanes that tore through Puerto Rico earlier this year. Through the charity Heart to Heart International, 150 backpacks full of school supplies, as well as several hygiene items donated by Johnson & Johnson, would be sent to the island.

Getting Down to Work for Puerto Rico

To start off the event, two Janssen staffers from Puerto Rico spoke about the devastation to the island and community, having traveled there to help after two hurricanes destroyed so much. We’d set up a mulitmedia projector so that these two speakers could share photos of their trip; everyone was deeply affected by what they saw. After that, we led the assembly of the backpacks, a very fun and interactive experience for all; everyone was highly motivated to do a great job.

The games and challenges were modified for use by a very large group; however, our emphasis was still on developing practical skills through hands-on work. From our warm up ‘One, Two, Three’ activity to the very last backpack, our one hour was also filled with a lot laughter and friendship along with several points of interest as it related to team interaction. We talked about the value of preparation, and pulling together in times of need.

Helping Heart to Heart International

Jillian O’Connell of Heart to Heart International was on hand throughout the program. She was clearly impressed by how hard everyone worked, and make a few remarks as we finished up. She assured us that these backpacks would be welcomed by kids and their families. While it might seem like something small, she said these small bits of normalcy were vital to kids and families. Folks are still dealing with the aftermath of the storms. This was just one of many Janssen events with us, and this company never fails to give well and do good. All of the feedback we received from participants was positive, and we look forward to working with them again soon.