• Be selective. You and your coworkers have limited time, so choose something meaningful to the majority, and perhaps complimentary to your company or industry.
• Consider the participants’ skills. You don’t want to do something that too few people know how to do or are interested in doing.
• Don’t over-commit. For us, once a month worked. If that is too often, try once a quarter.
• Learn something new. I never became a great cook. But as I saw how grateful residents were, I started trying a bit more—and sometimes succeeded.
• Bring your family. It’s true, we spend enough time with our coworkers during the day. So how about making volunteering a social event and introduce your work buddies to your outside life?Several months after we started bringing dinners to the Ronald McDonald House, I left the company. But by this point, the project was practically running itself. A coworker took over, and I was proud that employees continued to donate dinners for months to come.
Today, I work from home. I don’t have an office to organize anymore. But I look forward to the day I gather my growing family together around another worthy cause. Perhaps I’ll be sipping from that mug my friend so thoughtfully gave me.
