Discover Engages Nationwide Team with 600+ Blankets

Summary

Fleece & Thank You partnered with Discover’s Community Affairs team to engage 600+ Discover employees across the country in a virtual blanket-making event.

Challenge

In December of 2020, Alyse Simpson, Community Affairs at Discover, was looking to plan her 2021 Virtual Volunteering, and she needed an event for 600+ employees spread out across the country. She emailed Fleece & Thank You asking, “Can items be shipped to our office for employees to pick up? Can items be shipped directly to employees? How much does each kit cost?” Finding activities that can engage a large group of volunteers spread out hundreds of miles apart can be difficult, and Fleece & Thank You’s Virtual Volunteering process was an easy solution to fit Discover’s needs.

Event Logistics

Fleece & Thank You received the address list for the 613 team members and shipped out individual blanket kits to each employee. Each package included a F&TY Blanket Kit, fabric scissors, an instruction card and cutting template, and a return label for easy shipment back post-event. Team members joined one of two large company Webex calls held on the same day (morning and afternoon call) led by Fleece & Thank You/ The format of these calls included a 10 min “inspire and educate” presentation that provided the motivation/story behind the service project as well as the expertise on how to make a blanket and video message.

Post-event, Discover employees only had to place their completed blanket back into the bag it came in (or any other comparable box/bag), place the return label on the outside, and return to any Fedex Office, Walgreen’s, or Kinko’s local to them. All of these blankets went through Fleece & Thank You’s quality control process at their facility in Farmington Hills, MI and then were delivered to children facing hospital treatments. Ongoing, Discover employees will directly receive video messages back from the patient that received their blanket.

Key Numbers

• Blankets Made: 613
• Volunteers Reached: Approx. 922 (613 Discover employees + approx. 309 family members)
• Timeframe to set up and execute: 4 months
• Event Costs: Discover provided a tax-deductible donation of $30,000+ that covered blanket kit costs, two-way shipping, and scissor rental for each team member.