At Blue State Digital, we have this thing called the Suggestion Box. It’s exactly what it sounds like: an open call for ideas to make BSD better.
Any aspect of #bsdlife is fair game. Everything from our meeting culture to the brand of toilet paper we purchase has been put forth for consideration. Our leadership team reviews every single submission. (And yes, we did switch to a more environmentally and labor-friendly brand of toilet paper.)
Recently, I got to see one of my Suggestion Box submissions come to life: BSD Volunteer Week.
Giving back has always been part of our culture—and our daily work. BSDers often join forces to contribute to fundraisers, organize clothing and holiday drives, and volunteer in our communities.
But Volunteer Week was special. This was our first official, company-wide effort to get together out of the office to give back to the cities we call home. Each of our offices organized an event on the day of their choosing, and every BSDer was invited to participate. Together, we packed meals, checked in runners at a 5K race, made (some really awesome) meatballs, and boxed several thousand pounds of bread.
Volunteer Month is underway at BSD! Thank you to God’s Love We Deliver, The Greater Boston Food Bank, DC Central…
Posted by Blue State Digital on Thursday, September 17, 2015
Wondering how it went? Just take a look at those smiling faces. We’re aiming to make Volunteer Week an annual event, with even more BSDers participating next year. Here are a few things we learned from our first experience:
- Start planning early. Finding volunteer opportunities for large groups can be really challenging. Begin reaching out to organizations at least 3 months in advance.
- Make it official. T-shirts, company-wide announcements, and the participation of office leadership showed BSDers it was okay (and encouraged!) to take time out of the day to volunteer.
- Mix and mingle. We heard from our volunteers that the time spent outside the office with colleagues was great for morale and cross-team pollination. Look for opportunities to get people of different disciplines and levels of seniority working together.
Check out #bsdgives to see what else we’re doing to give back in our communities. Our Oakland and London offices will be keeping the spirit of Volunteer Week going later this month.