With so much out of our control in the current times, the one thing we can control is our ability to spread positivity and hope—and with our new #OneforTwo campaign, we wanted to share our idea in the hopes that you may choose to do something similar.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has had a staggering impact on small businesses around the world that’s greatly affecting our local communities and neighbors. Restaurants, gyms, retailers and even schools are shifting their operating models to stay in business and support their local communities and loyal consumers. Every business, in every industry, has had to change the way it works almost overnight due to social distancing and shelter-at-home requirements, causing fear and uncertainty for many. 

While ClearEdge, too, is dealing with new challenges, we’ve been fortunate to have had a remote work model since opening nearly 14 years ago. Our team has always had virtual happy hours, online fitness classes, digital lunch-and-learns and virtual book clubs to stay connected, and we’ve seen how beneficial these activities can be in strengthening relationships and boosting morale. 

That’s when it hit us: why not put these two priorities—small businesses and virtual team morale—together into one positive solution? And why not ask other organizations to do the same thing to create a ripple effect in our communities? It’s a #OneforTwo giving opportunity: organizations supporting both their internal teams and a small business, nonprofit or individual at the same time. It’s a win-win. 

Will you join us in giving back to the people and communities we care about?

The Challenge

It’s simple: Do one thing that supports both your community and your team at the same time. Then, post that one thing on social media using the hashtags #OneforTwo and #InThisTogether by April 30th.

As part of the challenge, our team will select our favorite ideas and then ask the public to vote to choose one winner. The winner will receive $500 to give to a charity or small business of their choice.

It’s a way to help your team and your community at the same time.

Get Involved

Here’s how we’re doing it at ClearEdge: our CEO Leslie Vickrey coordinated a virtual pilates class for the team on April 17 hosted by her neighborhood pilates studio (Pilates + Coffee) in Chicago that recently announced they had to shift all classes to online. Through this one class, Leslie was able to support her local pilates studio while also celebrating her team of employees and consultants worldwide. That’s just one idea! Here’s a list of other ideas we’ve come up with to help your organization get started. 

  1. Purchase gift cards from local restaurants and encourage your employees to use it for a weekly family dinner to-go.
  2. Create a “Work From Home” kit for your team with office supplies and decor purchased from local shops.
  3. Celebrate employee performance or recognize teams for their efforts working from home with gift cards to local salons, cleaning services, restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries or other local services.
  4. Work with local businesses that offer team-building activities like escape rooms, painting or cooking classes and coordinate digital classes with the team.
  5. Create a special nonprofit giving campaign during this time and match your employees’ gifts to local nonprofits of their choice. Celebrate your organization’s total giving with an online party at the end of the campaign. 
  6. Organize meals to be delivered from a local shop to your teams’ homes for lunch-and-learn Wednesdays or bagel Fridays.  
  7. Partner with a local yoga studio to offer weekly online classes for your team.
  8. Hold a virtual team-building session, and book the keynote speaker you’ve always wanted. With so many cancelled conferences and events, they likely now have the availability.
  9. Contact a local smoothie shop or coffee shop and tell them you’d like to provide drinks for your team once a week when everyone’s back in the office. Pay for a month or two upfront.
  10. Hire a local musician to give your team a live online concert experience.
  11. Order a cookie or cake decorating kit from a local bakery for your employees. Then host a decorating challenge for the team.
  12. Order and give local “holiday gifts” to your employees and clients now.
  13. Ask your team to create a local small business guide (digital, of course) that includes basic contact information and ways the community can support them at this time. Reward them with a gift card from the small business of their choice from the guide. 
  14. Send care packages to your employees with local products and handcrafted gifts.
  15. Hold a virtual book club for your team. Purchase the book from a local bookstore if open or directly from the author’s website. Consider having the author join as a special guest via video.
  16. Hire contractors who aren’t working right now to help in nontraditional ways. Are they a musician, artist, actor or comedian on the side? Perhaps they can perform for the first 15 minutes of your next virtual happy hour or staff meeting.

Watch A Video to Learn More

We can’t wait to see the creative #OneforTwo concepts you put into action and the ripple effects it has in our communities! Share your activity, event or gift on your social media channels using the hashtags #InThisTogether and #OneforTwo for the chance to win $500 to donate to a charity or small business of your choice. The ClearEdge Marketing team will choose the top 10 ideas from the submissions on or before April 30 (although we encourage you to continue #OneforTwo giving beyond this date). Then we’ll take the vote to the general public to choose the winning person, team or company. The winner—and the organization they donate to—will be featured on our blog as yet another way to support their business. 

We’re #InThisTogether to #EndThisTogether.

On a final note, while these activities aren’t part of the #OneforTwo challenge, we’ll give you extra brownie points if you take these actions too … 

  • Leave positive reviews on Yelp or Facebook for your favorite businesses (we know you always meant to write one anyway).
  • Give social shoutouts to small businesses you love to help drive business and encourage others to do the same.
  • Reach out to your favorite small businesses or nonprofits to find out what they need and find creative ways to work together.