The Power of Workplace Volunteerism

Last Friday, team members from HMA Public Relations volunteered at Southwest Human Development, stuffing backpacks for children for the upcoming school year.
Our first step was to organize and separate all the materials. It was at that moment, sorting box after box, that I realized just how much good was in the world. People genuinely cared enough to donate boxes of supplies in order to help a child they didn’t even know.
From there, we formed an assembly line in true Type A fashion. Starting with the backpack, we then inserted everything from notebooks, binders, paper, pencils, pens, glue, crayons and more. And with each filled backpack, came a sense of pride. And also a sense of relief. This is one more child that can go to school proud.
Those feelings translated into efficiency. Sure, we had some talks and laughs along the way, but none of us ever stopped to take a break. In fact, in just one hour, the three of us had filled more than 100 backpacks.
And while I couldn’t be happier to have potentially made but a small change in a child’s life, I also couldn’t help but feel the strong sense of morale among our team.
We felt connected. We felt proud. We felt good.
And it turns out, we are not alone.
Deloitte’s 2017 Volunteerism Survey found that 70 percent of working Americans believe “volunteer activities are more likely to boost employee morale than company-sponsored happy hours.”
Further, creating a culture of volunteerism in the workplace may boost employee engagement, workplace atmosphere and brand perception.
After all, when joining forces to help another person, we all win.