Combining volunteer work with a work retreat is a great way to add multiple goals, purposes, and meanings to your group or team meetings. Every meeting has a purpose, but adding in time spent volunteering can be a great way to give back to the community and strengthen your workplace team building mentality. Verona, Wisconsin is the perfect place to plan a volunteer work retreat for your group. Your team can build comradery, take a break from the office and learn more about each other, while offering their time to the community in a meaningful way. Whether your group communicates virtually and rarely appears together in person, or your team needs to refresh and get inspired outside of their normal day to day, it is easy to book a meeting with a purpose in Verona!
Badger Prairie Needs Network
If you want to plan a work retreat in the Verona area for your team that will include volunteer work, the Badger Prairie Needs Network (BPNN) is a great resource to reach out to. The Badger Prairie Needs Network is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting poverty and ending hunger locally that operates one of the three busiest food pantries in Dane County, Wisconsin. For teams interested in volunteering their time, the BPNN has volunteer opportunities for groups including their Kitchen to Table program that offers teams and colleagues a way to volunteer together. The Badger Prairie Needs Network also runs the Kasieta Center, which can be used for community service and events and groups engaged in fighting poverty and ending hunger.
Ice Age Trail Restoration Projects
Depending on a team’s interests and goals, outdoor volunteer work may be more suitable for some groups. Verona is located right on a portion of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, one of only eight national scenic trails in the United States. The trail offers volunteer groups a variety of opportunities for volunteer work relating to trail upkeep and working in the outdoors, as the trail is entirely supported and maintained by the Ice Age Trail Alliance (IATA) and hundreds of volunteers. The Verona portion of the trail makes up for 6-1/2 miles of the 1,200 mile footpath and needs volunteers each year to help with trail maintenance and upkeep. This volunteer opportunity is a great way for workplaces to give back to the community and meet their own goals within their work communities.
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Community Garden
Another way to spread positivity in the community through volunteer work is by having your group or workplace team plant a community garden or volunteer their time to work in an already existing community garden. Badger Prairie Community Garden is one existing community garden in Verona where groups and individuals can register to volunteer and lend a helping hand with various garden projects. Working in the community garden can be a great way to encourage team building, and inspire team and group members to make a positive impact through service projects.
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Spread a Positive Message
A final way to give your next meeting or retreat a purpose is by spreading a lasting positive message within a community. For groups who want a challenge, but prefer to work creatively or indoors, centering your volunteer retreat around an artistic activity can be a suitable option. Painting a mural or creating a community art piece are two great acts of volunteer service that will have lasting effects on both the community and your team. Your team can work together to create an approved design and complete the project, which will be a rewarding and collaborative team process. Contact Visit Verona today to start planning your next successful team building experience!
