The top ways for corporate groups to give back also involve opportunities to experience the best parts of a destination. You’re in luck because Valencia Group’s cities have them in spades…and shovels…and bikes.
For many, November and December are the months to give, whether it be thanks or support. And that includes Valencia Group’s hotels and employees, who volunteer time and partner with local organizations to support their communities.
Some of Valencia Group’s holiday season initiatives include participating in No-Shave November (aka “Movember”) to raise awareness of men’s health issues. Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE also donates space for Houston’s annual Canstruction event, in which teams of design and construction professionals compete against each other to build towering and creative sculptures out of canned food that is later donated to help battle hunger. Last year, the competition raised 118,765 pounds of food – or enough to supply 142,518 meals.
But we all know giving back isn’t just for the holidays – and that no one travels to a destination just to give back to a community in which they don’t live. Valencia Group’s hotels and destinations, like Houston, San Antonio, and San Jose, all offer fresh ways for groups and business guests to participate in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that turn a team-building activity into an opportunity to simultaneously explore some of the very highlights that make the destination worth visiting in the first place. Some of those charitable opportunities might even appeal to individuals looking to add an element of “voluntourism” to their own vacations.
So, here are some top CSR ideas for how groups and businesses can give back and get a great sense of the destination during a stay at Valencia Group, regardless of month or season.
Tour de France for Charity [Hotel Valencia Santana Row, San Jose, CA]
Do you remember unwrapping your first bike? The pure joy of pedaling laps around your yard or neighborhood, the wind blowing through your hair? You can help ensure kids of all ages can experience that in this CSR program, all without leaving your San Jose hotel.
Through a partnership with Impact4Good, groups and companies can turn one of Hotel Valencia Santana Row’s meeting spaces into a bike-building workshop. Impact4Good’s Tour de France workshop puts groups through a series of physical and mental team-building challenges to win parts to build bikes. The bikes are later donated to local chapters of organizations, like Big Brothers Big Sisters and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
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Restoring Houston’s Aquatic Ecosystems [Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE, Houston, TX]
Home to one of the country’s busiest seaports, Houston has a special fondness for its waterways. In fact, within the Greater Houston area there are more than 1,500 miles of rivers, creaks, and bodies of water, including the picturesque downtown recreation hub known as Buffalo Bayou.
Development in the twentieth century actually reduced that number or turned natural habitats into concrete channels. That’s what makes the ongoing restoration efforts at Japhet Creek – a natural, once-polluted tributary of Buffalo Bayou – one of the most notable wildlife CSR projects in the city.
Since 2005, significant work has been done to clean Japhet Creek and its banks, replant native vegetation, and rebuild the ecosystem so native fish, mammals, and birds can thrive. The work is performed by volunteers, and help is always needed throughout the year to further the efforts here and at other Houston waterways.
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Help Shape the Future [Hotel Valencia Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX]
If your group or company is looking for ways to share your leadership techniques or knowledge of a particular industry with youngsters, then San Antonio might be the perfect destination to enjoy a heartwarming CSR program.
Celebrating its 40 anniversary in 2017, Hill Country Youth Ranch provides residential therapeutic care for abused and orphaned children just northwest of San Antonio. In addition to giving children a safe and healing space, this beloved nonprofit’s mission also includes a heavy emphasis on education, both in the traditional sense, as well as the cultural sense, which is a great fit for a historic college town with a diverse mix of heritages.
The ranch welcomes corporate groups who want to come in to one of its three campuses to provide vocational lessons and mentorship. Volunteers also have the option to take children out into the San Antonio community for educational opportunities, whether it be visits to museums and historical sites or to places and businesses that can instill important life and professional lessons.
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