LeadingAge Illinois brought eight participants together at Elements at Water Street in Naperville, Illinois for a Build-A-Bike® team event. The group had two other options for their time together and chose the Build-A-Bike® activity. Two teams competed and built four bicycles for the Naperville Outdoor Alliance. The bikes would go directly into a new youth bicycling program for middle school-aged kids in the community.
LeadingAge Illinois is a statewide trade association representing nonprofit providers of care, housing, and services for older adults. The organization advocates for its members and for the populations they serve. LeadingAge Illinois supports a wide range of providers across the aging services continuum in Illinois.
LeadingAge Illinois Chooses to Give Back at Build-A-Bike® Event in Naperville
Eight people is a small number by the standards of this program. Nobody in the room let that matter. Every participant was completely tuned in from the start. The competitive energy between the two teams ran high all afternoon.
The format delivered a shared challenge, a common goal, and enough competitive pressure to bring out real teamwork. For a team working in aging services, the connection between the activity and its outcome was natural. They were not just competing to win. They were competing to build something worth giving away.
The Naperville Outdoor Alliance had something specific in mind for the bikes. Four bicycles for middle school-aged youth would go directly into a new youth bicycling program in the Naperville community. That detail mattered to the group. They were not handing off bikes to a general donation pool. The bikes had a purpose, a recipient, and a program to support.
We’d like to thank LeadingAge Illinois for choosing this kind of experience when they had other good options available. A group that picks the give-back activity over the alternatives says something about who they are.
Looking for a team event in the Chicago area that leaves the group with something worth giving? A team building activity in Chicago is a strong choice for any group that wants more than an afternoon.