employee volunteerism

The Collective Access – Bringing Kids, Networking, Dreams…and Ice Cream Together

Students at Cesar Chavez Elementary in San Diego brought the energy, the hope and the dreams of children-all wanting a bright future.  Their potential, their abilities, their aspirations and enthusiasm—were attributes that carried through the air louder than any DJ’s music set during a very unique social event.

Ice cream was stashed in coolers, kids were dancing and singing and teaching the DJ how to properly scratch and scribble.  Cofounder of The Collective Access, Lance Growth and two gracious educators took the mic for short speeches advocating dream chasing, encouraging confidence and fun…Kids however, stole the show, drowning the voices of adults.

On this day, these kids didn’t just believe the hype; they embodied a bursting potential that’s usually only seen during commencements and thank-you, speeches. This day- their potential was tangible and their energy had the adults dancing too. Volunteers waited, armed with smiles, stickers, and most importantly ice cream! Kids stormed the tables like a stampede of future CEOs, lawyers, athletes, doctors, veterinarians, painters, dancers, and singers (in their words) to get ice cream.

Meet The Collective Access, an organization that has created a movement, that engages the generation before us to help build the generation behind us. They’re on a mission to teach kids the importance and value of networking and building relationships.

Before ice cream was served, kids were asked to share their dreams:
“What did they want to be when they grew up?”
“What are the steps they’ll take to accomplish their goals?”

Sponsors and volunteers reminded themselves to ask children what their names were, to make eye contact and to smile. Students made them look like the amateurs when it came to networking, eye contact, and friendly grins. They were delightfully infectious. During the event, there were only smiles, messy faces, sugar highs, and bonding between older and younger generations over common dreams and goals.

In partnership with the “Ice Cream for a Dream” initiative, The Collective Access rewards kids for their ingenuity and ambition. Admittedly, the this initiative may sound strange to our readers. After all, what good can enticing kids with ice cream really do?

“ After handing the first student his first ice cream following his first dream, it hit me,” said Lance Growth… “Adults work and share ideas with the promise of returns, of future gratification, of a reward. Isn’t it better to reward our children for dreaming than the threat of failure for not dreaming?  Watching kids run back and forth and dance. filled with joy, laughter, singing and the polyphony of dreams—feeling the excitement and the hope and promise of great things to come- there is no denying the positive impact that a shared ice cream and a dream can truly have.”

corporate Giving Partnerships is proud to present The Collective Access as our featured nonprofit of the month.  Working with organizations such as this, has a positive impact on our community. The Collective Access is open and daring, nontraditional and inclusive, motivated and powerful… it is a bridge between generations- old and new.

The Collective Access has its next networking event on August 26, 2017 in Horton Plaza Park. If you are interested in participating, in inspiring our youth, contact corporate Giving Partnerships or visit https://www.thecollectiveaccess.com to learn more.

Every great idea comes from a spark, every great moment begins long before its realization, and every great leader was once a child with a dream and an ice cream covered face. The world is ripe for creation, change, and greatness- and kids are the foundation of a coming present beyond our most positive and wildest dreams!

#TheCollectiveAccess #IceCream #CorporateGivingPartnerships #Kids #Networking

By |2018-04-25T05:56:33-07:00August 1st, 2017|Featured NonProfit|Comments Off on The Collective Access – Bringing Kids, Networking, Dreams…and Ice Cream Together
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The Alzheimer’s Association, Making a Difference

Although the Alzheimer’s Association has been in San Diego for 30 years sometimes there’s a little confusion over who we are and what we do.

To give you a short back story, the Alzheimer’s Association was founded in 1980 by a group of family caregivers and individuals interested in research. Today, the Association reaches millions of people worldwide affected by Alzheimer’s through our headquarters in Chicago, a public policy office in Washington, D.C., and a presence in communities across the country.  We’re the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research.

That sounds like a lot, but what exactly do we do? Grab a cup of coffee and sit back. Here is a partial list of some of our activities:

Care for the caregivers and those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other dementias:

  • Our professionally staffed 24/7 Helpline (1.800.272.3900) offers information and advice to more than 300,000 callers each year and provides translation services in more than 200 languages.
  • We offer caregivers and families comprehensive online resources and information through our Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregiver Center.
  • Our free online tool, Alzheimer’s Navigator®, helps those facing the disease to determine their needs and develop an action plan, and our online Community Resource Finder is a comprehensive database of programs, service, housing, care services, and legal experts.
  • Our safety service, MedicAlert® + Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return®, is a 24-hour nationwide emergency response service for individuals with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia who wander or have a medical emergency.
  • We connect people across the globe through our online message boards, ALZConnected® to answer questions and provide support.
  • We host educational sessions in the community.

Research, the path to a cure or prevention:

  • We accelerate research because simply put, there won’t be a treatment or prevention without it. As the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research, the Association is committed to hastening the progress of new treatments and preventions.
  • We do more than encourage patients to participate in clinical studies, we help to connect healthy volunteers, people with the disease and caregivers to current studies through Alzheimer’s Association TrialMatch®, a free, easy-to-use clinical studies matching service.
  • We advance the understanding of Alzheimer’s through our peer-reviewed research grant program that has invested over $385 million in more than 2,500 scientific investigations since 1982. In 2015, the Alzheimer’s Association granted $8 million to San Diego researchers.
  • We bring researchers together worldwide to advance scientific data sharing through GAAIN, the Global Alzheimer’s Association International Network, a first-of-its-kind database with advanced analytical tools to accelerate discoveries.
  • Our scientific journal, Alzheimer’s & Dementia®, provides a single publication for the global scientific community to share its diverse knowledge.
  • Our annual Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC)® is the world’s largest conference of its kind, bringing researchers together to report on groundbreaking studies.

Advocacy:

  • We advocate for the needs and rights of people facing Alzheimer’s. The Association is the leading voice encouraging Alzheimer’s disease research, prevention and care initiatives at the state and federal level.
  • Each year, our advocates participate in our annual Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy Forum, and a march on Capitol Hill to meet with elected representatives.
  • We advance commitment to Alzheimer’s funding from the federal government. In 2015, the Association helped secure a historic $350 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research funding.
  • We secure quality health care services for those affected. We were instrumental in a 2016 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ensure that people with Alzheimer’s will have access to care planning with a medical professional.
  • We develop policy resources, including Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, to educate decision makers on the economic and emotional toll that Alzheimer’s takes on families and the nation.

Intrigued? If you’re interested in getting involved with activities and volunteering for a local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, check out one of these opportunities:

  • Consider nominating someone for our Advisory Board.
  • Start a team for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s®, the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s disease care, support and research.
  • Start a team for The Longest Day®. Honor the strength, heart and endurance of those facing Alzheimer’s with a day of activity on June 21, the summer solstice.
  • Become an advocate. Advocate for those affected by Alzheimer’s and urge legislators make the disease a national priority.
  • Make a donation.

Join us! Visit our website https://alz.org/sandiego to volunteer for any of these activities and help us help others.

Thank you to  Jeffree Itrich, Alzheimer’s Association San Diego / Imperial Valley Chapter for this guest post. Corporate Giving Partnerships works with companies to identify meaningful volunteerism opportunities with nonprofit organizations such as and including the Alzheimer’s Association. If you are interested to learn more, contact us  to learn about the positive impact volunteerism can have on your culture, your business growth, and employee engagement. #alzheimer #volunteering #corporatevolunteering

By |2018-04-25T05:56:33-07:00May 4th, 2017|Featured NonProfit|Comments Off on The Alzheimer’s Association, Making a Difference
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7 Considerations to Develop a Successful Employee Volunteerism Program

Engagement is pivotal to the success of productivity. It plays a significant role in corporate marketing, philanthropic and human resource strategies. According to a study by Dale Carnegie 54% of employees revealed they felt more engaged as a result their company’s contributions to society. The 2011 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey which studied millennials who participated in workplace volunteer activities, uncovered they were twice as likely to rate their corporate culture as very positive. Volunteerism has a role in any corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. The following may help in the design of yours.

1. Get Your Leadership Team on Board

  • Even in volunteerism, programs cannot succeed when leaders are not supportive, engaged, or perhaps have their own agendas. Spend time to bring leadership into the values and benefits of building a program from the inside out.
  • When it comes to hiring practices, managers often feel pressured to hire aggressive “takers”, assuming they’re the real go-getters. Managers who realize value and commit to hiring “givers” can receive an enormous boost to their department’s productivity. To learn more about this concept, read Give and Take, by Adam Grant.

2. Cultural Shift

  • “What you are is where you were when”, said Sociologist Morris Massey. Generational perceptions, work-style differences and personal experiences influence how employees approach a volunteerism program. Provide employees with a variety of custom tailored resources and opportunities that appeal to a wide array of people.
  • Enthusiastic employees are influencers. Empower your employees who volunteer. Use their passion and storytelling to invite others to participate. These champions should ultimately lead the program. Corporate culture transforms when volunteerism becomes intrinsic.

3. Mentor Your Volunteer Champions

  • Mentoring increases engagement, enthusiasm, confidence, and teamwork.
  • Mentoring volunteers inspires new leadership within the organization.
  • Mentoring can be done both formally and informally.

4. Build Brand from the Inside Out

  • Connection with community that is encouraged and supported by the employer is natural win-win. Engaged employees will build your brand in a variety of measurable ways, including higher productivity and better customer service.
  • Volunteerism lets employees build personal skills and connections outside of their normal job requirements, which grows brand loyalty.

5.   Rethink Team Building and Social Events

  • Instead of a round of golf or other activity, use volunteerism as an opportunity to team-build with a vetted cause.
  • When asking for a donation of time outside of normal work hours, make activities family friendly. This provides employees with opportunities to teach their children and/or share an experience with their spouse or partner.

6. Storytelling

  • Use corporate volunteerism as an opportunity to evangelize compelling stories. Incorporate into your marketing programs to attract new customers and inspire higher levels of talent, especially among millennials.
  • Empower and encourage employees to share their stories. Find creative ways to promote volunteerism stories including social media, marketing, events, newsletters, lunch and learns, apps, etc.

7. Measure

Benchmark and add analytics to document your company’s progress. Consider measurements between those that volunteer and those that don’t such as:

  • Skill development
  • Employee turnover
  • Team productivity
  • Talent recruitment
  • Absenteeism
  • Job satisfaction

Every company has the opportunity to deepen engagement through contributions to society. Volunteerism requires strategy and thoughtful implementation. What steps has your company taken to build engagement through employee volunteerism?  We’d love to hear from you.

Karen Knight, is the founder of Corporate Giving Partnerships (CGP). CGP is a consulting firm that helps companies to achieve cultural and financial benefits through corporate social responsibility (CSR). Through executive coaching, workshops, employee volunteerism and cause marketing, CGP equips companies with the tools they need to leverage strengths and create dynamic engagement. To learn more, please email engage@cgpartnerships.com or call 760.717.9685. ©2017 Corporate Giving Partnerships

#CSR #corporatesocialresponsibility #employeevolunteerism #corporatephilanthropy #volunteerismweek

By |2018-04-25T05:56:33-07:00April 24th, 2017|Employee Volunteerism, Uncategorized|Comments Off on 7 Considerations to Develop a Successful Employee Volunteerism Program
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