Beyond Movember: Workplace Fundraising That Builds Team Spirit
Photo Credit: iStock.com/Pamela Moore
When is a team-building activity more than a way to get employees to work together in a non-business activity? When it helps support a worthy cause. If you’re looking for a way to build workplace group cohesiveness while benefitting society, here are a few ideas to get you started.
Clothing Drives
With another Canadian winter around the corner, clothing drives pop up in communities across the country each fall. Why not encourage employees to clear out their closets and donate gently used clothes to those who could use them? Try to find a theme. Winter coats, for example, are a hot commodity as the temperatures dip. Check your local non-profit organizations for drop-off dates for coat and clothing drives, or contact your local Salvation Army to see if they need a hand with their annual local coat drive.
Walks, Runs and Bike Rides
Getting together outside of work to walk, run, or ride a bike in support of medical research is another great team building and fundraising activity for businesses, particularly if your staff have been affected by the disease or condition you’re fundraising for. Team members gather sponsors and donations, and often show up at events dressed in matching outfits — the sillier the better! These events occur at various times throughout the year. In the spring, check out the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and the Arthritis Society’s Walk to Fight Arthritis. And the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation’s Ride for Diabetes Research takes place at 21 different locations across Canada from September through November.
Group Volunteer Days
If your team includes members ready, willing, and able to roll up their sleeves and pick up a paintbrush or a hammer, organizing a group volunteer day is a great way to team-build while giving back to the community. Look for organizations like Habitat for Humanity, an international non-profit organization with a mission to provide a safe place for everyone to live. Habitat for Humanity may build or renovate existing homes, and encourages corporate partners to engage employees on a local build site — no construction experience required.
Movember
You’ve probably heard the term “Movember” and wondered about the silliness of normally clean-shaven men desperately trying to grow a moustache, chinstrap, or even a beard in a 30-day span. Yet Movember is a great way to team build and fundraise in support of recognition and research into men’s health issues. Prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and physical inactivity are some of the men’s health issues supported by funds raised through Movember. The traditional “Movember” had participants committing to not shaving facial hair for the month of November, and accepting donations in support. However as many wannabe Movember participants lack the ability to grow facial hair (ie. females who occasionally self-identified as ‘mo sisters’), we can now raise money through Move in Movember, and commit to moving each day for the 30 days of November.
Whether your business is raising funds for cancer research, collecting clothes for the needy, or helping to construct or renovate a local building, choose a cause and team activity that’s aligned with your business values, and encourage all of your staff to participate.