We are very pleased to incorporate a charitable element, or as sometimes worded ‘corporate social responsibility’, into our team building events where possible. We are finding that clients are increasingly asking for team building events that help charities. We can provide many different formats and, to demonstrate this, I want to describe a team building Charity event that we have recently delivered.

I was recently asked to put together a morning programme of activities for 360 Delegates. No problem. Could this rotate around three areas, each area representing one of their values? Sure! Could one of the areas directly help a charity? Yes! Finally, could the whole thing be a competition with delegates able to raise money for the Company’s nominated charity in Vietnam? OK…so this is really going to take some planning!

I’m pleased to say that we found a solution that fitted the client’s requirements and we headed down to a hotel in Heathrow the night before the event to prepare for the early start. Due to the activities selected, we had a lot of unloading to do!

With a great team on site (fuelled by bacon butties), we prepared each of the areas in good time before the delegates arrived for their second day of conference. Many of them were feeling a little jaded following their gala dinner the night before so we knew we had to get them engaged and motivated from the outset.

After a brief introduction to the tasks ahead and to the charities they would be helping, we quickly organised the delegates into teams and they all went off to their first zones.

Zone One was a classic team building game – Mexican Railway. Using the props provided, teams each had to create their own section of a track; they then organised themselves into a long line and had to roll a large ball all along their track sections. Obviously, this is easier said than done, with the ball regularly falling off and the team having to go back to the start. Eventually, the teams communicated and worked together and transported the ball the whole way along. The team that finished quickest earned a cash bonus for the Vietnamese charity.

Zone Two represented ‘Speed of Action’ so, with the use of many electronic and mental games, individuals went head to head with opposing team members in mini challenges. Each game won meant more cash for the charity.

The third zone was rather special. We worked very closely with a wonderful UK charity that provides little rucksacks filled with age-appropriate, well-thought-out contents that are given to children when they find themselves in emergency care. The children often arrive with very little and these bags provide them with a few essentials such as toiletries, pyjamas, underwear, things to do and the all-important teddy bear to cuddle. This can really make a difference to a child arriving in a new, and possibly scary, environment and we are so proud to be working alongside them.

All of the bag contents were laid out across tables and delegates took their turn to pack a bag with the relevant items and lots of love. You could see how much it meant to people as they took the time to consider the beneficiary of each of these little bags.

As if this wasn’t enough, we also had a quiz running at the same time! This was an opportunity for teams to earn more points for themselves and, most importantly, additional funds for the company’s chosen charity as these points were converted into cash. It also meant that teams had to manage their time well to try and answer as many questions on their quiz papers as possible while still participating in the activities provided.

Once each of the teams had rotated around all the areas, we reconvened in the main plenary for a final game of Mexican Railway for bonus points!

While all this was happening, our team was furiously counting up the points so we could announce the winning team and, more importantly, how these points converted into money for charity.

As the delegates had embraced each of the challenges with such enthusiasm, we were delighted to find that they had smashed their target and a very generous sum of £10,000 was donated to some very deserving people in Vietnam who will receive vaccinations and medical care. We also had 360 special bags for the children’s charity!

This was a fabulous event with an amazing result and we loved being a part of it. If a charity event is something you would like to consider for your team, please get in touch and we would be happy to tailor it to suit your requirements.

For more information about our events, please contact us.