Genuine Act Of Kindness

As seen in M&IT Magazine

 

For teambuilding activities like Survivor and The Amazing Race, the name of the game is winner takes all. Losers are either voted off or suffer the fate of being the last team to arrive. Of course it’s all in good fun.

 

But how about a teambuilding activity where everyone is a winner?

 

That’s what Intercontinental Hotels Group did for this year’s Toronto-based leadership forum.

 

The global company, which has more than 3,600 hotels including Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites, organized a charitable event they called, A Genuine Act of Kindness.

 

Here’s how it worked: one hundred and five delegates were divided into three groups. Each group was given boxed lunches and shuttled by coach from the Intercontinental Hotel on Bloor Street to one of three local charities for an afternoon of volunteering and learning.

 

At the Yonge Street Mission, located downtown, services include a food bank and meal programs, employment and computer training, school readiness programs, counselling, daycare and a health centre.

 

Delegates from Intercontinental Hotels Group worked on a selection of jobs including food preparation, sorting used clothing, and salvaging used computer parts. The parts were recycled in the form of rebuilt machines, which are currently being used in YSM’s computer labs.

 

The Scott Mission, also based in the city’s core, offers a range of services to the needy including drop-in groups, outreach, hot meals, bagged lunches and more. Here delegates had an opportunity to work in the food and clothing banks.

 

Variety – The Children’s Charity, also commonly known as Variety Village, is a world leading not-for-profit organization for children and youth with special needs. At the Scarborough-based location, young people enjoy sports in a safe and healthy environment.

Delegates played basketball in wheelchairs. The purpose was to simulate the challenges faced by the disabled, even during times of fun and games.

 

“Sometimes we forget what other people have to struggle with every day,” observes Intercontinental Hotels Group Director of Sales, Canada, Kris Crundwell. “Here we had a chance to open up our hearts and our minds.”

 

It was an abrupt change from teambuilding activities of the past, which most recently were based on The Amazing Race.

 

But Intercontinental Hotels Group was due for something new. And the gesture of giving back worked beautifully with the theme of the conference.

 

“We were building off the leadership theme and we wanted to offer delegates something more life-skill oriented. Performing a genuine act of kindness is about being a leader and taking a leadership role in the community,” he adds.

 

Leading up to the February conference, Lesley Hunter, Key Account Director, and one of three organizers for the event, spent time calling charitable organizations throughout the city.

 

“It was a bit tricky because of the number of delegates,” she recalls. “We had to connect with charities who had the space to accommodate all our people. But once we found them, it was a lot easier than I thought because they were so good to work with.”

 

And what of the delegates’ reactions? Hunter hasn’t collated feedback forms, but from an informal “word of mouth” response, she says, “the delegates loved it.”

 

According to Crundwell, there is already talk about Intercontinental Hotels Group doing a repeat performance for next year’s leadership conference. And why not? When the mandate is all about giving back, everyone ends up a winner.

 

For a complete list of registered Canadian charities, go to the Canada and Revenue website: www.cra-arc.gc.ca. Canada and Revenue only includes qualified charities. To qualify, the charities must meet requirements of the Income Tax Act, specifically those concerning expenditures and activities.