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Soaringwords Case Studies

Soaringwords
Aug. 28, 2018
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Soaringwords Case Studies

  1. SOARINGWORDS’ CORPORATE CASE STUDIES
  2. Since 2005, Soaringwords has led initiatives with several divisions: JOHNSON & JOHNSON DIVISIONS 2 • Global Services Organization: We Innovate Initiative. Lisa Buksbaum led a Soaringwords Innovation Summit for 5,000 Global Services employees in seven countries. This ninety-minute workshop used immersive learning techniques to share the latest scientific findings in Growth Mindset and other innovative strategies. The Summit culminated in a hands-on team-building project of creating SoaringBeds® messages and artwork to donate to ill children in the local communities. • Global Services Organization: We Care Initiative. Soaringwords led hands-on employee-engagement initiatives in three global markets: Suzhou, China; Manila, Philippines; and Bogota, Colombia where hundreds of employees decorated SoaringQuilts® & SoaringPillows® with inspirational messages and artwork to donate to children in local hospitals. • Global IT Organization: Soaringwords led hands-on leadership engagement initiatives for Global IT Town Halls over two years. In between quarterly Town Hall gatherings, Soaringwords organized monthly hands-on employee-engagement initiatives, giving individual divisional teams the opportunity to mentor groups of students in local schools. At each event, employees and students made a different project: SoaringSuperheroes® and Crowns; SoaringDream Catchers®; SoaringNutrition projects®; and SoaringGardens® and SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® among others. • Pharmaceutical Research and Development: Lisa was the inspirational keynote speaker followed by hands- on Soaringwords pro-social programs (SoaringQuilts® & SoaringPillows®) at the Annual Meeting for 250 professionals in the U.K., Belgium, N.J. and P.A. • Global Business Service Procurement Organization: Soaringwords led employee engagement program with several Soaringwords’ team-building activities to ensure interaction between all global team members. Soaringwords in Bogota
  3. 3 Johnson & Johnson Program Annual Meeting for J&J Pharmaceutical Research and Development team. Lisa’s keynote, hospital visit, Soaringwords immersive activities are highlight in a long day of PowerPoint presentations JOHNSON & JOHNSON DIVISIONS
  4. Soaringwords employee- engagement activities are top-rated part of Town Halls, national meetings and global summits. JOHNSON & JOHNSON DIVISIONS 4
  5. Strategic Challenges: • Provide resources for parents of ill and special needs children. • Reinforce Johnson & Johnson’s brand equity. Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • Soaringwords’ Workshops and Webinars for worldwide employees provided concrete strategies and pointers to support parents and co-workers with ill children and children with disabilities. Webinars included: Caring for the Caregiver; and What to Say to Support Parents with Ill Children and Children with Special Needs. Outcomes: • Employee-engagement programs generated strong and enthusiastic participation. • 100% employee participants rated workshops and webinars valuable with extremely useful content they could implement immediately. • 100% children and employee volunteers rated program highly successful. JOHNSON & JOHNSON CORPORATE INITIATIVES: WORKSHOPS & WEBINARS AND TAKE YOUR CHILD TO WORK DAY . 5 Soaringwords’ Take Your Child to Work Day • Take Your Child to Work Day - Soaringwords led hands-on pro-social community service programs for hundreds of children and employees at corporate headquarters for Take Your Child to Work Day.
  6. Soaringwords hands on team-building activity at Take Your Child to Work Day 6 Gabby, 12 year old cancer survivor, was an inspirational speaker Johnson & Johnson team at St. Peters University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ Creating SoaringGardens at global conference JOHNSON & JOHNSON
  7. JOHNSON & JOHNSON TESTIMONIALS 7 2017 Soaringwords WeCare J&J Global Initiative: “I am proud and happy to be a part of the Soaringwords WeCare initiative. It was the best way to celebrate the 2017 year end with all the Global Services employees in Brazil! It’s amazing how a simple activity with a noble purpose can transform our day and make us feel so good. We felt happy and honored to help the children by decorating SoaringQuilts®, SoaringPillows®, and SoaringSuperhero® messages and artwork. Employees were laughing, having fun, and the Soaringwords video was very inspiring! - Laudiane Souza, Champion, Global Services, Brazil, South America Team Lead “We are absolutely excited after the event, we had a great afternoon, the best comments and congratulations for this Soaringwords WeCare initiative - and all the effort we as a pillar have done. All the teams from A2R I2C, Compliance, Tax, HR, PMO, and other Global Services teams participated actively in the activity. It was a great moment to share in the new space, with different people in a genuine activity which involves our heart and all the love from our people in Global Services. The best feeling so far! - Diana Cruz Parra, Champion, Global Services, Colombia, South America Team Lead “ A big THANKS to our Global Services employees in Suzhou, China for participating in this afternoon Soaringwords We Care activity. All of you are awesome. You are the SUPERHERO. This is a really very interesting and lovely moment. Bringing your love to life. - Zongqin (Daisy) Guan, Champion, Global Services, Suzhou, China Team Lead Soaringwords’ in China
  8. “250 colleagues together with the help of the Soaringwords team created 150 quilts and 150 pillows working together at four sites globally (Raritan, NJ, Spring House, PA, Beerse, Belgium and High Wycombe, UK). We have since made hospital visits to deliver these to the children, which as a mother both broke and touched my heart. My colleagues and I have enormously benefitted from this experience and one which I will continue to treasure.” -Andrea Rose-Legatt, MBA, PMP, Sr. Director, Business Solutions, Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, LLC “The Soaringwords’ webinar was a big success with 100% of participants giving it the highest ratings. Soaringwords provided practice insights that will help employees support co-workers, friends, and their own families. I’m personally aware of the first-hand impact that Lisa and Soaringwords had on my colleague and her child. Subsequently, I encouraged Lisa to create a webinar to share her message broadly with Johnson & Johnson employees to assist them in grappling with illness in their lives. I was privileged to introduce Lisa to colleagues at other leading companies and they have shared webinars and employee-engagement programs with thousands of employees. Soaringwords has received outstanding testimonials for initiatives with leading companies including Johnson & Johnson.” - Wendy Breiterman, Director, Global Work/Life Strategies, Office of Global Diversity & Inclusion, Johnson & Johnson “I absolutely enjoyed creating these projects! It was a very rewarding exercise, knowing the destination of where our SoaringQuilts and Pillows and the SoaringGardens were going. It was also very calming. My favorite part of the hospital experience was seeing the child smile when we shared the gifts and connecting with the patient’s mom. I think the kids felt very grateful! It makes me want to do more for them. They are delightful. I loved Soaringwords’ presentation and watching the video. I applaud the great work.” -Theresa Ragozine, Manager, Johnson & Johnson Services Procurement Team 8 JOHNSON & JOHNSON TESTIMONIALS
  9. JPMORGAN CHASE Since 2008, Soaringwords has led employee-engagement volunteer opportunities to teams in markets nationwide. Strategic Challenges: • Provide on-going turn-key experiences to Volunteer Leadership Group teams (VLG’S). • Implement successful volunteer experiences in Operation Centers and Call Centers, reaching employees who have never been invited or able to participate in a service project. • Share employee-engagement experiences in retail branches. • For the past several years, Soaringwords was the culminating activity for North American MBA student interns Training Week before they were sent to their summer jobs. • Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) members came together to embrace children and families at Shiners Hospital for Children, Chicago. Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • VLG leaders in ten markets requested Soaringwords programs. • Soaringwords worked with market leaders to provide volunteer experiences in cafeterias and conference rooms. This gave thousands of employees the opportunities to decorate SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® with inspirational messages and artwork to donate to hospitalized children in all of the local markets. • Soaringwords gives employees the opportunity to mentor inner-city school children in Dallas, Chicago, and NYC through Soaringwords’ Educational Outreach programs. • Soaringwords programs were shared with thousands of employees in Operations Centers in Texas and Call Centers in Indiana. Outcomes: • Thousands of employees participated in Soaringwords volunteer experiences, decorating 1,067 quilts and pillows to donate to hospitalized children and their families. • Hundreds of employees in 112 branches in Northern New Jersey decorate 560 quilts to donate to patients and families in local hospitals. 9 Employee-engagement Event with MBA interns in NYC
  10. Summer Associate program at PS152 benefits children at Montefiore Med. Center Educational Outreach at Young Women’s Leadership School, Queens, NY Holiday Festival at MetroTech Center in Brooklyn for 2,000 employees and family members JPMORGAN CHASE
  11. VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP GROUPS IN 10 JPMORGAN CHASE MARKETS ENJOY SOARINGWORDS PROJECTS 11
  12. JPMorgan Chase Women’s Initiative Network came together to embrace children at Shriners Hospital for Children, Chicago. “Hundreds of employees in dozens of markets love participating in Soaringwords. As I think about Soaringwords’ volunteer projects, the word that comes to my mind is “family”. A family is young and old, fit and fragile, big and small, near and far, loved & complicated. EVERYONE can place their feelings and thoughts on the quilts and pillows.” -Lianne Flynn, JPMorgan Chase, Dallas 12 JPMorgan summer associates mentored 100 students at Millennial High School, NYC. “It made me feel that I was making a tangible difference to those who need help. There are people who care about hospitalized children and truly want them to enjoy the beauty of life and hope. It’s nice knowing that someone’s day will be better, happier because of what we did.” —Leo Chung JPMorgan Summer Associates JPMORGAN CHASE
  13. “This project is “soaring” here in the Louisville Market. Our Retail Banking centers are totally plugged into this project due to the flexibility it offers to our employees during their work day. We LOVE this project!!! No doubt this is a keeper. “--Karen M. Hodge, Executive Assistant to Carl Harler, CTO Acquisition Services, Louisville, KY “It was an on-site event and the employees who participated took time out of their day and shift to spend two hours for the event- most stayed the whole time, which is really unusual in the call center. I have heard such nice things from them- the giving back option to volunteer while still in the center during the work day, the chance to give something to kids who need it and the good quality of the pillows, quilts, and markers that we had to work with. This has been great- my center’s employees would love to have the opportunities for something like this again in the future. “--Sue Niles, Team Leader, AVP, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Elgin, IL “I would like to tell you that your program was embraced, appreciated, and so impactful for both the 400 employees who participated and the children who benefited. Its amazing to watch teams of timid adults who at first seem scared of markers turn into huddles of engaged, caring people, imagining and creating wonderful messages to share with Children. This program brought out the best in our people, encouraged teams to come together for ideas in creation, and provided a much needed break from business and reality check. This went a long way in reminding everyone about the true importance of serving others. The children we gave the quilts and pillows to seemed so happy and excited and hopefully they could feel the love poured into them with each mark. Thank you!”--Erica Bauer, Sr. Community Development Analyst, Community Relations, JPMorgan Chase, Springfield, M 13 JPMORGAN CHASE TESTIMONIALS
  14. JPMORGAN CHASE TESTIMONIALS 14 “On behalf of the Chase family, thank you for inviting us to share time with Wishard Health Services staff to bring a smile to a child’s face during our recent delivery of Soaringwords SoaringQuilts and SoaringPillows. Over 130 Chase employees from all over Central Indiana joined together to decorate quilts and pillows. During our visit with the patients, seven Chase employees shared a special moment with the children completing coloring activities and helped the children select their very own Soaringwords quilt or pillow. We truly enjoyed seeing the smiles on the faces of these young children. The attached pictures captured these smiles. We look forward to offering another Soaringwords activity this fall with Wishard Health Services. Thank you.” --Stacy Britt-Hart, VP Sales & Marketing, Central Indiana Volunteer Leadership Co-Chair “I just wanted you to know what a truly amazing experience we had last night at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck! We colored, drew pictures and wrote encouraging messages on pillows and quilts to children that were in the Pediatric Ward. We got to meet and draw with a few of the patients and it was so great to interact with them and brighten their night! It was so rewarding to bring the pillows and quilts to the children and parents when we were done, they were all so thankful and receptive. It is a really great feeling when you hand a quilt to parents who are holding their ill child and tell them that employees from JP Morgan Chase came to make these for them. It is great to work for a company that engages in these activities and makes such a difference in the lives of others, I have never been so proud to work for a company! The representative who met us at the hospital from Soaringwords was great and they did a great overall job organizing and coordinating the event! I wanted to say thank you to all of you for giving us this opportunity and I truly hope more of the Volunteer Leadership Groups will take advantage of this! “ --Shannon K. Lazare, Vice President Relationship Manager at JPMorgan Chase, NJ “There was a great outpouring of compassion from fellow employees towards the children who would be getting the pillows and quilts. This was a fun experience to share not only time drawing but the stories being told around the tables. Wonderful support from everyone towards those of us who are not as creative as others but still have a lot of heart to give. Everyone felt they could give a little something of themselves, be it pictures or words of support, to someone in need. I liked the hands-on feeling.” -Barbara Jones, JPMorgan Chase employee at Chatsworth, CA
  15. WEWORK • Global Creator Awards Celebration: Soaringwords was selected to be the hands-on pro-social activity at the Global Creator Awards Ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Prior to the Awards Ceremony, thousands of WeWork employees were invited to decorate SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to donate to hospitalized children in several local hospitals. • New York City Creator Awards Celebration: Soaringwords was selected to present at the pre-show Vendor Fair. Prior to the Awards Ceremony, hundreds of WeWork employees were invited to decorate SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to donate to hospitalized children at Lincoln Medical Center in the South Bronx, NY. • WeWork Bryant Park: Soaringwords led a community team-building event on Valentine’s Day where employees were invited to decorate SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® and to create SoaringSuperhero® messages and artwork to donate to hospitalized children. 15
  16. ACCENTURE Strategic Challenges: • Find a way for Accenture employees a tangible way to interact in a meaningful way with the firm’s Skills to Succeed initiative, specifically getting youth ready for college and the professional workforce. • Programs have to fit into the fast-paced schedules of management consultants who spend all of their time at client sites or in airport lounges while traveling for business. • Provide turn-key employee-engagement programs that are replicable in global markets. Soaringwords Collaborations: • Accenture Federal Services, Washington D.C. From 2012 to the present, Soaringwords has led the largest employee-engagement program for National Day of Service. Each year, 200-300 employee volunteers mentor students from inner-city high schools and community colleges. From the opening keynote to the hands-on service project decorating hundreds of SoaringQuilts® & SoaringPillows® with inspirational messages and artwork, to the Soaringwords + Zumba Dance Celebration, Accenture employees consistently rated this program with top marks. • Accenture Global Leadership Management Development meeting in St. Charles, IL Hundreds of newly-minted Accenture partners and 75 high school students from the local Boys & Girls Club loved spending three hours with Soaringwords after a 10-day training program. • Accenture Skills to Succeed Initiative in Philadelphia. Lisa Buksbaum led an inspirational keynote talk: Follow Your Passion and Change the World. Accenture employee-volunteers and their families mentored dozens of 11th and 12th graders from the KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy. Together, everyone decorated SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to donate to children at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Outcomes: • Employee-engagement was high and managers are expanding the collaboration. 16 Soaringwords’ Employee-Engagement Event with Accenture in St. Charles, IL
  17. ACCENTURE LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT MEETING: ELGIN, IL 131 Accenture professionals & 75 high school students from the local Boys & Girls Club in Elgin decorated 100 SoaringQuilts® and 100 SoaringPillows® with inspirational messages and artwork to donate to patients and families at St. Alexis Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House This was a great way of helping the ill children. I have kids myself and have had experience with illness so I appreciate these initiatives. The kids on my team spoke Spanish, like I do. It was a great activity to do with the kids. Our team worked really well, we all did parts of the drawings together. I think the hospitalized children will feel fantastic, some time to not be thinking about their bad situations. Today changed the way I think about myself as I was able to take a step back from the high speed we live in and be part of a great initiative. - Hendrik J. Van Vliet, Senior Manager, Madrid 17
  18. 150 Accenture employees mentored students from KIPP, Montgomery Community College, and On-Ramps, decorating SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® for neo-natal patients and families at Howard University Hospital. Today made me realize that I can do anything for change and whatever I did today makes a person feel loved and special. I enjoyed decorating the quilt and pillow because I got to work with people of different experiences and I enjoyed working with every team member. I think the kids in the hospital will feel great and loved when they get our quilts and pillows. I had fun and enjoyed the Zumba dance. – Priscah, Montgomery Community College Student ACCENTURE DAY OF SERVICE: WASHINGTON, DC 18
  19. Accenture employees mentored students from KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy in Philadelphia, decorating SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® for patients at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. The volunteers participated in the high-energy Soarignwords + Zumba® dance to celebrate health and wellness. I truly enjoyed this opportunity because it’s not only changing my life but also someone else’s. The best part is knowing that hospitalized kids will see that people actually do care. I really enjoyed working with Sam because he had so much to talk about. I think the kids in the hospital will feel thankful and happy just knowing that they inspired people to send them quilts and pillows. The best part was performing our team dance. Today changed the way I think about myself because I now know that I can make a change in someone’s life. Today was inspiring and a one-of-a- kind opportunity! I loved it! - Ishonae, KIPP Student ACCENTURE SKILLS TO SUCCEED INITIATIVE: PHILADELPHIA 19
  20. 20 GOLDMAN SACHS Take Your Child to Work Day programs: From 2012 to 2016, Soaringwords led Goldman Sachs Community TeamWorks initiatives in five cities for hundreds of children. “Soaringwords programs are easy to layer into our existing relationships with Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and many local schools and community groups. When we shared Soaringwords programs with hundreds of children in multiple offices at the Goldman Sachs “Take Our Children to Work” day experience there was total silence in the room. Imagine the energy and excitement as hundreds of children applauded after the Soaringwords DVD finished and they knew that they could spend the next hour being a healing agent for a hospitalized child.” Marilyn Duffy Grande, Community TeamWorks Program Manager
  21. VERIZON NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Strategic Challenges: Verizon wanted to bring together 150 engineers from around the country at a NATIONAL LEADERSHIP conference in Sarasota, FL with a memorable keynote and team-building activity that reinforced the theme. Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • Soaringwords brought in 200 children from the Sarasota Boys & Girls Club to share a three-hour service project with the Verizon leaders. • Lisa Buksbaum was the inspirational keynote speaker. • After the conference, employee delegations in four lead markets donated hundreds of SoaringQuilts® & SoaringPillows® to hospitalized children at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, FL, Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, and Columbia Presbyterian Children’s Hospital in New York City. Outcomes: Soaringwords was rated the high-point of the conference. Verizon was featured in local TV and newspaper media in Florida, Texas and New York. 21
  22. 22 VERIZON NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE “Our exposure to Soaringwords was inspirational and for many, the highlight of our conference. On behalf of our 150 Network Engineering management employees, I wanted to thank you for the outstanding keynote speech you gave at the Verizon Leadership Conferences. Our team was greatly impacted by your personal story of heroism, success and dedication. You are both an excellent speaker and role model. Your facilitation of the conference community service activity of decorating pillows and quilts, with hundreds of children from the Boys and Girls Clubs, allowed our managers to experience leadership at a new level. (In our telecommunications engineering work, we typically don't receive such immediate or tangible feedback!) Our Verizon employees were very rewarded by the kids' smiles and to know that our handiwork will bring comfort and joy to hospitalized children. The employees loved seeing the Soaringwords Verizon Program on TV and in the full page article in the Herald Tribune. It was wonderful to allow smaller delegations to bring the conference back home with visits to hospitals in their markets.” Anne Cortissoz, Director of Network Engineering, Verizon
  23. VIACOM Strategic Challenges: • Strengthen employee engagement and morale • Boost company profile in the community Soaringwords’ Collaborations: Viacommunity Day: Since 2008, Soaringwords has been a well-loved partner for Viacom’s national day of service. In addition to employees who are able to take time away from their desks to participate in service days, Soaringwords flexible employee-engagement activities enabled hundreds of employees who are typically unable to get away from their desks to participate in “Micro-volunteer” experiences. Feedback from these senior executives and administrative personnel was unanimously positive and grateful as it was the first time these employees were able to participate in a Global Day of Service. Over the years, delegations of hundreds of employees have mentored children at the West Side YMCA utilizing the SoaringSuperheroes® program, PS 152, and Millennium High School. The Content Management Group Conference included 102 employees who decorated SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® that were then donated to local hospitals. Valentine’s Day initiative: Soaringwords was the pro-social community service activity for Valentine’s Day. Outcomes: Soaringwords initiatives are consistently rated as “best ever” by Viacom staffers including many who had never been able to volunteer before. 23 Soaringwords rocks Viacommunity Day 2017
  24. 24 Viacommunity Day Dance Jam at PS 152 Content Management Group team-building event Viacom employees at Metropolitan Hospital (left), PS 152 (middle, right). VIACOM
  25. VIACOM TESTIMONIALS Viacommunity Day with PS152 “It was a great honor to be a part of a team today. I truly enjoyed the day. I think the kids at the hospital will love the smiles and the tokens of affection coming their way. I loved working with the kids and it was a great pleasure in helping out these kids for a great cause. I would love to be part of your organization on a more active level. Keep up the outstanding work.” - Sarah Khan “I loved spending time with the third graders and helping them with drawing and messages. They are so loving, fun and creative. They made me feel very welcome. I would love to spend more time with class 323!” -Laura Uyeda “It was wonderful working with the children and seeing how they wanted to make the kids in the hospital feel better. Soaringwords video made me aware of what an impact we can have. My favorite part was meeting each of the children individually and seeing how each of them reacted. It was a wonderful experience and would love to do it again.” -Vanessa Scrivenen “It was very rewarding getting to know the children. It made me feel useful and happy to know that the kids looked up to me and I could be a good role model. My favorite part was interacting with the 3rd graders and learning about their world. We worked very well together as a team. This was a great experience. Thank you for this opportunity!” -Alicia Colbella “I enjoyed the entire experience. The kids really understood the scope of the project and the importance of helping hospitalized children, which made me very excited to work with them. I loved seeing how creative the kids were. I didn’t know how much my input would be needed. As it turns out I think I was made to think more creatively by being inspired by the kids. They were excited to show me their work, This is a great program. Thank you so much!” -Jeff Chapp 25
  26. VIACOM TESTIMONIALS Viacommunity Day 2009 employees mentor 125 children at the Westside YMCA: “I had the best time helping hospitalized children. I feel proud. I would love to do it again! I had a great time making superheroes, I made Professor Bird Man. The hospitalized children will know that we care about them and love them. I like team work. At first I was shy but then I had the best time of my life. I enjoyed jamming and dancing! The best part of the day was when we did everything because it brought out the best of me.” -Gabby “The kids will know that we care about them when they get our gifts and I feel good about it. I created Heal Girl superhero; she heals people. The video was cool because it gave us instructions. I like how the Viacom volunteers listened to everything we said and understood us. Dancing was a load of fun and it was cool when we made our own dances and shared them with the audience.” -Cheyenne 26 Viacommunity Day 2018Viacommunity Day 2009
  27. BNY MELLON BNY Mellon’s HEART Employee Affinity Network (Helping Each Ability by Respecting and Teaching) wanted to share a company-wide initiative to benefit hospitalized children so they collaborated with Soaringwords. This program grew as many additional Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) joined the collaboration. Strategic Challenges: • Need to motivate more employees to join the HEART employee network. • Encourage senior management to support employees giving a day of service. Soaringwords’ Outcomes: • For several years, from 2011-2014, Soaringwords + HEART collaboration thrived and expanded to eight markets. • Soaringwords won the Chairman’s Award for the best community-service program in 2010. • Hundreds of hospitalized children benefitted from the customized SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® and visits from the BNYMellon employee delegations. “ I think this is a great program for both children and adults to do together. I absolutely enjoyed the project and hearing the students make comments like “I hope it makes the sick kids smile”. The really understood what they were doing and why. The hospitalized children will definitely enjoyed getting these gifts made especially for them. The best part of dance jam was watching the kids have fun.” -Kathy Watt, Everett, MA 27 Soaringwords at Make A Difference Day NYC at P.S.1
  28. NYC Jacksonville, FL Syracuse, NYEverett, MA BNY MELLON / SOARINGWORDS PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY
  29. “I felt great participating in the Soaringwords program. Our team worked really well together and we had a great time volunteering for a great cause. I think the hospitalized children will be happy and it will cheer them up to receive all of the quilts, pillows and messages. The school that participated was a great school with great kids who were really happy to participate in the cause.” -Chris Boyd, Jacksonville, FL BNY MELLON EMPLOYEE AFFINITY NETWORK 29
  30. BNY MELLON TESTIMONIALS “It was a very rewarding experience and I hope it produces results that are tenfold within the recipients. The best part was watching the creativity and caring nature of the students. The Soaringwords program made me feel very humble and respectful of all that we have in our lives and this subsequently produced a feeling of interest and compassion in helping those individuals who are not as fortunate. I hope they feel as though people who they have never met care about them and the critical situations in which they live every day. It was also nice to get up, move around and see the kids enjoy the dance jam. I think the best part was seeing the kids level of skill dancing and their expressions. Also, I thought it was awesome that some individuals higher up in the school’s administration participated with such enthusiasm. This was an excellent experience and I am glad to just be part of it and make a difference in someone’s life.”- Steve Jones, Syracuse “I loved decorating and the program made me feel great! Because it teaches children it is sometimes better to give than to receive. My team worked excellently together in order to deliver a universal message of love and care. The dance jam was GREAT! And exposed the children to experience which I strongly feel is a key point in child’s growth development and healthy living. This was such an awesome experience and I would love to do this again in the future and hope that many others would be able to experience the joys I have today.” - Adrienne Booker, Pittsburgh 30
  31. CITIGROUP 120 Citigroup associates mentored 100 children from the Grace Church School, NYC. Together, they decorated SoaringQuits® and SoaringPillows® to donate to hospitalized children at Bellevue Medical Center. 31
  32. ELI LILLY AND COMPANY Strategic Challenge: Lilly executives consolidate Corporate Social Responsibility portfolio to align philanthropy behind Lilly’s corporate mission “to improve individual patient outcomes.” Soaringwords’ Solution: • Soaringwords’ mission, to inspire ill children and families to take active roles in self-healing, is aligned with Lilly’s mission so Lilly Foundation co-creates a company-wide initiative at Corporate Headquarters with Soaringwords. • Lilly layers Soaringwords’ programs into United Way’s READ UP! program, Lilly’s largest volunteer initiative in Indianapolis. • Each quarter a Soaringwords’ program module motivated 500 Lilly employee volunteers to mentor 1,500 fourth and fifth graders, a 150% increase in volunteer participation. • Prior to each event, Soaringwords provided virtual Train the Trainer phone sessions with Lilly employee volunteer leads, individual volunteers, and School Administrators. Outcomes: • Thousands of patients and families in Wishard Health Services were grateful to receive SoaringFables®, SoaringHaikus®, SoaringQuilts® & SoaringPillows®, and SoaringSuperheroes® created by the children and employee volunteers. • Soaringwords initiatives motivated tremendous press coverage and community engagement with a coalition of leading community partners: Lilly, Wishard Health Services, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), United Way of Central Indiana, and The Central Library of Marion County. • Television appearances on FOX, ABC, and NBC. Feature article in The Indianapolis Star, feature radio interview. • Unanimous employee ranking of Soaringwords as a superior experience. • 100% Principals, teachers and students rated Soaringwords’ programs “best ever.” 32
  33. ELI LILLY AND COMPANY • Incorporated community service experiences into Company celebrations and Community events. • Shared Soaringwords at the Annual Lilly Holiday Party for thousands of employees and their families. • Shared Soaringwords at Penrod Arts Festival at Indianapolis Museum of Art, the largest cultural event in town. 33 Penrod Arts Festival Holiday Party Indianapolis Children’s Museum
  34. 34 500 Eli Lilly volunteers mentor 1,500 fourth and fifth graders in 4 Soaringwords events through the year. Thousands of SoaringFables®, SoaringHaikus®, and SoaringSuperheroes® were donated to patients at Wishard Health Services in Indianapolis. 34 ELI LILLY AND COMPANY
  35. TESTIMIONIALS FROM ELI LILLY AND COMPANY READUP PROGRAM “It is a blessing to help other people. If you help someone else, you will also feel good. Our team was awesome and the best part was that we all smiled and worked well together. Our tutor was Mrs. Annette and she was the best; I really liked her. The best part of the day is that we helped kids feel better. I believe in my heart that hospitalized children will really like our fables.” -Kristopher, Age 10, 5th Grade, School 106 “By writing our SoaringFable we told the children in the hospital that we love them. The children are going to be very surprised by how many people love them. Our fable was about friends that care.” -Kyiesha, Age 10, 4th Grade, School 52 ”The program made me feel that I am opening up to people in a different way; something that I have never done before. I think children in the hospital will be amazed that a person their age could do something like that and they will say “I can too.” -Mya, Age 9, 4th Grade, School 106 “I feel glad that I wrote a fable and helped a child. I think when a hospitalized child gets our fable they will say “Now I know that even strangers want us to feel better.” Everyone in our group worked really well together. We each wrote two sentences and the story came together. The best part was when we found out that we were not just having fun but also helping sick children.”-Shayna, Age 11, 5th Grade, School 49 “The program yesterday was wonderful. The children enjoyed the experience and learned a lot. It was especially meaningful to my students because one of their classmates is in the hospital. Demarcus has just recently been diagnosed with diabetes. He had to leave school Friday by ambulance and is still in the hospital. He has missed a lot of school and my students aren't sure what to say or do to help. I think that this experience has given them a way to encourage Demarcus and feel like they are doing something too. Thank you so much for making sure that Demarcus got a copy of the students’ fables. It is evident that you are dedicated to helping children in need.” - Amy Chan, Teacher, School 49 35
  36. NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE New York Life Insurance is a leader in employee volunteer programs that support bereaved children and families. The company wanted turn-key solutions for Volunteer for Good initiatives and large meetings. Strategic Challenges: • Give New York Life employees and agents a hands-on activity to interact with children and families grappling with illness and loss. • Provide turn-key employee-engagement programs that can be shared in multiple markets for New York Life Month of Service and also for New York Life Take Your Child to Work Day events. Soaringwords Collaborations: • Since 2004, Soaringwords has shared well-loved service programs that employees love. Monthly employee- engagement activities have benefited ill children and families and bereaved children over the years. • Soaringwords was the pro-social activity for Agents and their families at the New York Life President’s Council in Phoenix, AZ. Outcomes: • Employee-engagement is high and monthly Soaringwords programs fill the room with energized volunteers. 36 NYL Team members making SoaringSuperhero messages and capes
  37. 37 NEW YORK LIFE: SOARING SUPERHEROES “I loved everyone’s teamwork! The children will love the thoughts everyone put into their crowns.” - Nina Deal, Project co-lead “I loved this event with Soaringwords because this will help keep children’ spirits up while they are in the hospital. I hope they feel excited when they receive these gifts from us.” -Arnyse Black, Project co-lead
  38. 38 NEW YORK LIFE: SOARING GARDENS “I greatly enjoyed creating SoaringGardens for the hospitalized children, because it was truly an inspirational experience. I am actually a summer intern with New York Life, and this has truly been one of the most rewarding things that I’ve been a part of. I hope that the hospitalized children will feel comforted by the fact that there are people outside of their friends and family that care about their well-being.” –Thomas “I really enjoyed making SoaringGardens for the hospitalized children, because it was a great and peaceful activity. The best part was having the chance to be creative! I think that the hospitalized children will definitely appreciate our SoaringGardens with its vivid colors and inspirational messages.” – Jessica
  39. 39 “On behalf of my family, we would like to thank you for the SoaringGarden. We look forward to continuing to work with you, as my newborn son Nicholas requires multiple surgeries. My wife and I have been through a lot throughout the pregnancy, and we have a long journey ahead. The only regret I have it, I wish I knew these services were available upon Nicholas’s arrival. As a New York Life employee, I want to help other children from the kindness of my heart. I can relate to where the children and their parent’s come from. My wife Tara and I have been married for ten years. In the past we had two miscarriages after my doctor appointments and many years later got pregnant. We were excited about being pregnant and concerned. Needless to say, it was a rough pregnancy until the end but the result was the best. Nicholas was born six weeks prematurely. He was born 3 pounds and 9 ounces, he was in the hospital for almost a month. His glucose was very low and we had to check his glucose levels four times a day. It has improved and we are now checking it once a day. He needs multiple surgeries, the first is scheduled on August 5 at Westchester Medical Center. The second surgery will be February. Last week I had the opportunity to meet you and your team from Soaringwords at the Volunteers for Good event. I am encouraged how much this organization helps people and you have helped me and my family so much. This was all possible because of New York Life. I look to forward helping other families by volunteering with your organization. I appreciate Soaringwords’ continual support of my family, especially when we will be in the hospital.” - Stephen EMBRACING EMPLOYEES GRAPPLING WITH SERIOUS ILLNESS
  40. 40 SOARINGWORDS + NEW YORK LIFE TAKE YOUR CHILD TO WORK DAY, 2013 Employees led hundreds of children at nine New York Life locations: New York City, Austin, Westchester, Tampa, Westwood, Reno, Alpharetta, Parsippany and Leawood. Together, participants decorated 241 SoaringQuilts® with inspirational messages and artwork to donate to hospitalized children in all of these local markets.
  41. 41 NEW YORK LIFE COLLABORATION 2004-2018
  42. CISCO SYSTEMS Strategic Challenges: • Gain share in middle markets. • Capture share in high-growth healthcare and education sectors. • Motivate employees to log volunteer hours as part of the Cisco Civic Council Networks in offices nationwide (San Jose-corporate headquarters; New York City; St. Louis) Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • Cisco launched a national Growing with Technology Award to promote middle market business in three core sectors: technology, commerce and non-profit. Soaringwords was chosen as a national winner in 2005 and 2006. Note-the 1st place winner was a $100 million NGO, Soaringwords was first runner-up. • Soaringwords was invited to be the hands-on Community Service/employee engagement program for Cisco’s Take Your Child to Work Day. Lisa Buksbaum gave a keynote for 2,000 employees and children as the “opening act” for Cisco CEO, John Chambers. 750 Cisco employees chose to participate in Soaringwords projects. Outcomes: • The program was featured on Cisco.com which received over 1 million hits • As part of Civic Council programs, thousands of patients at UCSF ( San Francisco), Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital (Palo Alto), Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Metropolitan Hospital (NYC) were thrilled to receive hundreds of SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® and visits from Cisco employee volunteers. • Soaringwords selected by Cisco managers as community partner for national leadership conference in St. Louis, where employees mentored children in the local Boys and Girls Club. 42
  43. Cisco Growing with Technology Awards Lisa Buksbaum presenting keynote speech at the awards dinner Soaringwords Case Study: Cisco Cisco’s Take Your Child to Work Day John Chambers CEO and Lisa Buksbaum present to 2,000 employees CISCO SYSTEMS 43
  44. Cisco employees mentor kids at IS528 Soaringwords event at Cisco Headquarters Leadership Conference in St. Louis Cisco employees at UCSF Medical Center 44 CISCO SYSTEMS
  45. CISCO TESTIMONIALS “Cisco NYC Civic Council sponsored Soaringwords initiatives for our management employees on site and also invited employees to mentor inner-city children as part of the Soaringwords Educational Outreach programs. During the past year, I have had the pleasure of getting to know Lisa Buksbaum, Soaringwords’ CEO and supporting Soaringwords during this time of significant growth. Often it seems as if it is virtually impossible to get our team of Cisco professionals to pull themselves away from their cell phones and meetings to do something for the community or for themselves. We tend to work a lot at Cisco. Soaringwords events were truly remarkable in that the professionals who came were able to focus on the Soaringwords team-building programs and really connect with co-workers when the events were internal and able to mentor inner-city children and share with employees when we went to local schools. As the Civic Council liaison, I truly appreciate Soaringwords gave us all of the tools to recruit employees to sign up and run the entire event, providing all of the logistics. Soaringwords provides the entire program-in-a-box so you can have a great program and not spend hours putting it together.” -Lynley Noviello, Regional Manager and Soaringwords NYC Civic, Council team co-captain “Your Soaringwords presentation and hands-on team-building activity made this year’s Take Your Child to Work Day soar. Your inspirational keynote was incredible, you could hear the silence in the giant tent as 2,000 kids and employees listened to your every word. I was thrilled to see over 600 participants come together in the community to decorate the quilts and pillows during the Soaringwords activity. It was beautiful to see such camaraderie and enthusiasm.” -Jennifer Mitchell, Corporate Events Manager, Cisco Systems 45
  46. JETBLUE AIRWAYS Strategic Challenges: • Build awareness of JetBlue’s new flagship Terminal 5 at JFK Airport. • Increase frequency and word-of-mouth referrals from customers. • Boost employee morale and volunteerism throughout the company. Motivate more Crewmembers to participate. • Secure positive press coverage to counter the negative impact of the Valentine’s Day Blizzard. Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • JetBlue is named the “official airline of Soaringwords” in 2008. • JetBlue sponsored Soaringwords Healing Mission to New Orleans in 2008. • Soaringwords selected as the sole national charity partner for Light Up a Life end-of-year holiday promotion, 2008. JetBlue employee volunteer initiatives held in NY, Florida, Louisiana and other key markets. Soaringwords again selected as national Light Up a Life charity partner in 2009. Crewmembers in 60 cities decorated 1,670 SoaringQuilts® to donate to hospitalized children nationwide. • In 2010, Soaringwords JetBlue Light Up a Life collaboration expanded to 65 markets, including ten countries in the Caribbean. Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz, “Big Papi” is Soaringwords ambassador brightening up the day for hundreds of hospitalized children in the Dr. Robert Reid Cabral Hospital in the Dominican Republic. Outcomes: • Soaringwords initiative rated as “best ever” on three key measurements; first time in JetBlue’s ten-year history that each city participated in an initiative; Soaringwords motivates highest number of employee participation; Regional Managers say that Crewmember participants reported greatest level of engagement and enthusiasm for any volunteer program. • Soaringwords’ on-site hands-on activities engaged Call Center and Distribution Center employees in volunteer programs. Often these employees have never been invited to volunteer. • JetBlue receives positive press coverage for hospital programs in local media 46
  47. JetBlue delegation at Joe DiMaggio Hospital Hospitalized kids love being surrounded by love Patients loved meeting the pilots and crewOrlando Crewmembers at Florida Hospital JETBLUE AIRWAYS 47
  48. Employee visits at Jamaica Hospital, Queens, NY Boston Crewmembers at Children’s Hospital David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox, Dominican Rep. Miller Children’s Hospital, Long Beach, CA JETBLUE AIRWAYS 48
  49. JETBLUE LIGHT UP A LIFE CAMPAIGN TESTIMONIALS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa “The Tampa crew had a great time decorating the Soaringwords quilts. Some "adopted" quilts and took them home to personalize. One crewmember sent his quilt to his child's kindergarten class to be colored. It was awesome! A delegation went to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa to deliver quilts to patients. They all enjoyed our visit and a few families shared with us that they love us and they fly JetBlue "all the time." The child that made the biggest impact on us was a young girl who said "thank you" after we gave her a quilt and sat with her for awhile. Bonnie, the head of Child Life services, informed us, upon leaving the room, that the girl had not spoken or made eye contact with anyone since being at St. Joe's. Wow! Bonnie had tears in her eyes and we all had goose bumps! We were honored and humbled by the opportunity to meet these kids, and we all felt thankful for our families and our health. The crew was so psyched over our visit, they want to do it every month.” Wendy Noble, Corporate Social Responsibility, JetBlue Airways Stanford Children’s Hospital Lucile Packard in Palo Alto, CA “We received a Soaringwords quilt for our 4-year-old daughter after her fourth open heart surgery two weeks ago. Even though she is not off sedation and up and about to see it, I know she will love it as her "Blankies" are her security and favorite items in the world. It will mean a lot to her. The smiles it brought and still brings to my face will surely be on hers shortly too. One of the sweetest gifts ever, and once she out grows it, I plan to hang it on her bedroom wall. Thank you for what you have done.” -Kellee Ash, Mommy to Liberty Ash 49
  50. Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland, ME “My son, Spencer has been going to Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland, Maine for treatments for a rare genetic disease. On his recent visit, he was presented with one of your beautiful SoaringQuilts by some JetBlue staff. Spencer has really been treasuring this quilt and hugs it close whenever he doesn’t feel well or is resting from these treatments. Thank you very much for creating this wonderful gift to support children in the hospital. I have certainly benefited as a parent to see how much joy it has brought to Spencer.” -Jill Williams West Jefferson Medical Center, New Orleans “Hello Airport Communications, MSY delivered our Light Up A Life Quilts to West Jefferson Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on Tuesday January 19. We were able to meet several of the patients in the pediatric emergency room and on the pediatric floor. All of the patients were under the age of six and loved the quilts. They were all so excited and honored to be receiving these special quilts and praised us and expressed many thanks to our JetBlue team both here in New Orleans and Worldwide.. This was truly a rewarding experience and MSY hopes to be able to participate in this activity again next year.” -Ashleigh Deist Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC “I would like to thank all of you at Soaringwords for sharing your quilts with our patients. The representatives that came from JetBlue were awesome. The patients and families love the quilts and I am certain they will be cherished for a long time to come. It means so much to our patients, families and staff to have the community come in and bring them joy! “-Carrie S. Keuten, Child Life Department, Levine Children’s Hospital JETBLUE LIGHT UP A LIFE CAMPAIGN TESTIMONIALS 50
  51. CIGNA: RECRUITMENT AND AWARENESS-BUILDING Strategic Challenges: • Jump-start recruitment events and motivate employees to refer potential candidates to CIGNA jobs events in high-growth markets. Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • Soaringwords provides a best-in-class engagement model that motivates current employees to bring several prospective hires to jobs events to learn about careers at CIGNA. • Team leaders are enthusiastic about sharing Soaringwords hands-on team-building experiences to leverage the CIGNA culture and harness the enthusiasm of current employees among prospective hires. Outcomes: • Program was a cost-effective way to screen new high-potential hires and provide an employee-engagement program at the same time. 51
  52. SOARINGWORDS CIGNA ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS IN ST. LOUIS, PITTSBURGH, PLANO AND PHOENIX 52
  53. CIGNA: EMPLOYEE-ENGAGEMENT IN U.S. + EUROPE Cigna wanted to share team-building projects that reinforce the company’s mission to improve the health and well-being of the customers it serves. Strategic Challenges: • Find a way to bring hundreds of employee team members together at large national or international meetings. • Provide turn-key employee-engagement programs that can be shared in multiple markets. Soaringwords Collaborations: • Global IT Leadership Conference: Lisa Buksbaum, Soaringwords’ CEO & Founder, was the inspirational keynote speaker at the company Headquarters in Hartford, CT. where Cigna employees were thrilled to mentor hundreds of children from local schools in order to decorate SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to benefit hospitalized children in the three local communities. • Managers Meeting, Global Employee Segment Europe: Eighty top managers mentored children at a local school in the Soaringwords hands-on service program. Then the Cigna delegation visited children and families at the Queen Paola Children’s Hospital in Antwerp to deliver the gifts. Outcomes: • Event managers loved this turn-key program that received unanimously positive reviews from employees and the school children. 53
  54. CIGNA GLOBAL IT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE In January, 2013 110 Cigna leaders mentored 68 middle school students from Burns Latino Studies Academy. Together, they decorated 100 SoaringQuilts® and 100 SoaringPillows® with inspirational messages and artwork to donate to patients at Connecticut Children's Medical Center. After working in teams, they hit the dance floor for Zumba® Fitness fun. “The Soaringwords experience was incredible and moving. Not only for providing children at Connecticut Children's Medical Center with tokens of warmth, but also the chance to engage students in Hartford directly in creating something great together. Wel look forward to continuing our partnership. The words I left with - Gratitude and Goodwill. Gratitude for what we have and what we can give, Goodwill in what came out as we met together.” -Mark Boxer, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Information Officer, Cigna 54
  55. CIGNA MANAGERS MEETING, GLOBAL EMPLOYEE SEGMENT EUROPE: ANTWERP In April, 2013 80 management professionals mentored 42 students from Plantijntje school. Together they decorated 50 SoaringQuilts® and 50 SoaringPillows® for hospitalized children at the Queen Paola Children's Hospital Antwerp. “The staff found the charity event extremely enriching, as they were able to personally contribute with their hearts and minds.” -Tim May, Human Resources Director, Cigna Global Health Benefits Europe 55
  56. AMERICAN EXPRESS: INDIVIDUAL DIVISIONS + CORPORATE INITIATIVES 56 • Global Chief Diversity OfficGlobal Diversity and Inclusion team hire Soaringwords to strengthen employee engagement within Employee Networks in key markets. Soaringwords leads Phoenix ERG members in half-day pro-social community service experience where they mentor 201 inner-city middle school children while decorating SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to donate to patients at Phoenix Children's Hospital. One of the highlights of the day was a high-energy Soaringwords Dance Jam. • SALT (the Christian Network) New York City chapter shares a Soaringwords “Lunch and Learn” in December, 2009 and hospital visit in January, 2010. Individual Divisions and Department initiatives: • Advanced Payment Enterprise Development: Employees mentored hundreds of students at Independent School 528 in Washington Heights, NYC decorating Soaring T-shirts and SoaringHats to donate to ill children in New Orleans Childrens Hospital, who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. • Merchant Implementation: The entire department mentored children at PS 152 in New York City and then delivered the SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to children and families at Metropolitan Hospital. Outcomes: • Highest-rated employee engagement experience. Corporate engagement: AMEX team at IS 528 in 2008
  57. Dance Jam/team-build competition is often is the highlight of pro-social service days AMEX Network Group and 201 fifth graders at Andalucia Middle School in Phoenix Phoenix Children’s Hospital Dialysis UnitDance Jam = energized employees 57 AMERICAN EXPRESS
  58. CVS CAREMARK: DIVISIONAL EVENTS AND CORPORATE INITIATIVES Corporate Initiatives: CVS Caremark Foundation wanted to support organizations that help children with disabilities and hired Soaringwords to create and lead a Webinar to share with organizations that support these children and their families. Soaringwords partnered with Dr. Catherine Lord a leading expert in autism and the Director of the Center for the Developing Mind. Together Lisa and Dr. Lord presented a webinar, Caring for Yourself as a Caregiver of a Special Needs Child. The workshop was lived streamed from the 92nd Street Y in New York City. CVS Employee teams in Philadelphia came together for a pro-social employee-engagement program where they mentored local school children. Together they decorated SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to donate to kids at the Ronald McDonald House. 58 Photo left: Fretta Reitzes, Director, Goldman Center for Youth and Family, 92nd Street Y; Dr. Catherine Lord, Director of the Center for Autism and the Developing Brain; Lisa Honig Buksbaum, Soaringwords CEO & Founder leading the Caring for the Caregiver Webinar.
  59. 59 80 CVS employees mentor Philadelphia students to benefit 100 kids at Ronald McDonald House of Philadelphia. CVS CAREMARK: DIVISIONAL EVENTS AND CORPORATE INITIATIVES
  60. CVS CAREMARK TESTIMONIALS “This was a great experience! I liked working with the kids. They all seemed to really enjoy helping other kids. Our team worked great together. The kids’ imagination was the best part. I think the children at the Ronald McDonald House will really enjoy the gifts and trying to figure out what some of the drawing are!” - Troy Dobson “It was a fabulous time working with the 4th and 8th graders. I loved decorating the SoaringQuilts especially because I work at the CVS location at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and see the children all the time. My team was great. We all brainstormed and came up with great ideas. The families at the Ronald McDonald House have children who are being treated at CHOP. The pillows and quilts brightened my day and I am sure it will bring a smile to theirs. The dancing competition was the best part.” - Linda Grize “I really enjoyed this program: helping the school children, giving back to the community, and giving some hope for special and infirmed children. Everyone pitched in and offered ideas and suggestions, even for colors on the patches. I think the children at the Ronald McDonald House will definitely be overcome with emotion when they get our quilts and pillows. Everyone should get a chance to do something this worthwhile.” -Thom Kavanagh “ I enjoyed it very much, especially the interaction with the kids. I’m glad that we all got to contribute to such a good cause. It was great that everyone was involved in the process. Our team worked great together. Separating the kids by age with the adults mentoring them and sitting next to them was a great idea. It was run very smoothly. I think the ill children will feel important, happy and thankful. Please bring Soaringwords back again! “ -Dan Kohler “I enjoyed the Soaringwords program and the best part was seeing the end results and working with kids. Being part of a great experience like this was fun. We had a blast!!! The kids had fun and enjoyed doing it. They had great ideas. The ill kids and special needs kids will be very happy!! I hope this helps to make them feel better and healthier faster. That’s what love and hugs do. This experience was one of a kind, I would do it again!!!” - Sherri Goldberg 60
  61. GOOGLE DAY OF SERVICE Soaringwords was delighted to share two employee engagement projects for Google Serve. Strategic Challenges: • Provide turn-key employee-engagement programs that fit into busy Googler’s schedules. Soaringwords Collaborations: • Employee teams mentored students at PS 1 in Chinatown, NYC and at Chelsea Prep, PS 33 in midtown Manhattan. Outcomes: • Employee volunteers and students bonded and decorated hundreds of SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® for children at Lincoln Medical Center and Harlem Hospital. • Google employee volunteers were invited to deepen their commitment to Soaringwords with skills-based volunteer projects. 61
  62. GOOGLE 62
  63. FACEBOOK Palo Alto Corporate Headquarters: Facebook management wanted to do something meaningful for employees at the Palo Alto campus after they heard the devastating news that their beloved Executive Chef (who ran the cafeteria for thousands of employees) had died in a motorcycle accident. Soaringwords led a campus-wide service project on 9-11 in the company cafeteria in Palo Alto. Employee teams mentored students from Belle Haven Elementary School. Together everyone decorated SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® with inspirational messages and artwork that were donated to patients at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital. The program culminated in everyone enjoying a Soaringwords + Zumba dance experience to celebrate health and movement. NYC Headquarters: During the holidays Soaringwords set up shop in the cafeteria with a turn-key employee- engagement program that support Facebook’s culture of community and creative expression. Soaringwords invited employees to decorate SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to donate to patients at Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC. 63
  64. Strategic Challenges: • Create stronger brand awareness in competitive cable markets. • Provide highly visible value-added programs to its cable partners (Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications). • Promote the “Lives that Make a Difference” national contest. • Do something meaningful to embrace children and families affected by Hurricane Katrina. Soaringwords Solution: • Soaringwords led highly visible Educational Outreach Programs for A&E & its affiliates in NYC, Houston, New Orleans. • February, 2006 -- 400 elementary school children in Houston decorated SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to donate to hundreds of children at Texas Children’s Hospital. • May, 2006 -- 800 students at St. Bernard Parish School in New Orleans participated in a full-day program. Employees from A&E and Cox Communications mentored the students and delivered 200 SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to patients at Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. Outcomes: • A&E, Time Warner and Cox Communications ran extensive TV coverage in Houston and New Orleans. • Soaringwords initiative was featured on the company websites reaching millions of consumers and profiled in the three company employee Intranets. • Lisa Buksbaum/Soaringwords won a national Lives that Make a Difference award which was profiled on AE.com. 64 Soaringwords Healing Mission to New Orleans reached 2,500 kids A&E TV NETWORK
  65. Patient in Texas Children’s Hospital A&E Network shares Soaringwords with hundreds of students in New Orleans A&E employees cheer-up patients Educational Outreach Program in Texas A&E TV NETWORK
  66. NORTHROP GRUMMAN Strategic Challenges: • Support employees and their families who are dealing with serious illnesses. • Train managers to support employees who are experiencing illness in their lives or the lives of family members. • Provide turn-key employee-engagement programs in lead markets nationwide. Soaringwords Collaborations: • Soaringwords’ webinars: Caring for the Caregiver and What to Say and Do to Support Parents of Seriously Ill and Special Needs Children were shared with hundreds of employees. • Hundreds of employees in five markets enjoyed team-building programs during Disability Awareness Fairs in 2009 and 2010. Outcomes: • Webinars and employee volunteer experiences were featured in internal newsletters which motivated managers in additional markets to underwrite Soaringwords volunteer programs in their markets. 66 Northrop Grumman employees visiting children at Northridge Hospital, Los Angeles, CA.
  67. 67 Northrop Grumman employees around the country visit patients and families in local hospitals. NORTHROP GRUMMAN
  68. NORTHROP GRUMMAN TESTIMONIALS “On behalf of the hundreds of employees who attended the Soaringwords webinar, please accept our sincere thanks for an outstanding learning experience for all participants. I have received many positive comments about the webinar from attendees and the relevance of the content to both their professional and personal lives. It has been heartwarming to hear how employees have been able to apply some of the perspectives provided during the session. This enhanced the level of interaction with co-workers fostering a greater sense of community here at Northrop Grumman. We take pride in the strong level of camaraderie that exists within our organization. The “What to Say/Do to Support Co-Workers and Family Members with Serious Illness” webinar delivered suggestions for actions and behaviors that are closely aligned with our core values. Additionally, the content had strong carryover to the work that we are doing in our communities and provided practical advice for us to provide support within our own families. Based on the positive and unanimous response from employees, we want to invite you to share Soaringwords initiatives with our leadership team during the next national Corporate Citizenship Council meeting. We continue to receive positive feedback about the webinar and employees who were on the call continue to share the information with co-workers not on the call—a real tribute to the high caliber of the content, your delivery and importance of the topic. The lead for our national employee resource group for new employees (a group that includes thousands of members across the country) said it was the “best” lunchtime seminar he has attended. Thanks again to you and Cisco for the delivery of a high impact webinar that has enabled our employees to enhance our connections at work, at home and in our communities.” –Debbie Edwards Veihdeffer, Director, Work-Life Integration, Human Resources Strategic Initiatives, Northrop Grumman Thank you, the kids of Northrop Grumman employees really enjoyed decorating the quilts and pillows with us and my little 2 year old grandson was so proud of his “fingers” on the one quilt. He was showing it to me last night and he kept saying “grandma look at my fingers”. They traced his hand on it and then he did all the squiggly’s in one of the blocks too. He was so proud. My daughter had one of her friends and her kids come over and they did an awesome job with it, I was so impressed it was a powerful team-building experience for our office. -Wendi Dubach, Employee Resource Group team lead in Salt Lake City, Northrop Grumman 68
  69. BECTON DICKINSON Strategic Challenges: • Provide department-wide volunteer experiences for meaningful days of service in the office and local communities. Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • Pharmaceutical Systems Self-Administration Injection Team enjoyed volunteering with Soaringwords at BD Headquarters. Working together, employees and their children decorated SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® to donate to hospitalized children at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, N.J. • BD Medical Surgical Team led a full-day volunteer experience in the community at School 5 in Paterson, New Jersey. Employees mentored 98 fourth and fifth grade students and personally delivered quilts and pillows to patients and families at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, N.J. Outcomes: • Highest ratings from employees. Events received prominent press coverage in local newspapers. 69
  70. 70 National team-building event with Pharmaceutical Systems Self-Administration Injection Team All day off-site with Medical Surgical Team at School 5 in Paterson, NJ BECTON DICKINSON
  71. BECTON DICKINSON TESTIMONIALS “Interacting with the kids and coming up with ideas to decorate the quilts and pillows was the best part. The team aspect was fun, good laughs all around! Engaging with the kids and choreographing moves was the best part of the dance jam.” -Noel Titus “It felt great to be part of a bigger picture. I enjoyed the fun with the kids in decorating the quilts and pillows. Soaringwords made me feel great, I love to help others. The hospitalized children will feel very happy to get the quilts and pillows. The dance jam was excellent. Keep up the good work.“ -Darina Karoyan “It was a great experience. I enjoyed decorating the quilts and pillows – making the artwork was the best part. It made me feel proud and worthy, there was great team work. I think the hospitalized kids will feel great to get the gifts. The dance jam was great and the entire day was a very good experience.” -Sathya Kaliyamoorthy “We had a great team and I enjoyed meeting great students from School 5. Soaringwords makes me feel positive. The kids in the hospital will know we were thinking of them. The dance jam was fun and hot. Thanks for a great opportunity.” -Suzanne Ferreri “I think the kids will feel cared for and it was great to actually change someone’s life. I enjoyed everything especially the dance jam.” - Tasmin I loved helping because I was making a difference in the world. Soaringwords program is a cool fun helping program. I loved working with BD team. I think the children will feel like they are special and it will cheer them up to receive our quilts and pillows. I felt great releasing all the energy during the dance jam. –Mohammed I enjoyed helping children in need. I loved the part when we decorated the quilt. It made me feel like I was making a big difference. We all worked together in sharing and being helpful. I think the children will feel special and they will know that we care about them. The dance jam was fun and I liked when Yusuf was teaching us moves. -Nazifa
  72. WILLIAM MORRIS ENDEAVOR Strategic Challenges: • Host large-scale volunteer experiences for the company’s nationwide Walk the Walk Day of Service. • Select successful volunteer partners that can replicate programs in key markets to create a synergistic relationship with colleagues in all other markets. Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • NYC employees mentor 30 inner-city fifth graders at PS 64 in a full-day event. 72
  73. 73 WME employee volunteers enjoy an all day mentoring experience with Soaringwords. “The best part was that we got to decorate pillows and quilts. The reason why it was the best is because we are helping kids in need and also giving them hope. My team did work well together. The best part is that we did a great dance in the dance party and we did a really good job by helping out kids in the hospital. I think they will feel very happy that they got the quilts and pillows. Well this experience was really great and we all learned something while doing this activity.” Jada Santos “I loved to do this because it’s not fair that we get to play and the ill kids don’t. The best part is when we went dancing. My team worked together to make the quilts and pillows for some children.” Jeyda P. “I liked making quilts and pillows for the children because some people are very sick and they need someone to make them happy because if you don’t they will feel like they are a nothing. The best part was when I signed my name on the quilts. My teamwork was good because when we were working together we didn’t mess up and what I like about my team is that they are so nice. I think the hospitalized kids will feel really grateful because somebody that they don’t even know is making quilts and pillows just for them. “ Kemoni WILLIAM MORRIS ENDEAVOR TESTIMONIALS
  74. UNITEDHEALTHCARE After the merger of two leading health insurance companies, Oxford and UnitedHealthcare, Regional Presidents were looking for ways to bring employees together for team-building service experiences that support ill children and families in local communities. Strategic Challenges: • Give all employees the opportunity to do something tangible to improve lives of patients. • Invite Call Center employees to participate in community service activities. Soaringwords’ Collaborations: • Hundreds of employees in multiple locations were able to experience the company’s mission by providing a tangible service for ill children with on-site programs and hospital visits. • Soaringwords was a powerful way for employees to harness support for one of their executives who was grappling with lung cancer. The entire office and this man’s family volunteered, decorating quilts and pillows in his honor to donate to hospitalized children in the community. Outcomes: • Hundreds of patients, including many UnitedHealthcare patients were delighted to receive the gifts from UHC employees. • This initiative received the highest ratings from all participants. 74
  75. 75 UnitedHealthcare employees volunteer in several markets to share quilts and pillows with children in local hospitals, as well as UnitedHealthcare patients in need. UNITEDHEALTHCARE
  76. PRESIDIO SPONSORS SOARINGWORDS PRO-SOCIAL EVENT 76 Presidio was an official sponsor of Soaringwords’ pro-social event at the International Positive Psychology Association World Congress. The event drew 300 attendees in Orlando in June 2015. Attendees enjoyed a 90- minute Zumba Master Class and team-building community service activity. Volunteers created197 SoaringSuperhero puppets for patients at Florida Hospital for Children. Top left: Positive Psychology leaders Barbara Fredrickson and Tal Ben-Shahar with Lisa. Bottom left: Marin Seligman, Founder of the field of positive psychology, University of Pennsylvania. Bottom right: Kim Cameron, Chair, IPPA World Congress, Ross School of Business at University of Michigan.
  77. NETCRAFTSMEN’S DAY OF SERVICE Led by NetCraftsmen's CEO Paul Mauritz, 24 employee volunteers mentored hospitalized children and their families at The Children’s National Health Service in DC. The patients and families were delighted to receive and decorate quilts and pillows for other patients in the hospital. I enjoyed decorating the quilts and pillows, it was good to help people forget about their medical challenges. I think our teams worked well together. I am proud of the entire NetCraftsmen team. Today made me realize a little good can help mask the bad. It was a good day for all involved. -Paul Mauritz, CEO, NetCraftsmen The common theme at lunch afterwards was what a unique, wonderful experience it was. In our jobs we typically keep things organized, working within “best practices” to fill specific requirements. This was a total change! You provided guidance, assistance, and inspiration. You’ve touched the lives of half my company, plus all those parents and children! - Denise Donohue, Business Architect, NetCraftsmen
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