By Chris Lee on
12/20/2011 9:26 AM
As part of ACCESS Destination Services’ commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, ACCESS team members are always on the look-out for CSR opportunities to share with our clients. So when the Director of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association of Nebraska, asked if it would be possible to donate the floral centerpieces from their 600-person Western Leadership Conference breakfast, our ACCESS Program Manager knew exactly what to do.
She contacted San Diego-based Blooms From the Heart, one of a growing number of volunteer organizations around the country that collects gently-used floral arrangements after meetings, conventions and elegant parties to give them a “second life” for someone in need. Loose blooms, plants and floral bouquets are repurposed into new arrangements that are delivered by organization volunteers to local hospitals, hospice centers, group homes and senior care facilities.
Sending flowers (even gently-used ones) conveys a message of caring and compassions to those in need. ACCESS Destination Services appreciated the opportunity to work with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association of Nebraska to make a difference in our local community.
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By Chris Lee on
10/14/2011 10:14 AM
ACCESS Destination Services recently participated in a Corporate Social Responsibility program of the canine variety. On a midweek October morning, team members from the ACCESS South Florida office met at the Warm Hearts Pet Rescue in Boynton Beach to build dog houses as part of a holiday adoption drive.
ACCESS Florida team members assembled and custom-decorated wooden dog houses to be given away with adoptions. “The dog houses are gifts to help inspire folks to give these animals a home for the holidays,” said Jeff Nelke, Vice President and General Manager of ACCESS Destination Services in South Florida. He continued, “This was a wonderful team building exercise, and we very much appreciated the opportunity to work with Warm Hearts Pet Rescue to make a difference in our local community.”
Warm Hearts Pet Rescue is a no-kill facility dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of dogs from conventional shelters in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Its mission is to provide permanent loving homes for the animals in their care.
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By Chris Lee on
10/11/2011 9:45 AM
September marked the start of the school year for most U.S. students. And for many families struggling to manage more fundamental expenses, like food, clothing and rent, school comes as just another unwelcome expense. As school budgets lose funding year after year, families find themselves with an ever-expanding list of mandated back-to-school supplies. Experts estimate that the per-child cost of classroom supplies can be as much as $200 in some areas, an average increase of 25% over 2010.
Last month, through ACCESS Operation GIVE, team members from ACCESS Destination Services partnered with our colleagues in the hospitality industry for the second time to organize a school supply drive for families in our community. We purchased, assembled and distributed more than 125 Back-to-School kits for students in grades kindergarten through 6th. Kits contained paper, pencils, erasers, rulers and other classroom supplies. With help from our industry partners, packages were then distributed to families who had the greatest need.
Participating in the ACCESS Operation GIVE School Supply Drive gave ACCESS team members and our partners a wonderful sense of purpose. While our team regularly designs and produces CSR programming elements for clients that add meaning into meetings©, having an opportunity to give back in the communities where we live and work has always been an important component of our company culture. And programs that benefit children not only hold a special place in my heart, they align with our company values.
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By Chris Lee on
4/4/2011 12:09 PM
Now that meetings are on the upswing and incentive programs are returning to all of our cities, we wondered if this would forestall CSR programming, but we are happy to report that CSR is preserving its valuable position within client programs and events.
 When the “perfect storm” of economic downturn, political pressure and media scrutiny focused on corporate spending and the meetings industry, ACCESS was one of the first destination management companies to pioneer groundbreaking CSR programming as a way to put meaning into meetings©.
Through CSR programs, tens of thousands of combined volunteer hours and resulting experiences have enriched the lives of countless meeting, conference and incentive attendees around the country, while strengthening CSR initiatives within the sponsoring companies..
“We wanted to find someone to help us connect with the community in areas which had both meaning and long-term impact because we have a real social responsibility to give back to every community we work in. We gave ACCESS a huge challenge and they dedicated a huge amount of time to us...they are part of our team.” - Sr. Vice President of HR, Hess Corporation
 We have recently found that groups are also seeking "emotionally impactful" venues such as military bases, where proceeds benefit the men and women who serve our country. In addition to CSR events, we are noticing a more conscious effort among planners to utilize the local resources of the destinations in which their meetings will be held. Requests for locally produced goods and locally provided services are on the rise, in support of the local economy. Overall, there are positive signs that CSR programs and social awareness continue to be part of the corporate meeting and incentive planners’ values.
 In addition to developing CSR events for our clients, ACCESS Destination Services champions local initiatives which have benefited more than 10,000 youths and such worthy programs as Head Start classrooms, Ronald McDonald House facility preparation, local vocational schools, holiday gifting, cancer awareness and more. Since ACCESS” involvement with the Head Start program ten years ago, the number of children and teens they’ve helped has increased over one thousand percent!
I am happy to report that CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) continues to figure prominently in meetings and incentive travel programs throughout 2011, based on company-wide projections.
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By Chris Lee on
1/11/2011 9:37 AM
Operation GIVE, the on-going community service program created, managed, and supported by ACCESS Destination Services, brought Holiday cheer to 100+ children, ages 3-5, who were in need of some TLC during the holidays.
For the past 12 years, the ACCESS team has “adopted” area Head Start classes as beneficiaries of an internal holiday toy drive. Each year we’ve collected, wrapped and delivered new toys for the boys and girls enrolled in Head Start who may not otherwise be receiving presents for Christmas. With Santa in tow, this day has always been the highlight of the holiday season for our team as we join the children for songs and celebration with Santa in their classrooms.
This year, with the help of local vendor partners, our “Hope for the Holidays” program benefitted all the kids in one area Head Start program and took place in various classes throughout the day. Festive snack bags were prepared and presents were wrapped at an ACCESS office wrapping event, organized and stored until event day.
On event day, our team arrived in holiday spirits and spent the day joyfully engaged with multiple classes, singing Christmas carols, dancing, and creating lifetime memories with the amazing children of the Head Start program! But, hands down, nothing was more widely received by the children than our jovial Santa Claus, an ACCESS team member who has “ho ho ho’d” his way into the hearts of the kids each year. As a special surprise for Santa Claus and the ACCESS team, this year the kids gifted us with a handmade holiday themed wreath along with hand crafted holiday cards with heartfelt messages.
All of our team, including Santa, looks forward to our Operation GIVE – Hope for the Holidays program for years to come. Says ACCESS CEO Chris Lee, “We regularly develop CSR events for our clients within their meeting, conference, or incentive travel programs. Adding meaning into meetings through community service has always been part of the ACCESS Destination Services culture and we are pleased with the positive impact that Operation GIVE has had, especially with Hope for the Holidays. Putting smiles on the faces of those who need hope makes our daily work that much more rewarding.”
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By Chris Lee on
12/8/2010 3:24 PM
The ACCESS team is looking forward to December 17 which marks the 12th year we have "adopted" area Head Start classes as beneficiaries of our annual holiday toy drive as part of Operation GIVE, our continuing corporate social responsibility initiative. Each year we've collected, wrapped and delivered hundreds of new toys for the boys and girls enrolled in Head Start who may not otherwise be receiving presents for Christmas. This year, we have taken on a whole school, rather than one or two classes! Be sure to check back later in the month for a recap of the festivities and some great photos of one of the highlights of our year!
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By Chris Lee on
11/29/2010 2:47 PM
"Mo" for Moustache+November = Movember! As part of our continuing Corporate Social Responsibility, ACCESS has formed a team to support Movember.
Movember challenges men to "change the face of men’s health" by growing moustaches to raise awareness in support of Prostate Cancer research. One of the main beneficiaries of Movember is the Live Strong Foundation, founded by Lance Armstrong.
Recently, ACCESS hosted a reception with industry partners who support Movember, to raise awareness within the hospitality industry and contributed "Mo" bucks for each newly grown moustache!
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By Chris Lee on
10/4/2010 1:18 PM
Do DMCs provide ROI to your meetings, conferences and incentive travel programs during challenging economic times? This is a question I’ve been asked many times and my answer is, emphatically “YES”! A DMC accredited by the Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME) can greatly enhance your corporate image as well as save you time and money. Below are 3 questions, along with my responses, related to ROI that were asked of me in a recent interview:
Q. Why should a business work with a destination management company?
In today’s environment of reduced staff, reduced budgets and shorter deadlines, destination management companies (DMCs) help companies do more with less. DMCs save time and stress by leveraging their expertise, experience, and extensive local knowledge and connections for their client’s benefit in planning and producing corporate events.
Q. What are some of the costs associated with working with a DMC?
Rather than say that we save our clients money, and we absolutely do on the purchasing and consolidation of services, we do point out that there is a fee for our services. So the question becomes, how much more are you paying us to do it than if you did it yourself? In most all cases, our cost is less than the cost you would pay to do it yourself. I don’t want to contribute to the misnomer that it’s going to cost you less to hire us than to produce your own event, but if you add up the true cost of doing it yourself, including your time and the time of your employees, then we are definitely saving you money. You have to look at the whole cost, including the time of the people involved.
Q. What are some of the challenges a business faces when working with a DMC in this economy?
Unfortunately, there are many people out there who claim to be professional event managers and destination management companies, who are not properly licensed, insured or accredited. Most of the ‘bad experiences’ I hear about from clients have to do with companies or individuals that they thought were professional, but turned out to be frauds. The best way to ensure that you are working with a professional is to check their professional credentials, memberships and references thoroughly.
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By Chris Lee on
9/27/2010 10:57 AM
When clients come back to us for more Corporate Social Responsibility events, it’s a sign that we’re doing something meaningful and that CSR events are motivating for meeting and conference attendees, while giving back to the community. Following on the heels of a successful 2009 “Military Home Make-over” CSR event, where Underwriters Laboratories employees covertly fixed-up the home of a military family earlier this year, the same group brightened the day and the daily educational environment of the children at a local Neighborhood House Association’s First Step Head Start site.
A team of 80 international Underwriters Laboratories employees, in town as part of the global UL team, got down to business and spent the afternoon enhancing the site by painting walls with vibrant colors and animal-inspired murals as well as landscaping and enhancing privacy fencing. I am proud of our ACCESS team members who, with very short notice, were able to design, organize, and facilitate this event to meet the CSR goals of UL’s Corporate Social Responsibility office, while giving back to people in need of assistance and producing miles of smiles on the faces of the young children.
Jill Oakman, Global Marketing Manager for Underwriters Laboratories said, “As a group, we are so pleased to have the opportunity to give back to a wonderful community of people. Children all around the world deserve the best possible life and we are fortunate that we could contribute to their well-being.” She went on to say, “The reception we received from the children and the adults in attendance made this event a memorable one for all of us.”
The contribution counts and the resulting memories count in equal scale. The children will remember that there are “business” people who care and the UL volunteers will remember how great a community service event makes them feel about their company and their contributions.
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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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