Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming an increasingly important aspect to business and events today. Incorporating CSR in events allows clients to turn their values into action and it can have a positive impact on attendees as it gives them a sense of purpose and fosters a culture of teamwork.

We are constantly trying to encourage clients to integrate CSR in events. And what better way than to try these activities first-hand. Our colleagues Skye and Romy attended an event organised by GoTo Events and Sleep Pod UK at the Leonardo Hotel St Paul’s to make sleeping pods for the homeless. Here’s what they had to say:

“The day consisted of some ice breaker and team challenges. We started with a quiz, learning some facts about homelessness in the UK so we could gain an understanding of the importance of our activities. We then got competitive in some team games, racing against each other to win our items to build the pods. It was such a fun way to get to know our teammates. We then got to building the sleep pods, following instructions, and working with our team to make sure they were the best of quality as these will be going out to those who need them. And of course, we had to test them out ourselves, wiggling our way through the pods to experience what a night in the pod feels like.

Building these sleep pods is so important for several reasons:

• Hypothermia and being subjected to extreme weather conditions causes many deaths for rough sleepers and refugees. Sleep pods provide effective protection as they are insulated, and rain and wind resistant.
• They are lightweight to pack and carry for those using them.
• Sleep Pods UK use volunteers in prisons to give them meaningful opportunities and a sense of purpose.

Since they began, 10,000 pods have been built. It’s amazing to think how many people this has helped, and even more purposeful to know that the pods we built can be saving someone’s life.”

This is just one activity out of so many that we can foster in events, and we are excited to see what activities we will be incorporating in our own events.