Sequels are all the rage, so when we saw big success with our Fresh Air Self Care challenge last year, we decided to bring it back for another round of outdoor and wellness activities.
Fresh Air Self Care 2: The Freshening was another exciting opportunity for Silverliners from across the world to learn more about each other while taking care of themselves, and this time, they were competing for a great cause. The top two teams had donations made to the charities of their choice, and the event as a whole brought visibility across Silverline to organizations and causes that need our support.
“Our team is always looking for ways to bring our global team together, while also bringing in a little bit of competition,” said Kori Dietz, Human Resource Manager. “Because we had such great participation and feedback to the challenge last year, that we wanted to bring it back for 2022.”
Of course, we used the Salesforce platform to make it all possible. “The Salesforce functionality allowed our teams to easily log their hours, and track their individual and team performance throughout the competition,” said Dietz. “Because most of our team lives in Salesforce, we were able to meet them where they are and make activity tracking as easy as possible.”
“When we signed up, we were able to select the types of charities we were interested in playing for. Our team all had an interest in global causes, so once we were assigned into teams, we took to Slack to decide on a team name and charity. Team GlobeTrotters was an easy decision for us, and so was playing for the Ukraine Red Cross. Having selected our charity early, it helped motivate us all to get out there and log our hours!” said Kathleen Ferrie, VP, Marketing, and two-time FASC winner.
The first-place team, The GlobeTrotters, competed for Ukraine Red Cross, which provides vital relief for those impacted by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The second-place team, The Super Heroes, competed for Cradle to Crayons, which provides resources like school supplies and clothing to unhoused and low-income children.
“What I appreciated most about the challenge was the charity component and the opportunity to team up with folks here at Silverline that had similar interests,” said Michelle Dennis, Insurance Subvertical Lead and the top performer with 128.5 hours logged. “I always love these chances to interact with folks here that I may not get an opportunity to work with on a regular basis.”
“Most of my daily activities were focused on walking my dog, cycling and a bit of hiking,” said Dennis. “It was also extremely helpful that the challenge coincided with the timing of spring cleaning outdoors. Spent a couple of the weekends focused on weeding flower and rock beds and getting my yard and deck ready for the summer!”
“The challenge made me more aware of how much I just sit at my desk,” said Ferrie. “I made sure to take at least one 30-minute walk every day, in addition to hitting my water intake goal, and spending extra time playing outside with my kids.”
“My motivation to participate was in all honesty based in my natural competitive nature and I love that my competitiveness would drive me to walk just a little longer, cycle a little farther or hike a little higher,” said Dennis. “I also love the fact that these challenges help us all to focus on the self care side. I am a huge water drinker, so that piece was easy for me. I usually hit the 68oz mark before 10am. But I was really driven to meditate more regularly to earn more points and I had never been on Espressa for their fitness sessions, so this pushed me to try those out as well. But also that opportunity for team building and getting to know more folks within the organization.”
“I appreciated that the company wants us to get away from our computers and spend time outside,” said Brennan Butler, Solution Architect and our close second place finisher with 127.5 hours logged. “I built a garden, we got a lot done, and we cleaned up our new property that we moved into about seven months ago. I was going into surgery and things needed to be done so that we could have healthy, organic, homegrown food.”
“I really appreciated being motivated to get out of the house and decompress,” said Rafael Comas, Senior Manager of IT Operations. “I spend hours in front of my laptop and know that I should get outside more often but do not. I went for walks, went cycling, worked out outside, did yard work, and played with my son.”
I personally took advantage of the challenge to take advantage of remote work and get a change in scenery during the day. I live near Lake Michigan, and could walk over to the lakefront to work outdoors, just as Chicago was heating up for the summer. I logged my walking to the lake, as well as the meditative time I took when work was done and I could find some calm in nature.
“While on PTO, I did surfing lessons on the North Shore of Oahu, hiking, horseback riding, ziplining, and walks on Waikiki beach,” said Stephen Fraser, CFO/COO, Media and Entertainment Practice, Silverline. “While at home, I went on dog walks and to slo-pitch softball and ringette practices.”
“I appreciated the comradery and the incentive it drove to keep active,” said Geoff Merrick, SVP of Financial Services. “I did an outdoor gym, long walks with my dog and lots of outdoor runs. The fun and team bonding motivated me the most.”
“Our employees love being able to connect with their teammates from around the world and we should continue to provide them with opportunities to do so,” said Dietz. After a successful sequel, we look forward to expanding the Fresh Air Self Care to full trilogy status next year. Want to join our international team? Check out our Careers page.
