At Girls Inc., we love to get creative when it comes time to give back. For our annual Girls Inc. employee campaign in April, we participated in Price is Right themed activities to gain 100% staff participation. When it came time to plan this year’s United Way of Central Indiana employee campaign, I knew the theme would be one of the most important parts! This year, our activities focused on fall and football to coincide with United Way’s Colts themed campaign.
Last Wednesday morning, we kicked off our campaign by learning even more about the United Way of Central Indiana and the work they do in our community. The Girls Inc. staff heard from Amy Harvey, a Herff Jones loaned executive to United Way and Tom Abeel, the United Way Torchbearer from the John H. Boner Center, a Girls Inc. program partner. It reaffirmed how instrumental United Way support is to Girls Inc. and many other organizations, including a many of our partner sites. Their messages truly hit home for our staff.
Our staff participated in UWCI/Indianapolis Colts themed bingo throughout the week, and we culminated the campaign with a Girls Inc. chili cook-off! Several staff members whipped up a variety of different types of chili, and voted for our favorites. They were all so amazing that our vote ended in a tie between Kristi’s White Chicken Chili and The Benson Family’s Fire Breathing Chili. Staff also participated in a pumpkin decorating contest and a costume contest that included an appearance from Justin Bieber and his Bieber Fever followers!
One of my favorite parts of event planning, no matter the size of the event, is taking a moment to see the reaction of the guests or participants. And while the entire staff seemed to enjoy the activities planned for them, the real “feel good” story comes knowing that our staff is well on its way to 100% participation during the campaign. It is inspiring to see our staff give in a variety of ways. Amid the pumpkin decorating, bingo questions, and silly costumes, the Girls Inc. staff united together to support an organization that supports our mission throughout the year. Thank you, United Way of Central Indiana! Without you, we could not reach our goal of inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and boldSM!