Pepsico Team Building Puts Teddy Bears in the Arms Of Kids With Leukemia in Europe. Istanbul, Turkey, where East meets West, where Pepsico executives from around the world met for their annual conference with a heart.  Pepsico is a company that lives its mission statement – give to others.  So while building a better company, they took time out to build a better team.

They created “Rescue Bears” for children who really need rescuing, a gentle hug from a friend with a mask like they must wear.  Kids who are in a fight for their lives, kids with Leukemia. Losev, an international organization with a hospital, school and home, treats the whole family.   Faced with huge medical bills, Losev picks up the tab, providing treatment and care.  They help families cope with their lives turning upside down, with a sympathetic place to stay, and university scholarships for survivors.  The facts of Child Leukemia are staggering.  Without treatment there is no future, with treatment 90% of the children will live to see their grandchildren.

Pepsico gladly reached into its pockets to help.  As one participant put it, “I had to concentrate on my fingernails and shoes to stem the tears.”  Others wept, and pulled out their wallets to buy things the Moms of the sick kids produced.

This was an annual event with a team-building aspect that they will long remember.  Folks from Pepsico saw vast differences between their lives and those who live in a city where its population outpaces most other cities in the world.  Five times a day they heard the Muslim call to prayer, and walked streets where many believe civilization began, when Istanbul was Constantinople, and the world may have been more unified.  Yet when it comes to children and helping those in need, people throughout the world are the same.  The heart of any nation is its people, and its children, the world’s future.  This team building event brought people and nations together in a positive way… that all will remember. 

Connie Timpson/Sr. Instructor & Performance Coach/The Leader’s Institute