Courtesy CBST Adventure/ColoradoTeamBuilding.com
Constructing better futures
Activities that benefit nonprofit organizations are becoming huge team-building events, according to Bill Horne, president and CEO of Truist. His company provides consulting and software tools to help Fortune 500 companies manage employee volunteer campaigns and charitable contributions.
“It crosses all generations, and it’s easy to do,” Horne said. “I participated in an event at which we worked on a Habitat for Humanity house. Everyone had a good time.”
Because Habitat has chapters throughout the country, it is easy for meeting planners to find a local chapter with whom to work.
Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley has a program that allows groups to build playhouses. The volunteers choose what group will receive the playhouse. A benefit of the program is its flexibility: Playhouses can be built in a warehouse, a company’s parking lot or in a public area like a park.
229-924-6935
www.habitat.org
Building bikes a new spin
Homes and playhouses aren’t all that can be built during team-building events. At Keystone Resort and Conference Center in Keystone, Colo., meeting attendees can team up for the Built for Need Bicycle Challenge.
To start, teams assemble bicycles within a certain time limit. To add to the challenge, teams can earn bicycle parts by answering questions about their company.
Teams then test the bicycles they have built by racing them or holding other riding competitions.
“It adds some physical and funny moments to the event,” said Mark Hojegian, sales manager at CBST Adventure, which organizes the challenge. “The folks building them should be able to enjoy them as well.”
The team that earns the most points at the end of the races wins. At the finish line, the riders relinquish their bicycles, which are donated to local nonprofit groups.
800-258-0437
www.keystoneresort.com
No da Vincis needed
Art can help build team spirit and benefit others. PaintFest is one way to build teams, benefit others and appreciate art.
PaintFest was created by the Foundation for Hospital Art, a Marietta, Ga.-based nonprofit that provides free artwork to hospitals.
The competition requires no artistic abilities. PaintFest supplies meeting groups with six 18-by-24-inch mural sections. Designs are preprinted on each section; participants simply add paint, similar to Paint by Numbers. It typically takes 90 minutes to two and a half hours to complete the mural, depending on the number of participants.
“From a team-building standpoint, they have to work together to finish,” said Scott Feight, executive director of the Foundation for Hospital Art. “It promotes internal discussion and networking.”
PaintFest can be worked into a conference or a meeting in a number of ways. For example, panels can be placed in the registration area or at a reception to encourage attendees to paint and mingle.
Meeting groups decide which hospital will receive the mural. It can be a facility in the host town or in the organization’s hometown.
678-324-1705
www.hospitalart.org
