Happy July! Although it has been an eventful summer, we are soaking up all of the sunshine and joy this season has to offer! One of these joyful projects included a Team Building project led by Colleen, our Programs Intern! Read below to hear her heart behind the project and the impact it had on our participants!
Purpose:
The Team Building Project gave participants the opportunity to design their own business including logistics and a logo. They then presented it in front of an audience and received questions about their business. The purpose of the project was to challenge the participants out of their comfort zone and lean more into their creative side.
Colleen elaborated on this by stating, “The intended purpose was to teach the participants the characteristics of team building, while using these characteristics within a team and being creative. It was also to take each individual’s creativity and combine that into one idea to design a business logo”.
Overall, it gave participants the opportunity to practice the act of team building and take ownership of this project using their individual creativity.
Impact:
The impact went far beyond just completing the project. Chris, an Instructor at ATS, stated, “It gave them the opportunity to have some agency and let their ideas drive the lesson”.
Colleen also noticed the overall growth of the participants. She commented, “I noticed participants taking in other’s opinions and working together to combine everyone’s ideas into one. I did see many participants challenge themselves to think out of the box to be creative with this project”.
The Joy Group really enjoyed this project and their instructor, Sophia, noticed the strong collaboration between their group and shared more about the experience:
“We worked together as a team to create our business. Everyone shared ideas, listened to one another, and took turns helping. One of our participants, Alex, came up with the idea of a library for our business and everyone agreed. Another participant, Mason, showed great leadership by speaking up and helping the group choose the colors for our project. Alex and Mason’s ideas helped everyone make decisions together with a thumbs up or thumbs down (to accommodate our nonverbal participants).
After we presented our presentation, Mason proudly stood up to admire what we had accomplished as a team. It was a special moment that showed how working together, encouraging one another, and sharing our ideas can create something we are all proud of. We learned that every voice matters, and when everyone has a chance to contribute, the whole team succeeds”.
Highlights:
Not only did this exercise expand their comfort zones, the participants really enjoyed completing the project overall! Participant, Cole, stated that his favorite part was being with his friends and presenting the business. Others participants, Joe and Travis, said that their favorite parts were designing the business and logo. Travis also mentioned that he enjoyed this challenge and thought the project was fun.
Colleen also provided some highlights from her experience with facilitating the project:
“The excitement everyone had each week. Another highlight was seeing their ideas put on paper and working together to create their logo. The smiles, laughter, and hard work each participant put into this project was the biggest highlight for me though”.
At ATS, we are always seeking opportunities to provide fun activities/ projects for participants to enjoy and also grow from. Colleen did just that with the facilitation of the Team Building Project. Thank you Colleen!
