It wasn’t a drill!

Team: Ashley & Kerry

Today, Kerry and I spent the morning at the Orlando Day Nursery, a nonprofit operation in downtown that provides childcare to low-income families. We were greeted by an enthusiastic director who knew the names of every tot being dropped off for the day. She got a hug from every child, who obviously knew her as a constant figure at the school and trusted her embrace.

The director assured us right away that the Orlando Day Nursery (ODN) was no regular daycare. The teachers focus on integrating education into every aspect of play. ODN tries to build confidence in kids who will one day be able to offer their own children a better life for themselves. “We teach them that education is the one thing that can never be taken away from them,” she said.

Kerry and I found that out first hand as we provided our laps and ears to 12 three-year-olds in a brightly-colored and noisy classroom.

The kids were eager to have our undivided attention. In fact, they fought over us. We read them books, recited the alphabet with them and occasionally told them to keep their hands to themselves.

The day was going along nicely when something out of the ordinary happened. A recurring alarm began bellowing from the loudspeakers.

One of the teachers in our classroom said that the school held regular fire drills once a month … however, they’d already had a drill in November, so why was it going off?

A real fire. That’s why.

A spark in the laundry room caused some smoke and because of that, dozens of little tots ran the planned fire escape route to the outside grassy knoll that was determined a safe haven, all the while attempting to stay in a single file line. The teachers kept counting the heads out loud, including us in the roll call.

It would’ve been okay if Kerry and I weren’t paying attention to the group and pending evacuation, because one of the three-year-olds we’d been playing with wouldn’t let us out of his sight – “come on guys, keep up” – he yelled as the group moved to safety.

The morning at Orlando Day Nursery went by as fast as any other busy Monday for us public relations professionals, but it wasn’t about answering e-mails or proofreading strategic plans. It was about giving attention to deserving young children who need nothing more than a smiling face and reinforcement each day. It felt good to connect with each little one who in their own special way showed that they had appreciated the ability to be interacting with an adult on a one-on-one basis, focusing attention directly on them.

We were happy to do it.

And, to that three-year-old who kept us in his line of sight during the REAL fire escape: Thanks. Hopefully, we made you feel half as special as you made us.

Strategy Not Included

Team: Ashley & Kerry

Curley & Pynn deems itself “The Strategic Firm”, in fact – we’ve trademarked it. However, when it comes to charitable giving and doing good, sometimes we throw caution to the wind and dismiss our fundamentals that drive our daily work.

A good example of that is the “Give Yourself” shopping trip that fellow C&Per Kerry Gregovich and I went on this week. Kerry and I did a lot of research to identify a worthy cause for our giving and chose the House of Hope of Orlando, a home for troubled teenagers 13-17 years old. We utilized a few informal research methods that we’ve previously identified for strategic client work to ask the organization exactly what their holiday Wish List would include. After finding that the teens love food, DVDs and anything fun, we knew the shopping trip would be a great time.

Kerry and I hit the ground running with our red shopping cart at Target. We didn’t bring a written list – just our brains and a mindset of giving. We loaded up the cart with candy, fruit roll-ups, sporting equipment, board games, lip glosses and various G-rated DVDs. We never stopped to look at price, nor did we even consider keeping a tally of how much we were spending so as not to go over our limit at check-out. The spirit moved us and we filled the entire cart in less than an hour with wonderful stuff. No strategy – very little planning – completely opposite of our usual methods.

We alerted the cashier it was possible we’d need to put some things back if we spent too much. But, we didn’t. Some how, some way … we were right on Target. Just a bit shy of the allotted limit.

We didn’t need to monitor every aspect of the project and plan ahead for any outcome. We just shopped. Giving is fun.

The Liberation of Impulse Buying

Team: Dan & Connie

We have six kids between us, so Christmas shopping usually involves detailed list-making, careful budgeting and not-so-subtle eavesdropping while the kids are on Santa’s knee.

So you can understand why our shopping trip for the Children’s Home Society of Florida was so liberating. Instead of working our way down a list, we spent a completely irresponsible hour of impulse shopping, wheeling through the aisles, throwing whatever games and toys we liked into our carts and furiously scribbling on a note pad to see how much budget was left.

Fortunately for our spouses and our children, we got so caught up in the experience that we occasionally threw in some extra gifts for them (not on the company dime, of course!).

The best part of the trip, though, is yet to come. Sure, we had a great time buying the gifts. But delivering the gifts to children who need some love and attention during the holiday season? That’s what it’s all about.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Team: Dean & Barrett

Nothing can help get you into the Holiday Spirit quicker than going to a store’s toy section and feeling like Santa for an hour while picking out toys for children who otherwise might not have a special holiday.

As part of Curley & Pynn’s Give Yourself emphasis for the holiday season, each member of the C&P team is being given company funds to make monetary or product donations to a charity (or charities) of choice.  In early December we also will have a chance, on company time, to volunteer in our local community.

Barrett Johnson and I spent an enjoyable hour in the toy section of our local Wal-Mart picking out a wide variety of gifts that we will ultimately donate as part of the Toys for Tots drive.

There are so many different choices out there for kids today, so we had a great time picking presents and deciding what kids might enjoy.  We chose some old stand-bys like a Mr. Potato Head, GI Joe, Hi-Ho Cherry-O game, Little People and a Nerf Football.  But we also tried to get some of the “in” stuff like Disney Princesses, Hannah Montana, Transformers and Spiderman.

Overall, we had a great time and are glad to be able to play our small roll in helping others enjoy a special holiday.

It Starts With a Bow …

Ideas for this Blog have been churning for weeks. Teams have been picked, strategy sessions are brewing. And, there’s hardly anything better than listening as each team talks passionately about how they intend to Give Themselves.

The craftiest member of our team even made us these nifty bow lapel pins for inspiration.

Stay tuned to see how we Give Ourselves …