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Charitable activities in the workplace foster team bonding, improve company culture, and make employees feel like part of a big, kind-hearted family.
Today, we are going to explore 12 different charity team building activities that promise to foster a sense of unity in the workplace while positively contributing to the lives of others.
The Benefits of Giving in the Workplace
Charitable team activities are more than fun challenges - they are powerful catalysts for building a cohesive team and improving your workers’ mental health.
Giving to the community brings several benefits to teams and companies in all industries, as proven by the following three statistics:
- Giving feels good and can improve employee satisfaction while fostering a better company culture. A survey conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) revealed that 42% of respondents donate to charitable organizations because of the enjoyment they feel when they do so.
- A study by Good 2 Give revealed that 86% of employees are more likely to feel proud of their jobs when charitable team building events are integrated, enhancing team morale and increasing engagement.
- Donating to a non-profit organization and participating in charity events helps improve corporate group perception and brand image. Corporate groups and companies that participate in charity team building events are perceived as community-oriented businesses, showcasing their corporate social responsibility (Hollows).
How to Choose a Charity Team Building Activity
People have various reasons and motivations for giving to charity. It's important to treat giving as a fair process since it's not right to say that one charity activity is better than another.
This creates the need to consider the following three steps before choosing a charitable team building event:
- Step 1 - Align Team and Company Values: To ensure a positive impact on both team members’ morale and corporate image, start by identifying the core values of the charity team activity. All charity activities have an underlying value and goal that need to be considered before selecting them.
- Step 2 - Consider Diverse Causes: Don’t mindlessly choose one charity organization, and that’s it - consult with all team members and consider diverse causes before reaching a consensus. Keep in mind that some activities might represent bigger team challenges than others, which means that it’s crucial to integrate the whole team to gauge the potential impact of the chosen charity activity.
- Step 3 - Ensure Inclusivity and Participation: Select meaningful and fun activities that get the whole team involved, fostering a sense of shared purpose and team bonding. When all team members participate in an activity, a more harmonious, inclusive, and positive workplace atmosphere is created.
12 Charity Team Building Activities
It’s time to give to the community without expecting something back - check out the 12 best charity team building activities that make a positive impact on the causes that matter the most.
1. Help Bus
One of the biggest bottlenecks of charity activities in the workplace is not knowing which one to choose or participate in.
Teamland’s Help Bus is a charity event that focuses on raising awareness around worthy local causes to support in your neighborhood, city, or state.
Teamland’s expert hosts have authentic and meaningful relationships with local nonprofits and charity organizations that your team helps, and now is the perfect time to make a difference.
Mystery is an important factor of Help Bus - let organizers choose the activity, jump on the bus as a united team, and spark growth while embarking on a charity journey that company members will never forget.
- Activity Duration: From 4 to 5 hours.
- Group Type: Small and medium-sized in-office groups.
2. Random Acts of Kindness
Random Acts of Kindness is all about spontaneity - instead of planning a retreat or an organized event, ask all team members to perform random acts of kindness throughout the day.
Divide team members into two teams and make the teams compete against each other by performing small yet significant acts of kindness within a predetermined period of time.
Some examples include making handwritten appreciation notes, giving surprise teams to coworkers, and expressing gratitude to team leaders and members.
At the end of the day, Random Acts of Kindness will turn into a friendly competition with no winning team - everyone will be a victor in fostering a culture of positivity and charitable collaboration.
This event boosts team spirit and improves company morale, strengthening bonds in the workplace as teams work together to uplift one another.
- Activity Duration: From 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Group Type: Small and medium-sized in-office teams.
3. Charity Bike Build
We all remember the day we got our first bicycle, and today, it’s possible to help other kids replicate that feeling.
Teamland’s Charity Bike Build is an event that helps and inspires children in need in your community by giving them their first bike.
All the event materials and instructions are provided by Teamland, which means that you and your team will only need to put their hands to work to assemble the bicycles.
After building the bikes, all team members will participate in fun obstacle courses with the kids, witnessing the impact of their charitable actions in the community. Charity Bike Build fosters creative thinking and showcases the importance of helping vulnerable groups.
- Activity Duration: From 1 to 2 hours.
- Group Type: All in-office group sizes.
4. Teach Vocational Skills
We all have a teachable professional talent that can impact others' lives, even if it’s not directly related to our job position.
For this team building activity, attend a local school or a community organization with children.
Start by discovering the skills your team members possess. Some of them might be good at cooking, whereas others may excel at arts. Get the whole team involved by asking each member to teach their vocational talents to kids, potentially helping them choose a future career.
Teaching vocational skills to local children enhances the team’s creativity and improves communication skills.
- Activity Duration: From 1 to 2 hours.
- Group Type: Small and medium-sized in-person teams.
5. Partner with Community Groups
A negative side of many charity team building activities is that they only take place for a while, and then everything goes back to normal.
Instead of participating in a one-day charity team building event, motivate your team to partner with community groups to support regularly.
Look for a local non-profit organization that needs your team’s help on a monthly basis and establish meaningful connections with the local community.
Some examples include going to a nursing home, visiting a local school, and contributing to a homeless shelter.
There’s more than one place in your local community that needs your help - discover the human side of a place that aligns with your company’s values, and turn your team into one of their most powerful allies.
- Activity Duration: From 1 to 3 hours.
- Group Type: All in-office group sizes.
6. Birthday Build
All children in the world deserve to have a happy birthday, regardless of their current situation.
Birthday Build is a team building event by Teamland that focuses on giving kids in your community the chance to have an unforgettable birthday with the help of your team.
The event consists of completing different challenges that, upon completion, will provide kids with valuable surprises during their birthdays.
Each team member will later create their own birthday cards with customized messages for the kids, improving the personal connection between employees and the children.
Right before the activity ends, the team will be asked to collectively record a video singing “Happy Birthday,” fostering unity and camaraderie for a good cause.
- Activity Duration: From 1 to 2 hours.
- Group Type: All in-person group sizes.
7. Food Bank is Right
Are you familiar with the popular TV show “The Price is Right”? If so, you and your team are absolutely going to love “Food Bank is Right,” a team building activity inspired by it.
The activity consists of playing different rounds of trivia where team members need to guess the prices of grocery store staples.
Teams will collect points by correctly guessing the prices, points that will later be redeemed for non-perishable food items.
These food items will be donated to a local food bank or local organization, motivating participants to work hard in order to make a real impact in the community.
Teamland’s experts provide all the materials and accessories needed for this activity, facilitating your team’s contribution to local charity.
- Activity Duration: Small and medium-sized in-office teams.
- Group Type: From 1 to 2 hours.
8. Field Trip at a Local Charity
Donating food items to the community is one thing, but actively engaging in hands-on, impactful work takes the commitment to another level.
Instead of finding a local charity to donate items, go to a place that actually needs some hands-on work and involvement.
Some examples include cleaning a local park, painting the walls at homeless shelters, and participating in community gardens.
This contributes to tangible improvements while forging a more meaningful connection with people in need inside your community.
- Activity Duration: From 2 to 3 hours.
- Group Type: All in-person group sizes.
9. Tools for Schools
All charity team building activities need to have a purpose for them to be as effective as we expect.
Teamland’s Tools for School consists of multiple challenges and fun games where teams will need to test their skills to come out victorious.
Upon completing different challenges, teams will earn valuable school supplies, such as notebooks and pencils, that will later be donated to local schools.
This way, your team will find purpose in team building, positively impacting the education of children in your area.
- Activity Duration: From 1 to 2 hours.
- Group Type: All in-office group sizes.
10. Virtual Volunteering
Who said that charity team building activities were only for in-person teams? Fully remote teams can also make a difference at a global scale by engaging in virtual volunteering platforms.
Online platforms such as Catchafire and UNV have open positions where help is needed.
Activities include writing notes, researching, or editing photos. Ask remote team members to choose virtual volunteering activities based on their skills, and make them contribute from their homes regularly.
This demonstrates that there are no boundaries to helping others - someone, somewhere, is in need of your team’s help, and the difference can be made today.
- Activity Duration: From 1 to 2 hours (depending on the type of activity chosen).
- Group Type: All remote team sizes.
11. Mini-Golf Course Build
Mini-Golf Course Build is an activity by Teamland where teams will work together to build a mini-golf course with the materials provided.
An expert host will teach team members all the steps they need to know in order to build the most fun, amazing, and enjoyable mini-golf course.
The best part is that this fun game can be turned into a charitable team building activity, as all items will be donated to local organizations once the events end.
- Activity Duration: 2 hours.
- Group Type: All in-person group sizes.
12. Custom Charity Team Building Event
Did none of the aforementioned charity team building events match your needs? Don’t worry - Teamland’s custom team events have got you covered.
The best part about team building charity activities is that there are no limits to giving and contributing to those in need. This means that you can design the best charity team building event as you want it with the help of professionals.
Do you want to give wheelchairs for charity, but are struggling to find a charitable organization? Let Teamland handle it.
Does your team want to send care packages to local schools, but the logistics part seems complicated? Teamland has got your back.
- Activity Duration: Depending on the activity.
- Group Type: All group types and sizes.
Summary: 12 Charitable Team Building Activities
Participating in charity activities brings joy and happiness in the hearts of all team members. This is a quick summary of the 12 different charity team building ideas discussed above:
- Help Bus: Jump onto Teamland’s bus to raise awareness for local community cases that need your team’s help.
- Random Acts of Kindness: Participate in random acts of kindness throughout the day, fostering unity and team bonding.
- Charity Bike Build: Build bicycles following Teamland’s experts' instructions and help kids have their first bikes.
- Teaching Vocational Skills: Identify the vocational skills of your team members and help them teach them to kids in need.
- Community Group Partnerships: Establish long-lasting and meaningful relationships with local charities that may need your team’s help.
- Birthday Build: Participate in a fun contest where the price is the smallest of children during their birthdays.
- Food Bank is Right: Play a fun television-based contest while donating food items to local food banks and organizations.
- Field Trip at a Local Charity: Get involved in hands-on work at local places, such as painting and gardening.
- Tools for Schools: Engage in different fun activities while providing kids with different school supplies.
- Virtual Volunteering: Find virtual volunteering platforms where remote team members can make a difference in the world.
- Mini-Golf Course Build: Create your own mini-golf course and then donate the items to local communities.
- Custom Charity Team Building Event: Receive help from Teamland to find the best team building activities for your team with charity goals.
