Do you want to find new and exciting methods for your team to volunteer? With these volunteer ideas for corporate organizations, you can make a difference in your community.
As a team building activity, volunteering can be one of the most impactful and important things you can do. It’s not only a terrific way to engage employees, encourage cooperation, and bring everyone closer together, but it can also help your company connect with the community and make a meaningful impact in people’s lives.
In fact, 65 percent of employees prefer to work for companies that are socially responsible. Finding opportunities for your firm to give back may raise employee morale, build a stronger and more vibrant company culture, and even help your bottom line become more profitable.
You shouldn’t settle for doing the bare minimum however – there are numerous methods for you and your company to give back. Use the list below to choose a way to give back that your group will be enthusiastic about, as well as a cause for which they are prepared to go above and beyond.
Why? Because the finest corporate volunteer ideas are those that are meaningful to your coworkers.
These 17 inventive volunteer ideas will help your team make an impact, whether you’re organizing your first volunteer experience with your group or looking for new ways to give back as part of your corporate social responsibility program.
1. Volunteer in a Local Organization
Whatever location your team is in, there are almost certainly a slew of unique volunteer opportunities that you won’t find anywhere else. Use a service to learn about new ways to give back in your community and to learn about the various causes you might support.
You can give staff extra time off to volunteer or set aside a few hours for everyone to leave the workplace once you’ve decided how your group will help. Employees will have the opportunity to bond while giving back, so your efforts will be worthwhile.
2. Put together care packages
Assembling care packages for individuals or families in need is one of the most straightforward ways your company can make a difference. To accomplish this, you may wish to collaborate with another group that can advise you on what to buy for your care packages and what to do with your donations once they arrive.
3. Hold a clean-up event in a public area
Organizing a public area cleanup in your community is a terrific way for teams who care about the environment to give back. The aim is for your group to gather at a nearby park, forest, road, or beach to clean up garbage and trash. This is a fantastic method to minimize pollution, strengthen your feeling of community, and make your area seem more friendly and secure.
You can either host your own private event, join an existing neighborhood cleanup team in your city, or “adopt” a public space to clean for a longer length of time. You can also offer awards and rewards to the staff that collect the most waste to make it more enjoyable for them!
4. Organize a One-of-a-Kind Workplace Fundraiser
Workplace fundraisers are certainly something you’ve heard of before. Traditionally, this entails planning a 50/50 raffle, a silent auction, or a dinner fundraiser.
However, you may take it a step further by doing something more distinctive and creative. For example, you may hold a baking competition in which employees pay to sample baked products and vote on their favorites, a pub quiz in which teams earn money to compete for a trophy for the smartest team, or a poker night in which everyone’s buy-in goes to support the fundraiser.
5. Arrange a team-building activity for a charity
For clients all around Europe, charity team building events, or CSR events, are among the most popular types of team development. Employees enjoy these activities because they serve a triple purpose: they are enjoyable to engage in, they aid in the development of stronger working connections, and they provide important contributions.
6. Share Your Knowledge
Your team likely possesses a variety of unique skills that could benefit others in your neighborhood. Why not provide a free lesson to anyone who might be interested, whether your skill is in sales, marketing, technology, customer service, or something else entirely? This can be a terrific way for your employees to share their expertise, practice public speaking, and assist others in developing important business skills.
Once you’ve chosen a topic, contact your local library, community center, or elder care facility to see if they’d be interested in publicizing and holding your presentation.
7. Collecting and donating pet food
For animal-loving groups, a challenge to gather and distribute as much pet food as possible over the course of a month might be a fun way to give back. This can be a lot more enjoyable and engaging than it appears, and the impact can be equally as beneficial to furry friends in need!
Visiting pet stores in your neighborhood, putting up signs outside of your workplace, soliciting donations from family and friends, or having a “Pet Wash,” where animals can be washed in exchange for a bag of kibble, are all examples of ways to collect pet food. When you’re done collecting, contact a local animal shelter or use a service like Pets of the Homeless to locate a donation location.
8. Contribute to a Youth Sports Team
For children, sports may be a transformative experience. It’s a place where kids of all ages learn how to work together, develop critical life skills, and meet new friends. So, instead of funding the expense of new equipment or tournament costs, why not sponsor a local children’s league?
This is not only a terrific way to support local families, but it’s also a great way for your company to become more involved in the community. You can even go above and beyond by having employees volunteer to assist with the sports team, whether it’s coaching and mentoring or simply attending some of the games as a cheering section.
9. Show your support for local veterans
Support the brave men and women who have put their life on the line for the sake of their country. There are a variety of ways you can help local veterans, so the first thing you should do is look into what options are available in your region.
10. Make a Public Work of Art
If you have a creative staff, you might want to invest in some paint brushes and paint to assist improve your neighborhood. Creating a mural, some artwork, or a sculpture may be a fun way for your team to bond while tackling an artistic challenge. Additionally, it can assist in the transformation of a public space to make it more colorful and welcoming to passers-by.
Consult your local government to see if there are any areas where they are actively seeking artwork, then devise a strategy with your organization to make it happen. Because this is a large project, you’ll want to keep organized and distribute responsibilities to staff who are interested in taking part.
11. Plan a holiday drive for the office
Collect and donate non-perishable food, gently used clothing, and children’s toys to have a positive impact on families in your neighborhood. This is especially important during holidays like Christmas, when many disadvantaged families cannot afford the luxuries that many of us take for granted.
Split your company into teams and offer incentives to the employees who can donate the most money to make your office holiday drive more exciting.
12. Grow a Community Garden
You might want to get your hands dirty and start a community garden if you have some green thumbs on your team. This might be a great method to connect with the people who live in the area around your business.
To begin, you’ll need to select a garden site, clean it, establish your design, acquire materials such as seeds and soil, and arrange volunteer work squads. You can then choose different plots for your plants, flowers, or vegetables and start growing! Your community will benefit from a fresh source of long-term enrichment.
13. Give blood
Blood is one of the most valuable gifts somebody can give to another. Donated blood can aid cancer patients, trauma patients, sickle cell patients, burn patients, and chronic disease patients, thus this volunteer idea can truly save lives for your organization.
Organize a blood drive at your place of business or designate a day for your employees to donate to their local blood bank. You might wish to publish some information for employees who are unsure or undecided about giving. Although needles can be frightening, they should not deter anyone from making a difference!
14. Assist the Homeless in Your Neighborhood
According to Global Homelessness Statistics, nearly three million people in North America are currently homeless. This is something that many people overlook, but it is also an essential cause that your team can directly benefit by volunteering.
See how you can help the homeless in your area by partnering with a local food bank or homeless shelter. Whether you help them with fundraising, provide food and drinks for their mealtimes, or raise funds through a charitable activity like the End-Hunger Games, every little bit counts.
15. Set an eco-friendly goal for yourself
With an eco-friendly challenge, your team will be challenged to lessen their environmental impact. This can be an excellent approach to promote awareness about how your daily actions effect “green” concerns such as water, waste, energy, and health.
Join an existing program or start your own to get started. These initiatives usually last about a month and might include basic challenges like encouraging staff to ride their bikes to work more frequently or using recyclable products like cloth shopping bags. Your team will have learnt and practiced how to live in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable manner by the end of the month.
16. Volunteer Work
Consider volunteering to take on projects or provide free help if your company has services that could be used to promote a philanthropic endeavor, a non-profit, or a cause. This will assist in involving your employees in a hands-on manner and making them feel even more linked to your company and its ideals.
17. Providing opportunities for mentoring
As a means to give back, you might provide mentorship opportunities virtually or in person. This could include mentoring students or ambitious young professionals who could benefit from your organization’s knowledge. Alternatively, you may allow employees to set aside a certain amount of work time each month to act as mentors in a method that they are enthusiastic about.
Giving back isn’t just a good thing to do in today’s business world. It’s a requirement that many employees actively demand from the companies they work for. You can enhance employee morale and build a stronger and more dynamic corporate culture by identifying opportunities to do good and give back.
