What gets you up in the morning? Are you one of these that absolutely dreads setting your alarm on a Sunday night, and repeatedly hits snooze when that buzzer sounds Monday morning? Or, are you alternatively one of the lucky few that actually enjoys their job and doesn’t experience those infamous ‘Monday blues’.
We at CPI Selection pride ourselves on creating an environment that our employees enjoy coming into in the morning (yes, even Monday mornings!) This environment is built on a foundation of trust, integrity and flexibility, designed to inspire our employees to do their absolute best, whilst understanding and appreciating the curveballs that life can often throw our way.
One integral part of the CPI atmosphere that we have established is that of ‘Giving Back.’ Giving back consists of our working with a range of different charities, both locally and across the country, fundraising in a variety of different ways. It is our aim to take some of what we have as individuals and as a company to support the less fortunate throughout the world.
The purpose of this blog is to continue raising awareness for some of these fantastic charities, and to perhaps assist other companies that are seeking inspiration to incorporate that element of ‘giving back’ and charity work into their own work culture.
Chiltern Rangers
Our Chiltern Rangers charity event consisted of us helping to clean up the local Funges Meadow of general rubbish that had been discarded. This event was an opportunity to help out in our Local area, and to do our part for the environment.
Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser
For Breast Cancer Awareness we all dressed in Pink and had a fairground style event with an assortment of different games and activities for everyone to participate in. Having a themed event really adds to the enthusiasm building up to the day, and makes for an extra-exciting experience for everyone to enjoy!
With themed bunting and hot dogs it was a very enjoyable event. Everyone in the office contributed to a big bake sale,l proceeds of which went towards the Breast Cancer Awareness charity.
Windsor fun run
Several of us from the office participated in the Windsor ‘Gung-ho’ 5K charity fun run in March 2018! A fantastic event with inflatable obstacles dotted around the race course. It was an opportunity for us to run around like children whilst getting extraordinarily muddy! A highly enjoyable annual event, which we would highly recommend.
Environment
We have also made several changes in our office over the last couple of years where we have endeavored to become more environmentally conscientious and friendly! This has come in the form of recycling our Tassimo coffee capsules, recycling our drinks cans to the ‘Every Can Counts’ organisation, and recycling our used pens and markers to the Terracycle recycling company. There are numerous ways for a company to reduce their carbon footprint, so take a step back and have a look at all of the different ways you and your company could make small and subtle changes that could have a LARGE impact on the environment.
Volunteering
An exciting program that was set up within CPI in 2018, is the opportunity for two employees to go abroad to a volunteer program of their choice! Partnering with IVHQ I had the amazing opportunity last year to volunteer with endangered Sea Turtles on the island of Nusa Penida in Bali! This was a phenomenal experience full of adventure and excitement, it was great to be hands-on, making a real difference! Watch this space for our next couple of employees that will be off on their big volunteer adventure this year.
Food Banks
Last year we had a huge amount of tinned soup donated to our office, far more than we could have ever hoped to get through. We decided to donate them to the local food bank ‘One Can Trust’, so we filled a box up and took it to one of their drop off centres, however instead of making it a one time thing, we decided to have an ongoing donation box, which we now add to weekly. Whenever this box fills up we donate it to the local drop off centre and start again from scratch! Again, it is not necessarily a big ordeal for us, and it is not at all expensive! But it is an opportunity to support our local area, and help those that are struggling to feed their families.
Trussell Trust/ Pancake day and Halloween!
(not all at once...)
We like to incorporate our fundraising efforts with a fun event for our team, just this last Pancake Day we raised money and collected tin cans for the foodbank ‘Trussell trust’, in exchange for yummy pancakes, with a huge selection of delicious toppings! Use national holidays and awareness days to theme your fundraising efforts and give it that little added flare that everyone enjoys so much.
Another national holiday we used as a fundraising opportunity was Halloween 2018. We all dressed up and enjoyed a delicious selection of baked goods from our office bake sale. With a few spooky decorations and cobwebs, we were able to transform our board room into a party room! The proceeds from this event went towards the ‘Just Jade’ foundation.
Giving back never has to be a big ordeal to integrate into your company culture. Take it one step at a time. You can either pick a charity that you would like to partner with, raising awareness and money for them alone. Or, you could alternate the charities you raise money for throughout the year, it is completely up to you.
Although we as a company may not be ending world hunger, or preventing deforestation, we are taking steps in the right direction. If every company in the world were to do their part in ‘Giving Back’ imagine the change and difference that we would begin to see! It would be incredible, but it starts with you, and it starts with me, and it starts with a change in mindset.
I hope that some of these examples of events/activities that we have held over the last couple years act as some sort of inspiration for events that you too could hold. Alternatively, any ideas or fundraising events you have had, please share them with us - we are always looking for new ideas and opportunities.
Leah Moy
Marketing Executive at CPI Selection
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