Holidays inspire the best activities for team building. The year is winding down. The balance sheets are being totted up.  And some of us become reflective.

We indulge both in introspection–reassessing our roles in the grand scheme of things at work; and extrospection–looking for ways to end the year with a professional bang, and a personal best by giving to someone in need.

The most impactful activities for team building are the ones that transcend the team itself. And there’s no better building experience than a group of coworkers pulling together to save an innocent but unwanted animal from death row.

Reflect on this: by the time you finish reading this, 4 shelter animals will have been euthanized. Each year nearly 3 million animals are destroyed for want of a forever home–that’s approximately 1 unwanted, unloved cat or dog every 13 seconds.

Millions of us own pets, and millions more would like to, but  for some families to open their doors and their hearts to a pet, they’d have to open their wallets first, and that can be a deal breaker.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals [ASPCA], the first year of pet ownership can cost more than a thousand bucks: 12-hundred for dogs; just over a grand for cats. There are spaying and neutering fees and medical exams to pay for, and that’s before you’ve taken your sweet, new hug-bug home!

The cost of pet parenting can break the bank, but with your help, a few families in your hometown will be able to give a puppy or kitten a loving home. How? Through our Happy Tails Charity Team Building Workshop, you and your colleagues can spend a fun-filled afternoon “competing” for pet care items to donate to a local animal rescue shelter.

From food and water bowls, to litter boxes and scratching posts. From pet repellent sprays to baby/pet gates. Chew toys, beds, blankets, and treats–the shelter will pass on your bundle of blessings to a new pet owner to make the honeymoon phase a happy one.

The most  endearing activities for team building are the ones that bind your hearts to new friends–including the 4-legged variety–as well as old coworkers. You’ll see your community in a whole new way because you’ve helped to transform it a little–and sometimes a little can go a long way.

For the sake of auld lang syne, or times long past, make a cup of kindness; and make it last forever in the hearts of some grateful new pet parents, their pooch or kitten, and their deliriously happy children.