I Wish to Help Corporate Volunteer Program

Transcription

1 Make-A-Wish Philadelphia & Susquehanna Valley Headquarters 5 Valley Square, Suite 210 Blue Bell, Pennsylvania ONE-WISH toll free fax philasv.wish.org Regional Offices 1054 New Holland Ave. Lancaster, Pennsylvania W. 10th Street, Suite 106 Wilmington, DE I Wish to Help Corporate Volunteer Program Overview: The I Wish to Help program provides volunteer opportunities and ideas for companies and organizations that want to support their communities while fostering teamwork within their staff. Make-A-Wish Philadelphia & Susquehanna Valley grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. As a participant of the corporate volunteer program you will experience the joy and satisfaction of being a part of this mission making dreams come true for children in your community. The Opportunities: There are many ways to participate in this program and this package outlines numerous group opportunities that vary in their levels of time spent, chosen activities and volunteer category. This variety of choices aims to fit the diverse and specific needs and interests of corporate teams looking to be involved in their communities. Said that, all opportunities are based on three fundamental principles: 1) Mission - The Make-A-Wish Mission stands front and center of all activities - corporate volunteer opportunities are no different. 2) Community - Whether it is renovating the room of a wish child, organizing a welcome home parade for a wish child or fundraising for wishes of children in your area - your volunteer experience will directly affect your community. 3) Teamwork All corporate volunteer opportunities involve the collaboration of at least five volunteers a great opportunity to experience the benefits and joy of working as a team!

2 Corporate Volunteerism A recent boom in corporate social responsibility resulted in companies around the globe beginning to go beyond solely giving money to non-profits and community organizations. Many corporations now see a strategic advantage in creating fullfledged partnerships with their chosen charities by not only providing monetary resources, but volunteers as well. Below is a list of some of the many benefits of getting your employees to volunteer. On the last page, you will find a list of additional web resources for further reading. Benefits to Your Employees Increased Performance and Morale Positive Teamwork Experience Opportunity for Leadership and Skill Development Benefits to Your Corporation Enhanced Corporate Image and Reputation Improved Employee Retention Strengthened Trust and Loyalty amongst Consumers and the Community Provides Additional Attraction for New/Young Employee Recruitment Benefits to Your Community A Talented, Skilled and Dedicated Volunteer Pool Direct Cost Savings for Community Organizations Impact of Meaningful Social Change (Source: One Interesting Fact to Consider: Nearly two-thirds of the respondents (62%) in the 2007 Volunteer IMPACT survey by Deloitte & Touche USA said they would prefer to work for companies that give them opportunities to contribute their talents to nonprofit organizations. 2

3 Overview So Many Ways For You to Help! Please find below an overview of ideas for corporate volunteer activities. Depending on your specific capacities and interests, you can pick your favorite and look up more detailed information on each activity on the following pages. Activity Make-A-Wish Wish Reveal/ Send Off Party Minimum # of volunteers 3-5 volunteers Time spent Prep time: 4-5 hours; party time hours Additional Requirements Your creativity and imagination Category Wish granting Prepare Make-A- Wish packages Airport Send-Off Party CEO Breakfast Auction Sports Tournament Fundraising Competition Project: Share! Luggage Drives Shopping Spree escorts 5 volunteers At least 2 hours Possibly staplers, hole punchers, etc. 3-5 volunteers Prep time: 1-2 hours Event: ½ hour 5 volunteers Prep time: ½ to 1 hour Event: same 10 volunteers Depends on sport: 3 4 hours 5 volunteers Depends on your chosen structure 5 volunteers Depending on your chosen structure 5 volunteers Between 4 6 hours total 5 volunteers Prep time: 1-2 hours Event: 4 hours Parking at the airport; coordination of volunteers CEO or Boss buyin; location and breakfast Gym or sports site Vary by your chosen structure Your expertise and imagination Delivery of luggage to MAW office Coordination of volunteers; contact with stores Assembly Wish Granting Fund- and Awareness- Raising Fund- and Awarenessraising Fund- and Awarenessraising Advice in think tank style Raising of goods Wish Granting 3

4 Additional Details per Activity a) Make-A-Wish Send-off/Wish Reveal Party: Host a party for one of our wish kiddos to reveal that their wish is coming true. We would pair you up with a wish child who lives near your office, or you could host the party at either of our office locations. Party would include decorations and refreshments and anything magical that fits with what the child s wish is, or what they love. For example: a wish child is going to Hawaii. How fun it would be to have a luau themed party complete with grass skirts and steel drum music?? b) Assembly of Make-A-Wish Packages: Make-A-Wish Philadelphia & Susquehanna Valley continuously hands out packets of info materials to sponsors, community groups and other constituents. Assembling packets and folders with various materials may seem like a simple job, but it is necessary for us to train, inform and appeal to everyone within the organization. Examples include stuffing envelopes, putting together press-kit folders and/or training materials or making copies. This activity can be done either at our office in Blue Bell or at your office space. It can provide a great opportunity to network and socialize with fellow employees, while supporting a worthy cause. c) Airport Send-off Party: Corporate groups meet at the airport, in the lobby of the wish child s departing terminal with banners and balloons to give the wish child a proper send-off. They coordinate with security at the airport and with the wish granters regarding flight time. They can also make travel backpacks with TSAfriendly items and have each employee in the office create a greeting card for the wish child saying how valuable he/she is and to have fun on his/her wish. Groups can even design shirts for the whole family! d) CEO Breakfast Auction: It is a rare and special occasion to spend time with your boss, your boss s boss, or the president/ceo of a company. Many employees of your business would pay a pretty penny to get an opportunity to share a breakfast with one of those individuals. Our suggestion is to block off a small chunk of the boss s schedule and use it to raise money for charity. Your company will be in charge of running the auction (either online or live) and supplying the breakfast for the winning bidder. This can be a one-time or regular (quarterly/bi-annual) event. e) Sports Tournament: There are few occasions that allow your employees to get out of the office and spend time with their co-workers in a non-work related environment. By putting on a charity sports tournament, you are not only encouraging teamwork and fitness, but also facilitating an office culture that is both fun and charitable. From Bowling to Tennis, from Sailing to Walking the opportunities to be fit and charitable, together as a group, are many! If you would like, a Make-A-Wish representative will come to cheer you on and talk about our cause. 4

5 f) Fundraising Competition: This volunteer opportunity allows your employees to let their competitive juices flow for a good cause. By hosting a fundraising competition, your employees can work together to achieve one simple goal: raise as much money as possible. There are many ways to structure this competition and if you are interested we can give you some examples of previous competitions. Specific resources will vary depending on your competition rules, but the most important thing to have is a group of people with imagination and enthusiasm. g) Project: Share! One innovative way in which organization can help Make-A-Wish grow is by sharing knowledge, skills and expertise that will help to improve our operations and grow. Each group has experience, specific talents, and knowledge that can aid in refining our practices or increasing our knowledge of the Philadelphia & Susquehanna Valley areas. By participating in Project: Share! you give your team a type of project that will utilize their expertise in a new way, making them our pro bono consulting partners on specific topics. Each project will have a defined scope, list of deliverables and suggested timeline. Possible topics include volunteer recruitment efforts; outreach initiatives; analyzing community population data; utilizing social media; public relations and many more. This activity can either be a one-time brainstorming meeting or a longer lasting effort, depending on your preference and availability. h) Luggage Drives: With travel wishes ranking high on kids wish lists, new luggage is in constant high demand. Luggage Drives are week-long activities in which your employees will rally together to give the kids brand new luggage to take on their trips to Walt Disney World Resort, Beijing, Europe, or any other possible destination that they wish for. This is a great seasonal volunteer opportunity as well, insofar as summer and winter are busy travel seasons for our wish kids. Become a vital part of their dream travel experience by volunteering to arrange for their luggage! You will be responsible for organizing the luggage drive from start to finish and for delivering the luggage to the offices in Blue Bell or Lancaster. i) Shopping spree escorts: The wish granters will do all the usual shopping spree logistics such as contacting merchants but the corporate volunteers make secret wish enhancements. The group of employees act as greeters when the wish family arrives (they can even roll out the red carpet) and then split up into advance teams that go to the next store ahead of time to set up signs, our Wish in progress banner, red carpets, and let the store staff know the wish kid is on their way. (If you have an amateur photographer in the group, event better!) The wish kid will have a blast the entire time and the corporate volunteers will have so much fun! 5

6 We hope that you will follow our invitation to join our corporate volunteer teams and will do all we can to make it a joyful and satisfying experience for you and your employees. Please contact Elizabeth Burker, Volunteer Coordinator to discuss your chosen activities in more detail. We look forward to hearing from you! Phone (215) or eburker@philadelphia.wish.org Visit our Ways of Volunteering page on philasv.wish.org for additional information regarding individual volunteer activities. 6