Events That Make a Difference
Explore Waterloo Region helps bring people together to make a considerable social impact
By Doug Wallace, Ignite magazine
Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment that comes with giving back to the communities we live and work in. And it’s an unbeatable sense of “job well done” when we consider including an element of social impact in our corporate events.
Explore Waterloo Region (EWR) holds a number of memberships with event-industry associations, and also works locally with creative organizations and charities to benefit various communities. Meeting planners can then use EWR’s connections and relationships to include social giving-back ideas into their team-building activities. Now more than ever, companies are requesting that social-impact experiences be included in their on- or off-site conference agendas.
The recent gathering of the Toronto chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners (CanSPEP) is a case in point. This double event at the Hyatt Place Toronto/Mississauga Centre in December saw the two groups holding their annual holiday parties on the same day and incorporating a fundraiser benefitting Fred Victor Housing, a Toronto-based charity that supports homeless and low-income people.
CanSPEP Gives Back: Inspiring Kindness was an afternoon of CanSPEP members getting together to assemble wellness kits filled with essential items. These kits were then added to the fundraising efforts of the evening MPI Holiday Social, a gala dinner and networking event. Explore Waterloo Region was the presenting sponsor of this event.
“Our winter social is one of our largest, most popular events and one of our major fundraising events of the year,” says Alissa Hurley, president of the Toronto Chapter of MPI. “The crowd is largely members of our chapter—we have over 350 members—but we also draw a good number of non-members as well. We host a lot of supplier partners and they bring their clients to the event.”
The group assembled 250 wellness kits containing winter essentials such as gloves and socks, along with non-perishable food items and hygiene needs like soap and toothpaste. Attendees added a personal touch by writing holiday and inspirational notes for the tote bag recipients.
All of the CanSPEP Gives Back event-registration fees were donated to fund the purchase of items for the kits. Additional cash donations were collected by MPI to further support the cause. The giveback was coordinated by Explore Waterloo Region, who connected the organizers with WholeHearted, a business located in Kitchener that helps corporations add social impact to their events. WholeHearted managed the buying of all the items and coordinated the delivery of the completed kits.
This day-long event is the second “meeting of minds” of MPI and CanSPEP. “Last year’s collaboration with MPI sort of happened a bit by accident,” says Sue Mercer, president of CanSPEP. “We realized that MPI was donating to a shelter the same day we decided to hold a kit-packing event. We then combined our kits with their fundraisers and gave everything to the same charity. It went so well, we decided to do it again and officially combine the two efforts.”
“Participants are very supportive,” Hurley says. “We have many partners who come forth with donations—our community really comes through.”
“There are a lot of social activities during December,” Mercer adds. “This was a good opportunity to give back to the community, rather than merely sitting down and having dinner. It’s relatively easy to execute and it’s purposeful. So many of us are always looking for that opportunity.”
Working together with planners and organizations to add social impact into events is just one more way Explore Waterloo Region can help you execute the perfect event.
Personalize Your Group Experience
Contact Jennifer Eddings to learn more about hosting your planet-friendly business event in Waterloo Region.
Jennifer Eddings, Director of Business Development
Explore Waterloo Region
519-590-8126
[email protected]
Explorewaterloo.ca