Making a ‘good’ impact with ‘G-day’

A closer look at the day

At Chesapeake Bank, we take ‘It’s All About Community’ to heart. So when several of our employees suggested that we change the structure of our Annual Corporate Training day to support this message, we were all ears (and hands)!

You see, each year, our organization comes together on Columbus Day to go over training that is required by our examiners to meet regulations. Columbus Day is a federal holiday where all banks are closed. This holiday is usually less utilized than others. It’s a great time to come together as a team. In return, the company provides a ‘floating holiday’ to each full-time employee that can be used elsewhere.

The Team behind the change

During another training program, called ‘CFS Certified’ classmates are split into different groups to come up with ‘capstone’ projects that would improve areas of our organization. Projects are presented to Senior Management for consideration at the end of the year-long course. Selected projects will be managed by the presenting team.

Sharon Fulford [Administrative Support, Kilmarnock], Thomas Claiborne [Regional Manager, Williamsburg], and Amber Saloka [Business Development, Williamsburg] were one of the teams whose project was selected from the class of 2018.

G-day

Another internal motto is ‘Great Place to Work.’ The team affectionately renamed Corporate Training Day to ‘Great Place to Work Day,’ which was quickly hyphenated by employees to ‘G-day’! The team said that “As a company, we take great pride investing in our employees as well as the community in which we serve.  We want Great Place to Work Day to reflect that by enriching both [employees and the community] and focusing on two of our core values; fun and teamwork.”

Impact4Good

While in the capstone project planning stages, the CFS Certified team began looking at causes and different agencies that would work with us on a community project. After speaking with Impact 4 Good, LLC, team members said they each got that warm and fuzzy feeling. “They listened to what we wanted and tailored their program to our needs.”

The organization offers different projects benefitting various causes, with a goal to connect companies and communities through teambuilding exercises. We chose the R.F. Wilkinson Family YMCA based on our relationship with that specific non-profit. But Impact4Good can also customize programs and establish partnerships if a company does not already have a particular cause or partnership in mind.

In this case, they provided the kits to build 30 bicycles, along with new helmets, and locks. The YMCA identified 30 underserved children in the Williamsburg community that were not able to obtain a bicycle. Our teams assembled the bikes and were given a joyful surprise at the end of the event. Several children that were receiving a bicycle came with their parents and Khalilah Harrison, executive director of the R.F. Wilkinson YMCA, to claim them in person.

Rolling Ahead

The changes to ‘G-day’ were openly received by all 200+ employees in attendance, which includes staff from Chesapeake Bank, Chesapeake Wealth, Chesapeake Payment Systems, and Cash Flow. The Capstone team said that their response and feedback from co-workers has been tremendous. “It went better than expected! We are truly thankful to work for a company that values their community and allows their employees to engage in a meaningful project together as a whole.” –Winning Capstone Team

Plans for 2020 G-Day are underway. Thanks to all who made this, and future events like it, possible.