Today is no ordinary day, it's a monster help day where 3000+ employees around the globe donate time to those who need it most. Helping people is part of our company DNA--and volunteering as a collective whole solidifies our contribution to the greater good, and to ourselves.
Yesterday the events team held a pep rally to cheer and encourage full participation in today's events. Here in NY, employees will be deployed to half a dozen key volunteer events with the bulk of employees icing 25,000+ cupcakes in Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall to raise money for the American Cancer Society. I'll be joining a smaller team at the Ronald McDonald House, for an afternoon of spring cleaning and gift giving.
I haven't given much thought to where I am going today, and outside the odd commercial about Ronald McDonald, have not the slightest idea of the level of support they provide to the families and children that are guests*. It's a bittersweet confession, not knowing much about the organization I am planning to donate my time to, I wasn't always so complacent (if that's even the right word) about how I spent my volunteering time. In fact, I used to be fairly active on the volunteering circuit, regularly maintaining my accounts with Idealist and Volunteer Match and dedicating time to a few organizations like: Heartshare, DIFFA, Writegirl and Make-a-Wish.
In a lot of ways I'd like to think that Monster Help Day is really a Monster Mental Health Day--the act of giving back seemingly brings out the best in everyone. Some of the most amazing and creative people volunteer, do you?
*Also known as House Guests refer to the families who come to a certain city (in this instance NYC) for one of their loved ones (usually a child under the age of 22) to undergo treatment for cancer.
