By Shaylee Beck Moore
Director of Digital Marketing, Cheeriodicals
The end of the year is here! Many corporations are making their plans for company holiday parties, last minute projects, and focusing on finishing off the year with a bang.
With all of this excitement in the air, the holidays are also the perfect time for companies to bring their teams together one last time and make a heartwarming impact on their local communities.
We love the holidays here at Cheeriodicals because this is the time when spreading “cheer” matters the most.
Our team is in and out of children’s hospitals, VA Medical Centers, and Ronald McDonald Houses all year round, and we see the toll that being in hospitals or other healthcare facilities can take on anyone – regardless of the circumstances. But the lonesome feelings can be especially amplified during the holidays.
That being said, we also see the sheer joy that a Cheeriodicals care box or bag can bring to people struggling through these difficult times.
The impact of a Cheeriodical is especially meaningful during the holidays when people are oftentimes isolated in their hospital rooms, financially strapped due to medical costs, or unable to be with their families due to illness. A simple care package from the community immediately brightens their day, and brings hours of joy and entertainment during their hospital stay.
In addition, what many people don’t realize is that sometimes these Cheeriodicals care packages are the only gifts that families and individuals may receive that year.
In 2021 during a spike in Covid rates, Cheeriodicals care boxes and bags were donated by our clients to hundreds of assisted living residents and Veterans, creating joy and happy holidays for all.
A “Christmas Miracle”
One of the most emotional and impactful team building events I can recall was during the holidays. A corporate client of ours came to us wanting to bring their team together and give back to local assisted living residents for Christmas. This was during the pandemic, when visitation to assisted living homes was either restricted or non-existent, leaving residents isolate and alone.
We of course were happy to help our client fulfill this holiday request, and began the search for a facility most in need of their care package donation. It didn’t take long to find the perfect fit.
We contacted a local assisted living facility to see if they were in need of this donation, and we were taken aback by the sheer amount of emotion and gratitude shown by the employees. They were overwhelmed with joy – not just because they were receiving these wonderful gifts for their residents, but also because they simply did not have the funding to buy any holiday gifts for their residents that year.
They called this donation of care packages a “blessing they had been praying for” and a Christmas miracle. It was one happy holiday that year for their facility!
They were overwhelmed with joy – not just because they were receiving these wonderful gifts for their residents, but also because they simply did not have the funding to buy any holiday gifts for their residents that year.
We love providing a way for companies to experience making this level of an impact through our events, and the holidays are the perfect time to bring joy to those most in need of a boost of spirits.
Here are a few ways that Cheeriodicals can help your corporate team give back this holiday season, all of which are both fulfilling and rewarding for your employees and will leave a lasting impression in your community!
Bring “Cheer” to the Holidays for Individuals, Families, and Kids in Need
Special Delivery: 100 Cheeriodicals care boxes were donated to a children’s hospital, just in time for the holidays.
Bringing your team together during the holiday season creates a bonding experience for coworkers while they work together on creating a lasting and meaningful impression on the community. Here are a few upcoming holiday give back ideas for Cheeriodicals events that can ensure you bring holiday “cheer” to everyone!
Veterans Day Give Back
Veteran care bags are packed with patriotic themed comfort and care items for their hospital stay. This can also be customized for homeless veterans in need.
Veteran’s Day is a time to honor the brave men and women who have served in our military and for our country. What better way to show appreciation to our nation’s heroes than bringing your corporate team together and giving back to hospitalized Veterans in need of cheer around the holidays?
“Honoring Those Who Have Served” is our messaging behind our events that benefit veterans, which are designed to impact hospitalized and/or homeless veterans. Cheeriodicals has a national partnership with VA Medical Centers across the country and delivers thousands of much needed care bags to Veterans every year through these events.
Our Veterans Day give back events consist of your team packing duffle bags for hospitalized Veterans. These duffles are filled with patriotic themed items such as magazines, water tumblers, soft blankets, fidget spinners, and adult coloring books for veterans, which are known to have therapeutic qualities. Also included are convenience items, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other toiletries that they may need during their hospital stay.
These duffle bags can also be customized to support homeless Veterans, with necessities for the colder months.
Your team can bring much needed joy during the holidays to a Veteran in need!
See more about our Veterans give back events here: Benefit Hospitalized Veterans
Thanksgiving Give Back
Hospital workers and assisted living residents are overjoyed by their Cheeriodicals care package donations.
Thanks – giving. It’s a time for families and friends to come together, share what they are thankful for, and kick off the giving season and holidays. However many times this season can be the loneliest time of the year for individuals in the hospital or assisted living facilities.
Your team can come together to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday by packing a variety of Cheeriodicals care packages for families with hospitalized children, assisted living residents, or even hospital workers. These care boxes and bags are tailored to fit each group’s needs and packed full with comfort and care items to brighten their day.
For example, our Hospital Hero tote bag includes items that help power hospital staff members through their shift, such as healthy snacks, notepads, and water tumblers. The bags also include items to help hospital staff unwind after their shift with items such as adult coloring books and epsom salts to soak tired feet.
The pandemic brought to light the selfless sacrifices hospital staff members make for patients and their loved ones, making Thanksgiving a perfect time to show your team’s thanks and appreciation for Hospital Heroes in your community.
Assisted living residents also find themselves alone during the holidays and in need of a boost of comfort and joy. Along with our classic comfort items, our Assisted Living care box also includes hands-on crafts, such as self potting plants, that bring lasting memories and joy for residents.
See more about our Hospital Hero give back here: Benefit Hospital Staff
See more about our Assisted Living Residents give back here: Benefit Assisted Living Residents
Giving Tuesday
These Cheeriodicals care bags help oncology and dialysis patients through their treatments and bring much needed joy during the holiday season.
Giving Tuesday takes place the week following Thanksgiving. Many companies offer to match employee donations made on this day to a charity of their choice. But what if you could enhance your Giving Tuesday this year with a team building activity that is hands on for your team and equally rewarding?
Cheeriodicals offers options for your corporate team to give back to a variety of patient populations, including oncology patients and dialysis patients in a meaningful way, and bring them much needed joy during the holiday season.
Your corporate team can pack Cheeriodicals care tote bags for oncology and dialysis patients, filling them with comfort items to help them through treatments as well as care items for afterwards. These care packages include items such as soft blankets, non-slip socks, stress balls, ginger chews for nausea, adult coloring books, eye masks, and a variety of convenience items.
Read more about our oncology and dialysis patient give back events here: Benefit Dialysis/Cancer Patients
Christmas and Holiday Season
Cheeriodicals toy boxes brighten the day of children in the hospital for the holidays.
Your team can be Santa Claus for hospitalized children or families staying at Ronald McDonald Houses this year! Nothing brings a smile or melts a heart quite like a bright green Cheeriodicals box full of toys.
Our cheery boxes are the absolute perfect gift for a child in the hospital. These children are often struggling with complicated health conditions, and may spend their entire Christmas or holiday season in the hospital. Your team can pack a box full of toys and entertainment items for kids of any age, ensuring they experience the magic of the holidays.
Our Ronald McDonald House tote bags are gifts for the whole family struggling through a difficult time during the holidays. They include comfort items for the parents, such as entertainment books and soft blankets, games such as playing cards for family activities, and toys for both siblings staying at the House as well as the child in the hospital.
Your team can truly brighten the spirits of families and children in need this holiday season, bringing much needed cheer in the hospital halls and a lasting impression on your team’s hearts.
Read more about our hospitalized children give back events here: Benefit Hospitalized Children
Read more about our Ronald McDonald House give back events here: Benefit RMHC
Cheeriodicals Holiday Themed Events
Left: A virtual event participant shows off her holiday puzzle during a Cheeriodicals event. Right: Teammates from Turn5 pose in their themed sweaters with hospitalized children’s boxes at their holiday packing event.
Cheeriodicals can bring your team together virtually or in-person for a holiday team building and give back event! Our events accommodate groups of 25 – 2,000+ attendees and can be held anywhere in the United States or Canada.
Our design team can also add a festive touch to the Cheeriodicals boxes and bags with holiday specific box tags and notecards for personal messages to the hospitalized recipients.
See all the ways that we can help your team add “holiday magic” to your Cheeriodicals event here!
Looking for an additional activity or competitive element for your team building event? Cheeriodicals also offers live team trivia, which can be customized with holiday themed questions. The trivia game adds an extra layer of fun and excitement to your event.
Another activity our corporate teams love to do for the holidays is create hand-designed puzzles to include in the Cheeriodicals. Creating these puzzles is a festive and fun way to spread a little extra holiday cheer! For our virtual events, companies encourage employees to have their family members join in the fun as well.
Bring “Cheer” to The Holidays This Year
Team members from Hologic pose with their completed Cheeriodicals care bags for oncology patients in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The holidays are the season of giving. This year, be sure to have your company partner with Cheeriodicals to give back to local communities and spread endless holiday cheer!
Contact corporateplanner@cheeriodicals.com to see how we can help your corporate team make a difference this holiday season in a community near you!