Difference between revisions of "Giving as a Team - for the holiday season"

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Winter holidays and cold weather inspire many people to think about giving and volunteering during this time of year. Sharing and helping are often part of traditions for Christmas, harvest festivals, Solstice, Chanukah and other religious or secular holidays. The season when many are inspired to be generous coincides with when many feel more vulnerable or alone due to holidays, winter weather, or shorter days and more darkness.
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"'Tis better to give . . . "
  
Teams who join together in [[:Category:Philanthropic_Team_Building|philanthropic team building activities]] get all the benefits of team building with an extra glow of feeling that their giving efforts are also enhancing their group's communication, skills, enjoyment, and identity. There are endless ways to give as a team, including building and creating items which will then be donated, raising money as a team, collecting new or used goods, and doing community service for those who are in need.
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Winter holidays and cold weather inspire giving and sharing. Reaching out to the wider community can become a team's tradition during the season when many people feel vulnerable or lonely.
  
Consider the list of [[:Category:Philanthropic_Team_Building|philanthropic team building activities]] we have started compiling here on Teampedia as a good starting place. Teams do clean-up on playgrounds or at community centers, serve meals at soup kitchens, construct ramps, teach computer skills... Many [[Team_Building_Companies|team building companies]] listed in our directory offer the know-how and materials to help your group with onsite team building activities in which your team can build bikes, wheelchairs, or welcome wagons which are then donated to people in need.
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Groups that join together in [[:Category:Philanthropic_Team_Building|philanthropic team building activities]] get all the benefits of team building, with the extra glow that comes of generosity. Projects that provide for others can also be welcome substitutes for one more holiday party or yet another gift exchange.
  
Some activities have become common, such as [[Adopt a Family]]: facilitated by a charitable agency, a work team gets general information about the ages, sizes, and wishes of adults and children in a family, and the team member buy appropriate gifts or donate funds for a representative to do the shopping. A variety of such giving involves a display on which paper tags give the age and a few hints about a person's needs or wishes; each team member takes on or more tags and replaces it at the display with an appropriate gift, (This is often done with "Christmas trees," but because not all givers nor receivers are Christian, we encourage alternative, universal symbols and decoration.) The team can enjoy getting together to do the wrapping of the gifts. Usually, the identity of the family is not revealed and the contact and delivery are managed by the agency.
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The endless ways to give as a team include creating gifts, repairing items. raising money, and collecting goods for donation; and providing community service.
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Consider the growing list of [[:Category:Philanthropic_Team_Building|philanthropic team building activities]] here on Teampedia. Teams clean-up playgrounds; serve meals at soup kitchens; construct ramps; teach computer skills ... Several [[Team_Building_Companies|companies]] listed in our directory offer the know-how and materials for onsite building of bikes, wheelchairs, or welcome wagons for people in need.
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One holiday giving activity that is now common:[[Adopt a Family]]: Facilitated by a charitable agency, a team receives general information about a family. Each team member provides appropriate gifts or donates funds for a representative to do the shopping. In one version, tags in a display give the age and ideas about each family member's needs or wishes. Team members select tags and replace them with appropriate gifts. (Often, the tags are decorating a Christmas tree and the gifts are then arranged under it. Alternative symbols and decorations can be more universal inclusive - consider a flower garden display, with each flower an adult or child in the family.) The team may enjoy getting together to wrap the gifts. Usually, the identity of the family is not revealed, and contact and delivery are managed by the agency.
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Teampedia encourages people to create opportunities for giving together in any and all seasons. Here's one year-round model, for a neighborhood in which people want such help: Before the holidays, pot houseplants together. In the spring, help plant a community garden. In the summer, have a lawn weed-in and watermelon event.  Throw a leaf-raking and popcorn-eating party in the fall. As a bonus, in March, bring in a community organization to establish neighborhood emergency preparedness.
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The team that gives together . . .
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:Philanthropy means "love of humanity."
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:“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
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:― Winston Churchill
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:“I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.”
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:― Kahlil Gibran
  
"'Tis better to give . . ." is said often during this season, yet Teampedia encourages people to create opportunities for giving together in any and all seasons. In the autumn, have a wandering party of leaf-raking to people who need such help; then return in the summer to mow the lawns of your neighbors. Help plant a community garden in the spring. Teach computer skills in January... Give your team the gift of giving.
 
  
  

Revision as of 01:07, 5 December 2013


"'Tis better to give . . . "

Winter holidays and cold weather inspire giving and sharing. Reaching out to the wider community can become a team's tradition during the season when many people feel vulnerable or lonely.

Groups that join together in philanthropic team building activities get all the benefits of team building, with the extra glow that comes of generosity. Projects that provide for others can also be welcome substitutes for one more holiday party or yet another gift exchange.

The endless ways to give as a team include creating gifts, repairing items. raising money, and collecting goods for donation; and providing community service.

Consider the growing list of philanthropic team building activities here on Teampedia. Teams clean-up playgrounds; serve meals at soup kitchens; construct ramps; teach computer skills ... Several companies listed in our directory offer the know-how and materials for onsite building of bikes, wheelchairs, or welcome wagons for people in need.

One holiday giving activity that is now common:Adopt a Family: Facilitated by a charitable agency, a team receives general information about a family. Each team member provides appropriate gifts or donates funds for a representative to do the shopping. In one version, tags in a display give the age and ideas about each family member's needs or wishes. Team members select tags and replace them with appropriate gifts. (Often, the tags are decorating a Christmas tree and the gifts are then arranged under it. Alternative symbols and decorations can be more universal inclusive - consider a flower garden display, with each flower an adult or child in the family.) The team may enjoy getting together to wrap the gifts. Usually, the identity of the family is not revealed, and contact and delivery are managed by the agency.

Teampedia encourages people to create opportunities for giving together in any and all seasons. Here's one year-round model, for a neighborhood in which people want such help: Before the holidays, pot houseplants together. In the spring, help plant a community garden. In the summer, have a lawn weed-in and watermelon event. Throw a leaf-raking and popcorn-eating party in the fall. As a bonus, in March, bring in a community organization to establish neighborhood emergency preparedness.

The team that gives together . . .


Philanthropy means "love of humanity."
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
― Winston Churchill
“I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.”
― Kahlil Gibran


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