eSUB Behind the Scenes: Volunteer Project for the San Diego Humane Society

San Diego’s vibrant tech community creates challenges in recruiting and retaining talented employees. As a fast-growing startup trying to compete for talent, eSUB offers opportunities for professional development and a dynamic culture. The sense of teamwork to help each other (and our subcontractor customers) exceed personally and professionally is a core part of that vibrant culture. This is fostered by social events and team building activities by eSUB’s group of Happiness Helpers. Recently, eSUB’s team participated in the “Sustainable Service Project: Dog Toys for the Humane Society,” a team-building activity in recognition of national volunteer month and Earth day on April 22, 2019.

Why support the San Diego Humane Society?

eSUB’s Chief Happiness Officer, Frank the dog, delivers happiness daily to the eSUB team. So what better fit than for the eSUB team to return the favor and deliver happiness to Frank’s canine friends within San Diego County! The San Diego Humane Society offered a great volunteer opportunity to make dog rope toys that the eSUB team can complete in the office during a Pizza Friday. (Pizza Friday is another of those great eSUB team-building activities in which eSUB provides pizza every other Friday for the team members to “break bread” and enjoy each other’s company.)

Step 1: Gather used tennis balls

eSUB Happiness Helper Ali Proehl solicited tennis ball donations from the Santaluz Club, which they kindly donated to give the balls a second life.

Step 2: Clean out closets

Just in time for Spring Cleaning, the eSUB Team cleaned out their closets and dresser drawers in search of old t-shirts we could reuse and repurpose. Over the month, t-shirt donations streamed into the office in preparation for the dog-making event. 

Step 3: The assembly line

Throughout the lunch period, eSUB team members made their way through the dog toy assembly line: cutting shirts, covering the ball, cutting the strips, and braiding the pieces together.

Because toys are a luxury for many pets, the San Diego Humane Society relies on volunteer projects like the eSUB Dog Toys to provide enrichment and comfort to the dogs in their care. The eSUB team was able to deliver happiness for 52 dogs!

Volunteering as a Team Building Activity

While eSUB hosts several social events throughout the year, volunteering to make dogs toys as team building activity delivered a sense of accomplishment in contributing to the community. Everyone used their strengths and worked together to accomplish a goal. Some individuals were better at braiding, so others were tasked with cutting shirts. When others did not know how to braid, they were given quick lessons so that they could participate. The event promoted a sense of togetherness and created a sense of goodwill in the community.

While many companies participate in offsite volunteer events, the onsite dog toy-making event allowed everyone in the company to participate in some level. Whether it was donating a shirt or spending 10 minutes braiding shirts, it was a low effort contribution that offered a break from your daily activity and helped support a great cause.