At Baudville, we're passionate about supporting causes that are close to the hearts of our team members. It's why we got involved in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and why every person who achieves a year of perfect attendance gets to match their monetary award with a charity of their choice. There are also our relationships with D.A. Blodgett - St. John's Home, Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding, and Gilda's Club Grand Rapids that help support our charitable mission to improve the lives of children. And, every other year, we also raise funds for either breast cancer or prostate cancer awareness.

National Volunteer Week (April 21-27) is fast approaching! How will you celebrate the dedicated volunteers who give their time and energy to help your organization achieve its goals?

If you’re not sure, no worries! We’re here to help with our top three volunteer appreciation ideas!

At Baudville, we talk a lot about teamwork, and we help businesses promote it through our more than 20 teamwork-related themes. Being the person who writes many of these sentiments, I have to admit that, at times, I view it so much as a philosophy that I forget what it means to actually experience it in the physical form. Cooperation, unity, collaboration, and synergy are all words we toss around; but what do they really mean?

Well, last Friday I had the privilege of witnessing and participating in the very definition of these words. The project was organized and funded by a non-profit called KaBoom, and benefitted D.A. Blodgett’s St. John’s Home—a local agency that provides a wealth of support services and resources to children and families in need in our community.

It was amazing.

I recently told you about an inspiring volunteer experience our creative team had at Kids’ Food Basket here in Grand Rapids. Buzz went around the office after we returned, and more teams were asking me how they could get involved, too.

A few weeks passed, and our day out in the wild was about to become a distant memory when we, a recognition company, ended up receiving a little recognition ourselves. Yes, to our surprise, a poster showed up at our front door decorated with thank you letters and photos from the kids who benefited. We proudly displayed our poster in a common area, and, as a result, our little mission (and KFB, more importantly) got even more exposure. Hooray!

Since Volunteer Appreciation Week is in one month, I know there are lots of volunteer coordinators and leaders who are working on their volunteer appreciation plans. To help you out, I've lsited five great free volunteer appreciation resources you can use this spring: