Giving as a Team - for the holiday season
"'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 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 and inclusive, for instance 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.
After the holidays have raised spirit of giving, a team can keep the momentum going in each season. Here's one year-round model: A work team identified a neighborhood in which residents would welcome a supportive. Before the holidays, the team provided supplies and instructions to pot houseplants together - for the residents to keep, or for them to use as gifts to others. In the spring, the team organized the planting of a community garden. In the summer, the team offered a lawn weed-in and watermelon event. And the team threw a leaf-raking and popcorn-eating party in the fall. As a bonus, in March, the team helped organize emergency preparedness for the neighborhood.
Philanthropy means "love of humanity." What a splendid way for a team to celebrate holidays!
“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 ===
