GOOD KARMA
While things in Washington seem to be getting more dysfunctional by the day, there seems to be a rise in people lending a hand to benefit the greater good. You can’t listen to the news without hearing about another benefit, walkathon, or fundraiser. Recent studies suggest that even Millennials, known for a strong focus on highly impersonal technological communication, are very open to charity donation and volunteering. More than ever, organizations are mindful that their decisions impacts people, planet and profits, the so-called “triple bottom line.” Overall, there is a huge groundswell of people helping people.
I’ve always made it a point to make myself available to give back to the community, and late summer/early fall of 2013 was no exception. As an Executive Producer, I feel that the most value I can provide is sharing my experience via industry education and providing event production for organizations that can benefit from my assistance.
Starting in July, my first effort was producing the Industry Xchange Education Event for the Chicago Chapter of Meeting Professionals International at Navy Pier. This was a collaborative event, co-sponsored by local chapters of several chapter organizations, the focus of which was on key industry trends and what they mean to the Chicago meetings industry.
Next was a speech that I gave at Kendall College in Chicago about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). My audience was college seniors and the focus of my speech was the importance of CSR within an organization and how to effectively promote it creatively within the day-to-day operations of the organization as well as at company events and through company communication.
My next event was helping to plan and produce the rededication of the Carole Robertson Center for Learning on September 19th. CRCL’s three locations which daily serve 700+ people are dedicated to the memory of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Robertson. These are the four girls who died in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15th, 1963. The rededication marked the 50th anniversary of this historic event.
Lastly, I spoke to an audience of upperclassmen at George Westinghouse College Prep on Chicago’s west side. I discussed careers in the meetings and events business, including careers beyond traditional event production.
Maybe you’re reading this wondering what you can do to promote community outreach and CSR within your organization or at meetings and events that you plan or produce. While there are countless articles detailing the aforementioned initiatives, here are some brief thoughts that might strike a cord and inspire you to take action.
A meeting that is socially responsible, sustainable and has a philanthropic element can do wonders to make its attendees feel good about their time at the event and about the organization hosting the event. It flat out builds trust like nothing else.
There is an unexplained force in the universe that people who do good deeds have good things happen to them. Here is a list of things you can do even if your sole purpose is to help the Cubs win a World Series.
- Incorporate a team building community-based activity into your next meeting/event and maybe parlay that into a new or already established volunteer program at your organization. Visit http://www.ivnc.org/ for suggestions on volunteer partnership opportunities in the Chicagoland area.
- Include in the cost of registration a percentage of your proceeds of the event to go toward a preferred local or corporate non-profit partner.
- Encourage sponsors to give charity ‘gift cards’ in lieu of traditional meeting swag.
- Distribute e-books in lieu of physical books.
- Develop a weblog to promote socially responsible activities.
- Donate all uneaten food that has not left the kitchen and unused toiletries to local food banks and shelters.
- Be aware of the community in which your work or in which your events take place and what issues are present that need to be addressed.
- Regularly report on success and progress of initiatives to employees, stakeholders and customers, if appropriate.