The holidays are a natural time to want to volunteer, pitch in and give back to your community and those in need. This is also an excellent time to encourage your employees and team members to step out beyond their work commitments and dedicate time to causes important to them, ideally inspiring others to do the same.
ALKEME San Diego has long supported numerous community partners including the Chula Vista Community Foundation and its various initiatives and programs. Recently, several members of our team spent time at the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility, visiting with animals under care and up for adoption, as well as preparing and assisting with distribution of enrichment treats. All the volunteers loved their time with the animals and came away with a real sense of engagement and enjoyment supporting such an impactful organization.
Shelter organizers were thrilled with the volunteers and Foundation members relayed back how much their efforts and kindness brought joy and stimulation for dogs who truly need it, including one sweet pup who has been waiting over 600 days for a forever home.
Julie Tufi, ALKEME Customer Service Representative had a fantastic time during this recent opportunity. “This was my first time volunteering at an animal shelter; I’ve wanted to do it before and this was a perfect chance,” she said. Employees were presented with this opportunity and five total ALKEME team members signed up. “There is real need for volunteers at this location,” she said. Preparing the enrichment treats with peanut butter, cheese and kibble was “definitely a bit messy but a blast and I would do it again for sure,” Tufi added.
The five team members included both individuals Tufi works with on a regular basis as well as others not part of her day to day team. “I would definitely do more volunteer activities through work — It was a team bonding experience, letting us all see everyone’s personality outside of our regular work environment. Distributing the treats and seeing how excited the dogs were was great,” she said. ALKEME San Diego has consistently identified and presented volunteer opportunities of all types for staff and will continue to do so into 2026 and beyond.
If you are interested in encouraging your employees to give back during the holidays (or any time of year!), there are a few things you can do to support these team building endeavors:
1. Designate a number of hours employees can volunteer each year during traditional work hours with full pay and no need to take comp time or use PTO — and encourage people to use them! By giving employees flexibility to pick opportunities that may not be available beyond the workday, you are ensuring they are committing to the causes they are most passionate about. The use of employee hours to support a local cause also highlights your business’s dedication to the community.
2. Find out which causes are of greatest importance to your team — Use Survey Monkey or Google Forms to get specific feedback on which local organizations might be top of mind. Do you also have a large number of animal lovers? Reach out to shelters and adoption or foster groups for chances to participate in events or programs. Organizations with individuals passionate about cooking or food preparation might enjoy something like serving in the kitchen at a Ronald MacDonald House, for example.
3. Encourage team members to carpool for volunteer opportunities — This not only lessens the environmental impact of so many individuals driving to an event but also encourages team building and opportunities for team members to get to know each other better and bond over the experience.
4. Identify opportunities that align with employees’ expertise and skills — Do you have a crackerjack social media team? Are your physical plant employees able to fix any piece of broken equipment? If you look around your business, there are countless unique skill sets that are invaluable to organizations in need. Poll your employees and find out if they would like to use their skills for a cause other than their day to day work and encourage them to pair up with organizations in need. These opportunities might even rekindle a spark for employees losing passion about their position when they see how impactful their expertise can be for others.
5. Most importantly — Lead by example! Be sure to communicate to your team all the ways you volunteer and give back and step up to serve along others when you can. Additionally, lead by letting others shine in these volunteer activities. Just because you are the boss day to day, it doesn’t mean you need to be the captain or director of a project. Let others step up and happily participate and throw praise upon those leading these efforts.
Remember, any time is a good time for your business to engage with the local community! No amount of involvement is too small and your impact will only increase over time.
