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Posts from the ‘Environment’ Category

9
Apr

Easter Hangover

Cure Your Easter Hangover by Liking R&D Events on Facebook

NO MORE DEVILED EGGS

You will have to excuse me if I am moving a little slow today.  I just spent the weekend attending 25 different Easter Egg Hunts all filled with kids hopped-up on jelly beans and Cadbury eggs, all the while consuming my weight in Marshmallow Peeps and deviled eggs.  I for one am in need of a day-off following my weekend.  The good news is that it appears everyone else is suffering from the same sugar induced coma that I am, making this morning a little bit easier to manage.  Even better news is that R&D Events is in the midst of their month long advertising campaign in hopes of reaching 3,000 persons through their Facebook page.  Driving their promotion is their desire to donate soccer balls to the Greater Las Vegas After School All-Star program.  Each year the After School All-Stars host an annual soccer tournament and provide each participant with their very own soccer ball.  This year R&D Events has pledged to donate ONE soccer ball for every TEN likes we receive on our Facebook page.  All you have to do is click the button below and then hit “LIKE” on our Facebook Page.  Even someone suffering from stage-three Peep-withdrawls can manage that.

LIKE us on Facebook!

LIKE us and we will Help some Kids in Need

9
Oct

Corporate Social Responsibility Team Building

 

The Ultimate Charity Challenge Check Presentation

 

TEAM BUILDING WITH A HIGHER PURPOSE:  R&D Events recently had the opportunity to partner again with our good friends at EPI-USE to produce a custom Corporate Social Responsibility event that we dubbed “The Ultimate Charity Challenge”.   A blend of high energy, interactive games paired in a partnership with local charities made this a truly unique and rewarding experience for every attendee.  With the event taking place at the Marriott Harbor Beach in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, R&D Events sought out four local charities that were making an impact in South Florida and designed an interactive game show that would not only be fun, but rewarding for all who attended.

 

EVENT OVERVIEW Throughout the course of two hour event, participants competed in a variety of games that were not only highly engaging, but served a deeper purpose.  We kicked the event off with a one hour game show that included music trivia, Minute to Win It inspired games, as well as an over-the-top version of our award-winning musical chair scavenger hunt game (always a crowd favorite).  This first hour was designed to help raise the energy level in the room as well as allow the attendees and their families (spouses and children are encouraged to attend) to simply let loose.  Following the game show portion of the event, we invited each of the selected charities up on stage for a one-on-one interview with our emcee.  This allowed the audience to learn a little bit more about each charity and how their donation will benefit the local area.  Following each interview, the audience would then engage in an activity that would benefit each cause.  The selected charities and their partnered games were as follows:

  • Women in Distress of Broward County:  WID is a local women’s shelter that provides a safe haven for battered and abused women.  We designed a game called “Tower of Hope” in which participants were given toilet paper, paper towels and tissue boxes and were instructed to build the tallest structure using only those items.  The team with the tallest structure would win the game and would be awarded with the privileged of presenting the $1,000donation check to the charity.   Following the event, all of the toiletry items (along with an additional $1,500 in sheets, pillows, and other “wish list” items) were donated and delivered to the shelter.

 

  • The Humane Society of Broward County:  Following the Humane Society’s presentation, which included a cameo appearance from “Digger the Dog” (the Humane Society mascot), teams were provided with a basket filled with either cat or dog toys that they would then need to transform into a stylish, gift basket.  Following the game, all of the gift baskets were donated to the Humane Society, who in-turn, will use them as gifts for people who adopt a dog or cat from their shelter.  In addition to the gift baskets, we also partnered with EPI-USE to donate a state-of-the-art HD camera as well as a friend for “Digger the Dog”.  As with all of the charities, we sat down with the staff at the Humane Society and asked them, “what do you really need?”  Their response, “Scratchers”; a cat mascot that we can use for presentations at schools and charity events.  So, we got them a mascot…definitely one of the most unique and memorable donations we have ever made.


  • The Everglades Foundation:  This organization is helping to restore the Everglades, a fragile and neglected ecosystems that not only supports the 7 million people living in Southern Florida with drinking water, but the nearly 100 million tons of produce that the US consumes each year.  Since a monetary donation was most needed by this charity, we decided to onve again include a partnership with Women in Distress for their charitable game.  So, we had teams assemble a 2′ x 5′ , 48-piece puzzle that depicted images from the Everglades.  Following the game, all of the puzzles were donated to the Women in Distress children’s therapy room, and the Everglades Foundation were provided with a check for $1,500.

 

  • Jessica June Children’s Cancer Foundation:  We saved what we believed would be our most impactful presentation for the end, as we knew that their message would would truly touch the hearts of everyone in the room.  The JJCCF serves a truly noble cause within Southern Florida; children with cancer.  Their mission is to help support families who are struggling to make end’s meet as they care for their child who is battling cancer.   The stories told by the presenters had everyone in the room moved, including the team at R&D Events.  Following their presentation, all of the children in the room gathered up on stage to present a $2,500 check to the JJCCF which received a standing ovation.

 

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY R&D Events considers themselves blessed to have the opportunity to partner with clients that have a passion for giving back.  Corporate Social Responsibility is not a fad; it is a way of life for some companies.  And even in a troubled economy, it is so moving to see companies like EPI-USE donate a portion of their bottom-line and give back to a community like Ft. Lauderdale that is truly in need.  The impact from this event will surely stick with us for years to come.

Founders of R&D Events delivering the donation to Women in Distress

 

MORE INFORMATION If you are looking to design a custom event with charitable ties, R&D Events can help.  We are the leaders in Corporate Social Responsibility events and we travel throughout the United States partnering with local charities and organizations that have a passion for their communities. Contact us today to learn more!

13
Sep

Real Green Team Building

Mother Nature's Awesome Power - We Don't Want to Make Her Mad

REAL GREEN TEAM BUILDING

When we formed R&D Events back in the fall of 2009 we wanted to help create a legacy that went beyond just showing people that team building could be fun.  We wanted to put a positive stamp on the environment both in the way we executed our events as well as in the way we conducted our business.  The best way we found to show that we were serious about our commitment to the environment was was by joining 1% for The Planet.  This non-profit organization allows us to contribute 1% of our annual top-line revenue to a local organization that has Mother Nature’s best interests in mind. We figured, what better way to show that we are a green company then by donating a set portion of our own green back to the environment.

 

DEVELOPING GREEN HABITS

With a firm foundation set on contributing funds to a sustainable cause, we then began focusing our attention on our day-to-day habits and making sure that our walk far exceeded our talk. Although most of our team building events produce a minimal amount of waste, there where several areas that we needed to address to ensure that our efforts stayed in-line with our mission.  Some of the most notable changes we made were as follows:

 

On-Site Compost Bin

  • Compost Food Waste: It is amazing how much food waste we were producing – just in our employee dining room alone.  Back in 2009 we were producing on average, 3 ten gallon trash bags per week.  After we began composting our food scraps and left overs, that number dropped to one. Instead of making its way to the trash can, food scraps were diverted to our new on-site compost bin.  This seemingly vile waste quickly became potter’s gold that provided us with the perfect amount of nutrients to help grow our garden.  Today, we have one of the healthiest gardens in Las Vegas that produces +100 tomatoes a year!

 

  • Recycling:  Paper, plastic and glass have always been items that we have recycled religiously, but we took a step back and began assessing all of the product that we had at our disposal and tried to find ways to either recycle it our re-purpose it into our every day lives. One example were the thousands of sheets of paper that get printed every year for our Mission: Scavenger Hunt notebooks. Instead of recycling them immediately, we began using the backs of each page as scrap paper around the office and even took them home so that our kids could color on the backs of them.  It sounds simple, but we have been able to re-purpose nearly 12,000 sheets of paper since 2009.

 

  • PVC Recycling

    Reuse:  One of our favorite activities of all-time is Catapult Construction.  It has been called “The Greatest Teambuilding Event of All-time” by nearly all of our clients and it is up there as the most fun activity that we produce.  However, it is by far the biggest “trash” hog event that we offer.  With each team receiving over 30′ of PVC, we sometimes find ourselves with a mountain of waste following the completion of an event.  So, we took a step back and began looking at how we could reuse this PVC instead of taking it to the dump.  We started by re-purposing the pieces that had little or no damage and began storing them at the office (next to our compost bin) for use in future events.  The pieces that were manipulated beyond re-use were either trimmed and donated to local contractors so that they could be used as conduit or scrapped and recycled at a local recycling plant.  To date, we have saved nearly 5,000 feet of PVC from making it’s way to the local landfill.

 

  • Trail Clean-up:  Each year we set a goal of conducting at least (10) trail clean-up days a year for a minimum of (20) hours total.   Not only does this allow us to stay in-line with our company’s mission of protecting the environment, but it also allows us to personally give something back to the places we love.

 

At R&D Events, we have a passion for producing fun, unique and sustainable events.  Even though they might not carry the tagline of being a “green” team building activity, you can rest assured knowing that everything we produce actually is green!  For more information on R&D Events and the plethora of world-class team building events that we offer, you can visit our website here.

 

R&D Events is the country’s most unique and diversified team building company. With nearly two decades of experience, the team at R&D Events has redefined the art of team work and has designed more than two dozen unique and fun events that will help strengthen your company’s ability to work together.  Call us today to get your team back on track!  www.rndevents.com

18
Apr

Nature at it’s Best

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Sure R&D Events is a company committed to designing and creating new and unique team building events for our partners in Las Vegas and around the country, but we also believe in the sustainability of our great country to ensure that we can protect our natural treasures for future generations.  We share our commitment through our yearly pledge to Friends of Nevada Wilderness as part of our involvement to 1% For the Planet, but also by sharing our love of nature and the outdoors with those that we come in contact with.  The above video entitled “The Mountain” was recently captured by Terje Sorgjerd in Spain and is a great example of Mother Nature at her best.  Enjoy!