What started in Vancouver in 2008 has now extended to all three Canadian Edelman offices. This past weekend (June 3 – 5, 2010) Edelman Toronto embarked on its inaugural year in hosting its own Little Give. The entire office was strategically divided into 10 teams to ensure cross-practice and cross-level interaction and everyone was encouraged to leave their titles at the door. Each participant donated 48 hours of their time and brought their brain power together to help 10 local charities and non-profit organizations who are making a real difference in the lives of children and youth, with their biggest challenges.

This being our first year experiencing Little Give, the resulting success of the initiative was far beyond anyone’s expectations. With 4,000 volunteer hours empowered by an initial donation of $25,000, the final total was an estimated $75,000 in cash, donated services and time in only a matter of 2 days.

The ten teams were matched up to the following charitable organizations:

• Team 1 – sketch
• Team 2 – Eva’s Initiatives
• Team 3 – TurnAround Couriers
• Team 4 – Second Harvest
• Team 5 – Youth Employment Services YES
• Team 6 – Julliette’s Place
• Team 7 – KUPE Arts Society
• Team 8 – kids.now
• Team 9 – Redwood Shelter
• Team 10 – Project Canoe

The competition was not all pretty. Many of us felt like we were doing the charity task on the Apprentice. There were marks of frustration and road blocks that were experienced by every team when working towards their challenge. Luckily, there were no Omarosas. But the beauty is in overcoming that challenge with our team members and in the end, we all got more in return than anyone ever expected. Camaraderie, teamwork, and new friendships were created throughout this weekend. It was a true testament of how much a group of motivated individuals can accomplish in a short amount of time.

Digital managed to percolate itself into several solutions. One group presented its plan using Prezi. A couple others tried to raise some money with ChipIn. In the spirit of competition, there was one team that stood above the rest and they brought some serious digital chops to the table. The winning team, “Team Purposeterous Awesomesauce” created a Flash Jam, NOTEXNOTE and raised $8,500 (offline and online) for the KUPE Arts Society!! Congratulations to Robyn Adelson, Sara Rezaee, Stephanie Marton, Rachel Segal, Cynthia Innes, Yomi Ogunpolu, Rosalind O’Connell, and Rachel Hlinko.

You can never give too little. Cheers to a great success and to the next year of giving!

Click here to see our photos, videos and blogposts throughout the competition on our Facebook fanpage and our website.

Christine Lu Edelman Digital, Toronto Follow on twitter @lu_christine

Jason Dojc Edelman Digital, Toronto Follow on twitter @jdojc