CSR & Giveback – EngagementUnlimited.ca

Birthday Boxes: A Birthday for a Child Who’d Otherwise Go Without

Roger Haskett — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:25:42 +0000

Give-back team building is supposed to feel good for the people in the room. But the best version does something bigger — it creates real community impact. With Birthday Boxes, your team builds a real birthday for a child who was never going to get one.

Why we built a give-back team building day around a birthday

We’ve been running MudPie Kitchens & Buddy Benches for years, highly successfully. But clients kept telling us the same thing: “This is a premier product that requires a premier amount of time — like two hours from the group. Can you give us something that is equally special but takes less time and costs less?”

So we went away & thought about it. We talked to our charity partners. We did research into what was possible. We believe in creating signature products — we don’t go for what’s easy; we go for what has purpose & impact. We asked our charity partners one question: what are the extremely emotional & difficult pain points for families undergoing challenges? They said:

“Picture a kid at school. Everyone else has birthday parties. They get invited to all of them. But they never get to invite anyone to their own party. For a family going through a hard season, a birthday is one more thing that’s out of reach.”

So we created Birthday Boxes

We created a box that everything needed for an amazing birthday goes into.

Cake · Prizes · Presents · Games · Decorations · Utensils, plates & tablecloths…

All themed to a specific child’s party — unicorns, or cars, or Disney princesses, or Paw Patrol. Each box, on the outside, has a list of what’s inside plus who it’s for: “This box is for four- to six-year-olds who are interested in Paw Patrol.” “This box is for nine- to ten-year-olds who are interested in unicorns or rainbows.”

The kids get to invite their friends & have a party where everything they need is there. All they have to do is unpack the box & have the best time.

“The Birthday Boxes for the children were so thoughtful and parents will be very PROUD to share them.”
— Doris Peters, Manager, Vancouver Aboriginal Child & Family Services Society

Why the people in the room are heroes

Putting together this project was full of joy for everyone involved. Jeni smiled every day when supplies arrived — because she knew these boxes were going to give children a birthday party they wouldn’t have otherwise.

We’ve facilitated Birthday Boxes a number of times now, & the response of the people in the room making them is as deep, as potent, as making Buddy Benches or MudPie Kitchens. The people in the room are heroes. They’re helping kids & families they will never see, but who will benefit from what they’re doing in that room.

“A hero is someone who helps others when there’s no chance that they will ever be thanked or rewarded.”
— Roger Haskett, author of The Me You Want To Be, founder & The Big Cheese of Engagement Unlimited

That’s the engagement advantage of a give-back team building day: the energy in the room isn’t manufactured. It comes from doing something that matters for someone you’ll never meet.

“a 6 year old had a WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY this month because of Engagement Unlimited’s birthday party box donations 🤡”
— Kyla Dawn, In-Home Support Coordinator, Vancouver Aboriginal Child & Family Services Society

The word came back from our charity partners that the Birthday Boxes were a massive, massive success — that parents were emotionally overwhelmed in gratitude.

Now, instead of heartbreak, they get joy & celebration & a party geared specifically for their child.

“The Birthday Box Give-Back event WENT GREAT! Everyone enjoyed the activities and your team was GREAT. Very kind and EASY TO WORK WITH!”
— Bailee Dutton, Executive Assistant, CPABC

Build a birthday with your team 🧡🧡🧡

Bring Birthday Boxes give-back team building to your team →

Give-back team building FAQ

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Team Building With Purpose: Unlock Hero Energy In Your Team

Roger Haskett — Wed, 27 May 2026 18:14:00 +0000

Team building with purpose creates bonds that last. Here’s what happens when fun meets purpose — and why the connection stays long after the event ends.

When the boss is the one with paint on her hands

September 2023. TSX Venture Exchange. Aprons on. Coveralls and booties to protect everyone’s clothes. Janice Harrington, Director of TSXV Listings, is at the table alongside her team — building MudPie Kitchens, meaningful gifts that bring connection, imagination & kindness to children in local daycares & schools.

Some of these people have never worked together. A few are remote staff. Some are introverts who quietly dread the words “team building event.” The Director is next to them, doing the same thing, with the same paint on her hands.

“I just had the best conversations with my team that I’ve ever had. I just spent the whole time moving from person to person, working on whatever they were working on, and had the best conversations.”
— Senior Leader, Canada Energy Regulator

Something shifts. People soften. Walls come down. Conversations deepen. And the group feels more human.

That’s the power of building something together.

Drills, sandpaper, paintbrushes, decorations — and the conversations start.

Why this kind of bond doesn’t fade

As your guests arrive, many of them might be feeling things like “I don’t know anyone. I’m not sure where to put myself. I feel a little awkward.” Those impressions are quietly shaping everything that happens next.

That’s not a character flaw. That’s biology. Positive isn’t the default — under stress, the brain floods the areas that remember negative. So we have to fight to be positive. We can’t just think about being positive. We have to fight.

Fun is powerful. The power of play is real — it opens people up, encourages them to engage, to connect, to create. That’s why everything we do is team building disguised as fun.

But when you add purpose to fun — when your team is laughing AND building something for someone who needs it — something even more powerful happens. It starts with “we had the best time together” and it grows into “we did something good together.” Both are true. Both matter.

A small group leans in — drill in hand, sandpaper on wood, paintbrush or decoration next — and the conversations start. Not because anyone planned them. Because their hands were busy with something that mattered, and the rest took care of itself.

Roger Haskett, founder and The Big Cheese at Engagement Unlimited, calls this hero energy. “And when you build a relationship inside hero energy, it’s a much more meaningful relationship than it was before. That’s harder to forget. That’s what you take back to the office on Monday morning — and three months later.”

The finished kitchen — ready for a daycare. Built by a team. For a child they’ll never meet.

In Janice’s own words

“Huge success — awesome team building event. Staff talked about it for weeks after. People who didn’t work together connected for the 1st time. Incredible bonding experience. Perfect to get to know our remote staff and have them feel part of the team. Amazing for introverts! It was a perfect no-stress way of interacting with others. The actual building of the Mud Pie Kitchens gave you something to focus on which really allowed casual conversations. So much better than just standing around and talking. Everyone absolutely loved it.”
— Janice Harrington, Director TSXV Listings, TSX Venture Exchange

“Staff talked about it for weeks after.” Purpose stuck. The conversation kept going long after the tools were packed up. That’s what engagement looks like when it travels — when the lift outlasts the event.

“People who didn’t work together connected for the 1st time.” The build did the work the org chart had not. Building something real, side by side, produced connection across silos that meetings hadn’t produced in months.

“Amazing for introverts! Perfect no-stress way of interacting.” The build lowered the participation bar quietly — no spotlight, no forced icebreaker. Hands on the task. Conversation on top.

Hero energy — when the build is done and the room knows it did something good.

And yet purpose is the thing that makes the bond stick.

Four ways to build hero energy in your team

Impact & Purpose — Doorway 5 — has four formats to fit your group and your goal:

Build & Donate — MudPie Kitchens or Buddy Benches. Your team builds with their hands. You create it together, then donate it to kids who need it most. Hands-on. Emotional. Real.
Pack with Purpose — Birthday Boxes, Kindness Kits & Backpacks for Kids. Your team packs for at-risk kids and students heading back to school. Flexible participation. Deeply human. The kind of experience people talk about for months — or years.
Food for Families — Your favourite EU games — Family Friendly Feud, Pop Trivia, Prize Patrol, Murder YOU — with a give-back twist. Every round your team wins unlocks a real food donation. Competition with a cause.
Fun with Purpose — Mission FUN-Possible, give-back version. The same high-energy, laugh-out-loud missions your team loves — with real community impact built in.

Many clients pair Impact & Purpose with a keynote, a facilitation session, or a full corporate retreat — especially for board retreats and executive off-sites. The experience deepens whatever comes alongside it.

If your team has a big moment coming — a board retreat, a quarter-close, a return-to-office stretch — see what Impact & Purpose looks like for your group →

Want the weekly read on engagement, live events & what actually works? Subscribe to The Engagement Edge — one short note, every Tuesday.

Roger + Michael + the EU crew
Engagement Unlimited — Where Engagement Meets FUN!
The Engagement Advantage

P.S. Friday Fun

Hands up if you think this kitten is soooo cute.
#FridayFunvibes #WeekendVibes #TGIF #CuteKittens

The post Team Building With Purpose: Unlock Hero Energy In Your Team first appeared on EngagementUnlimited.ca.

What If Your Volunteer Day Became the Best Team Building Event of the Year?

Roger Haskett — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 02:20:10 +0000

But here’s what we’ve noticed: when teams build something together — not just show up and sort donations — something shifts. People soften. Walls come down. Conversations deepen. And the group feels more human.

Team building is no longer just about taking employees out of the office for a fun activity. Today, organizations are looking for experiences that create stronger connections, encourage collaboration, and leave a lasting impact on company culture.

When team building activities are meaningful, employees engage more deeply with the experience. Instead of simply participating, they feel invested in the outcome and in the success of their teammates.

Volunteer-based team building programs are especially powerful because they combine collaboration with purpose. Teams work together to complete a project that benefits the community, which naturally creates a sense of pride and shared accomplishment.

This type of team building allows employees to step outside their everyday roles. Leaders collaborate alongside new hires, departments mix freely, and people discover new strengths in one another. The result is stronger relationships that continue to benefit the workplace long after the event is over.

Hello friends,

What if the thing your organization has to do became the thing your team actually wants to do?

A lot of companies treat volunteer days like taking out the trash — necessary, but nobody gets excited about it. Often it’s mandatory… The emails go out, people dutifully sign up, and it’s… fine.

But here’s what we’ve noticed: when teams build something together — not just show up and sort donations — something shifts. People soften. Walls come down. Conversations deepen. And the group feels more human.

A small group leans in, painting side by side — and the conversations start.

Purpose becomes personal.

That’s what happened when ESSA Technologies built MudPie Kitchens for kids at the YMCA:

“Our team at ESSA Technologies had an incredible experience building MudPie Kitchens. The event was exceptionally well-organized & the facilitators brought a contagious energy that made the entire process engaging & fun. It was the best team-building activity we’ve ever done.“
— Alex Crew, ESSA Technologies

Then, many. The whole team — hands up, kitchens done, pride earned.

Meme-break…

When you ALMOST hit your target… literally.
Hope your week is off to a better start than this driver’s :flushed:
image

Google built Buddy Benches. Microsoft built MudPie Kitchens. Encore assembled Birthday Boxes. CPABC put together Birthday Boxes & Kindness Kits… and it turned mandatory into memorable.

And this is where it all ends up. A child looking for a buddy on a buddy bench that your team built together…

If your organization has a give-back requirement this year & you want your team to actually show up with energy, let’s talk. We handle the materials, setup, delivery & recipient coordination. You get the impact & the engagement.

Reply to this email or call us at 604-649-4867 — let’s turn your volunteer day into something your team talks about at dinner.

Roger + Michael
Engagement Unlimited — Where Engagement Meets FUN!
The Engagement Advantage

PS. Some early Friday Fun
That moment when you get a bonus day you didn’t even know was coming.
Happy Friday, everyone!

The post What If Your Volunteer Day Became the Best Team Building Event of the Year? first appeared on EngagementUnlimited.ca.