By Chris Lee on 8/26/2010 8:22 AM

Over the last 18 months our ACCESS team has been busy developing and implementing meaningful Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) programs for our clients. These types of programs give back to the communities in which we operate. Additionally, our local team members have participated in several community service events, as a company and as individuals, benefiting, among others, Head Start, The American Cancer Society and Girl Scouts of America.

This past summer we wanted to give back on a larger scale so we reached out to the hospitality community to join us in Operation GIVE, a volunteer CSR teambuilding event we produced that engaged local industry partners in fun community give-back while demonstrating that CSR puts meaning into meetings.

The beneficiary of Operation GIVE was Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego. RMHC provides a home-away-from-home for families of children being treated for serious, often life-threatening, illnesses at Rady’s Childrens Hospital. Their original 12-room facility no longer met the overwhelming community need and they were about to move into a new 47-room facility, but needed help quick to prepare this new space for move-in. We had 6 weeks to seek and motivate volunteers; get supplies; conduct a needs assessment; pull together a game plan and design teambuilding activities to make this event more fun and meaningful than just a “show up and work” activity.

Response was overwhelming! Over 100 volunteers from the hospitality community gave up their time to participate. Over 20 hotels participated and also donated toiletries and daily essentials for the room.

Our teambuilding format included hilarious team challenges: dress a team member in a toga; take a photo of the team stuffed in a shower stall; calculate the team’s years in the industry – all to gain housekeeping supplies for the tasks at hand which included kitchen prep; room-readiness tasks such as hanging shower curtains, making beds, cleaning rooms and placing amenities. As you can see by the photos, a good time was had by all! All 47 rooms were complete and first resident families moved in shortly thereafter!

Another highlight was the crafts station where participants created greeting cards to be placed with welcome kits in each room. Teams also hand painted individual tiles to form an oversized art piece with the iconic Ronald McDonald image to be a featured focal point at the new facility.

At the end of the day, energized participants joined in a courtyard reception where they were thanked by RMHC execs. A father shared his heart-warming story illustrating the “hope away from home” that the facility provides to families as they await the outcome of their childrens’ treatments. Bill Lennartz, President & CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego, Inc. thanked the group stating, “You are like angels to us. In a matter of hours you accomplished so much that will leave a lasting impression on the families who rely on the Ronald McDonald House.” With emotions running high, our hospitality teams exchanged high fives and went home knowing that each and every participant highly impacted the lives of families who are about to embark upon perhaps the most challenging journey they will ever undertake.”

This is part of our passion, a way of giving back to the community and putting meaning into meetings – matching our clients with CSR projects, enabling them to give back and leave a positive footprint. Operation GIVE is an expression of our overall company values and just one example of Corporate Social Responsibility in action.

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By Chris Lee on 8/25/2010 9:55 AM

Some time ago, I was asked by a client, "What is the value proposition of Corporate Social Responsibility and teambuilding activities as it relates to conferences, meetings or incentive travel programs?" I explained that events that give back are rewarding to participants, the organizational culture and to the local communities in which they take place. More recently, I heard a definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), that I really like and wish I had included in my response; "CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honoring of a triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit".

For one ACCESS client, our community service project, “Military Makeover,” offered something new for attendees – something significant - that made a difference! 70+ conference attendee volunteers came to the aid of a young military spouse who was having a hard time keeping up with home maintenance while her husband was deployed on his third tour of Iraq. Attendees replaced fences, landscaped the lawn, caulked, painted and built shelves making a huge difference to the comfort and pride of this family. In the evening, attendees shared stories and celebrated the day’s success at a nice group dinner. The next night we continued the patriotic theme at the Officers’ Club on an active area military base where event proceeds contributed to better services and quality of life for our service men and women and their families, like the one the volunteers helped.

I am happy to report that the family in the above story is doing well. The husband returned from deployment and is now employed on base. Husband and wife were both very appreciative of the help they received when it was most needed. Our client reports that the volunteers in the project still talk about how meaningful and rewarding that conference was, as compared to other conferences without a CSR component.

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By Chris Lee on 8/24/2010 10:10 AM

2009 was a rough year for the meetings industry, with corporate travel and meetings under the microscope. With group travel stalled, the hospitality industry was impacted in a big way - hotel occupancy was down, air travel was reduced, and the economics of absence affected everyone industry wide.

As we enter a new decade, common sense is returning and there is recognition that nothing can replace the value or ROI of face-to-face meetings. I want to applaud those companies that were and are still willing to travel for meetings, despite the political pressure to do otherwise.

A positive trend that has developed from the past 18 months, is that many of our clients have become more receptive to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) events that, as I like to say, put "meaning into meetings". At ACCESS, we have always tried to incorporate some form of community give-back into our client programs. These give-back programs are more than just “feel good” events, they have the added benefits of teambuilding and supporting a company’s values.

Throughout our blog we will highlight more examples of CSR programs that we’ve pioneered for our clients and for our industry, demonstrating how these programs put meaning into meetings. Keep checking in as we bring you take-away value throughout the year.

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