The season of giving is upon us. Perhaps this year more than any other in recent memory, people in our communities are in need of support, of human connection, and of direction – many of us want to help make a difference but are feeling powerless at the same time. How does one make an impact during a pandemic?
Our Support Centre wanted to come up with a Giving Back initiative that would answer this question – something that would allow us to help the community and unite us as a team despite our disparate physical locations. We also wanted to be sure that whatever we did would be accessible for all.
We are excited to introduce 26 Acts of Kindness, named after our beloved (pre-pandemic) 26th floor Support Centre home base in Toronto. Launched at the start of December 1st, 26 Acts of Kindness is a Giving Back initiative, a team building exercise, and a means to deepen team member engagement.
How it Works
Each functional team in our Support Centre received a card with 26 squares on it, each square representing an opportunity to perform an Act of Kindness. Some of the squares contain items to be checked off, for example “Tell a frontline worker they are doing a great job” and “Donate hats and mittens to a local charity” and “Send an appreciation email to someone and copy their leader,” while others are blank for people to dream up and perform their own original acts. For each card filled up between December 1st and December 24th, dentalcorp makes a donation to the Daily Bread Food Bank. There is also a prize for the first team to submit their completed card – making for friendly competition and incentive to go full throttle on performing acts of kindness each and every day.
Why the Daily Bread Food Bank?
A lot of consideration went into how and who we can help the most at this time. In the summer, we handed out meals to frontline workers at SickKids through our Summer Intern program. This time around, we knew that we would need to choose an equally beneficial cause that would unite our team members while allowing for safe distancing. In previous holiday seasons, our teams competed in a spirited race to earn the title of most donations made to the local food bank. This year, we knew we wanted to generate that same level of participation, while respecting physical distancing and reflecting a remote workforce. A timely news article alerted us to the fact that the Daily Bread Food Bank was asking for financial donations as it was forced to cancel this year’s holiday food drive. Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, states that “For every dollar donated, the food bank said it can provide one balanced meal for someone experiencing hunger.” We are excited to support this worthy initiative again, in a way that keeps our team members safe. Click here to view a list of the Daily Bread Food Bank’s most needed items.
26 Acts of Kindness Benefits Everyone
Helping the Daily Bread Food Bank reach its $1m target for the season is benefit enough, however, we are also ecstatic to be reaping the softer rewards of all our team members finding ways to perform acts of kindness – which costs individuals nothing and promotes a sense of unity and respect for each other. It is in everyone to treat people better and to demonstrate goodwill each and every day. We look forward to seeing how we can take the actions and attitude that this initiative inspires with us into 2021 and beyond.