Boxes of cheer
Employees, friends and family of ABM Franchising Group assemble “Cheeriodicals” during the company’s team-building project at the company’s principals’ meeting in Naples, Fla., last month.
A young patient at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Southwest Florida is quite happy with one of the toys she found in a cheer-up box created by members of ABM Franchising Group.
Some of the Cheeriodicals that were assembled by ABM Franchising Group
This year’s team-building project was among the most satisfying of Marty Keyser’s 30-plus-year career with ABM Franchising Group.
Keyser is vice president of franchise operations for ABM, which is headquartered in Canonsburg, and was among the more than 200 employees, family and friends who assembled cheer-up boxes for patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Southwest Florida during “Cheeriodicals Day” at the company’s annual principals’ meeting.
ABM contracted with Cheeriodicals, a national corporate team-building company that provides big, bright green boxes and age-appropriate contents, such as activity books, crafts, puzzles, coloring books, stuffed animals and games, for hospitalized children to enjoy. Cheeriodicals has worked with children’s hospitals in dozens of markets nationwide, including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Ohio and Texas.
Since ABM’s meeting was held at the Naples Grand Beach Resort, the boxes its crew assembled were donated to the Florida children’s hospital.”
“I actually had a great time,” Keyser said. “One of the great parts was watching others have such a good time.”
ABM purchased the boxes and the contents, Cheeriodicals delievered them to the hotel, and Two Men and a Truck in Fort Myers, Fla., donated its time to deliver the boxes of cheer to patients and their families at the hospital. The boxes were tailored to boys and girls of specific age groups.
Kristy Miller, director of communications for ABM, found Cheeriodicals while researching charities that were near the company’s meeting site. She liked this team-building activity for two reasons: Cheeriodicals was “great” to work with, and the activity was appropriate for all ages. Since children also made the trip, the project was the perfect fit for everyone.
“It was something all of our attendees could do,” Miller said. “We had children as young as 5 build these boxes. It was great to see kids helping other kids, and the parents appreciated it.
Keyser agreed.
“It was a feel-good activity. It was fun building the boxes,” said Keyser, adding that Cheeriodicals also provided personalized cards, which were signed by each team member who helped assemble each box.
The following evening, during an awards reception, pictures of the children and their families opening some of the 200 boxes were shown.
“It was a great team-building effort to build the boxes, and it was a great team effort when you saw the smiles,” Keyser said. “It was a good thing for the children. It was a lesson learned.”
Stacy Robillard, child life specialist at Golisano Children’s Hospital, said, “The toys and activities provided in the boxes will certainly bring smiles and help the patients play and ‘be kids’ despite whatever other challenges they are facing. We are overwhelmed by the support we receive from our communities, and this is a wonderful example of that.”
ABM Franchising Group offers two franchise brands, Linc Service and TEGG, which deliver preventive maintenance and system retrofit solutions to commercial and industrial buildings across the globe. ABM Franchising Group is an operating unit of ABM, a provider of integrated facility solutions. The parent company is based in New York.
Scott Giacobbe, president of ABM Franchising Group, said ABM was excited to have the opportunity to create something that would bring joy to 200 children and their families during what is “a challenging and scary time” for many of them.
“ABM’s mission is to make a difference, every person, every day,” Giacobbe said. “No one wants to see their child in a hospital and, as a father of three boys myself, I would not even want to imagine the challenges, fears and pressure many of these families are currently facing.
“This is a small gesture, but I’m excited to see how many people in our group truly care about the well-being of these families and doing what they can to make a difference.”