Tag Archives: team captains

Outdoor Team Building Activities

Summer is finally here! Who is excited to get outside and into the sunshine? We want to help you and your team get out into the warm weather for fun and bonding. This year’s 3-Days are coming up, so now is the perfect time to get moving! Here are our favorite outdoor team building activities…

austin-schmid-37423

Photo via Austin Schmid

Winning and Losing

Get into pairs, pairing people who might not know each other as well. Then, one partner shares something negative that happened in their life. It can be a personal or work-related memory, but it must be true. Then that first partner discusses the same experience again, but focuses only on the positive aspects. Their partner allows and helps them to explore the silver lining of the bad experience. Afterward, they switch roles. It’s a great way to remember that even life’s tough times can have a great lesson or positive ending.

Battle of the Air Bands

Lip sync battles are a dime a dozen these days, so expand the idea into a full-on “Battle of the Air Bands!” Split your team up into smaller groups, then let them decide who will be the singers, guitarists, drummers, etc. Give them a set time to rehearse, and then perform a lip-synced version of whatever song they like. After the performances, teams can vote on the winner, and award 3-Day swag!

rawpixel-com-250087.jpg

Photo via Rawpixel

Afternoon at the Races

This one isn’t for the faint of heart, but it will give you and your team a great time outdoors! Pair up and build, then race your own mini race cars. You can use wagons, boxes, pinewood cars, or whatever else their imagination can dream up! If you want, go all out and let pairs create mascots and themes, and host a mini-tailgate with snacks and music. This could also be a fun team fundraising event!

samuel-zeller-13178

Photo via Samuel Zeller

The Longest Shadow

Need a simple activity? This outdoor team building activity has the group working together to form the longest shadow they can, using only their bodies. Take advantage of the summer sun, then tag us in the photo of your epic shadow!

Night Trail

Get out into a park, and set up a series of obstacles in a large open area. Working as a team, blindfolded team members follow a rope and try to navigate their way around a series of obstacles. Trust, support, leadership and communication is the key!

cameron-kirby-85439.jpg

Photo via Cameron Kirby

Picture Scavenger Hunt

Join our 3-Day Social Stars in our online community with a Picture Scavenger Hunt. Give team members a list of items, locations or landmarks in the area and have them race to go around town and take pictures in front of them! You can even add an extra element, like asking them to build a human pyramid or do a hand stand in the photos for added points!

What are some of your favorite outdoor activities for summer? Let us know in the comments!

May Fundraising Calendar

15585295_10157893256160392_104279338888566809_o.jpg

Hooray, it’s May! Hopefully we have seen the last of April showers, and have only flowers to look forward to for this coming month. We also hope your fundraising efforts will be blooming, thanks to new and creative ways to take advantage of warmer weather.

Plus, there are all kinds of holidays and events happening in May. Let’s get moving!

May Fundraising Calendar.jpg

May is a big month in terms of honoring all things fun and festive, and there are plenty of ways to use those holidays to your advantage:

  • National Photography Month: It’s time for team photos! Take shots of your team to use on your social media pages when you promote your fundraising goals. Also, send out the photos in your fundraising letters, so potential donors can put a face to all the amazing work you and your teammates are doing. You can include photos of the people for whom you are walking as well.
  • National Recommitment Month: This means it is the perfect month to re-evaluate your goals and get back at it! Circle back with potential donors that you haven’t reached out to in a while, or whom you haven’t heard from yet. You can also recommit to your training goals as well!

15625668_10157893256715392_1905838687063628952_o.jpg

  • National Barbecue Month: This one is a no brainer! Host a barbecue for your team, and work with local restaurants to help donate or subsidize the food. Invite friends, family, neighbors and previous donors, and ask for a donation to attend. It’s also National Hamburger Month, so you can encourage guests to bring recipes for their best burger, or the most unique one.
  • National Bike Month: While we are all about walking, biking is also a great to get in cardiovascular training for the 3-Day. Grab your teammates for group ride over a weekend, and ask donors to pledge a donation for every mile you ride as a team. National Bike Week starts in the third week of the month, so you can hold a long group ride then and raise money for the 3-Day.

There are a whole heap of training walks, New Walker Meet-Ups, Get Started Meetings, Video Conferences, and more happening in May. You can check out all the upcoming walks, meetings and more on our website. One to surely keep on your radar is our Get Started Meeting Video Conference, which will be available across the country online. This is great for any 3-Dayers who don’t live in the same city as their team, or who are new to the 3-Day.

16602945_10158188211785392_6742203616637006412_n

Other key days this month include:

  • Kentucky Derby (May 6): Host a fun and fancy brunch at your house for friends and family! Encourage people to wear their Churchill Downs best, and keep the races on TV so you can keep an eye on the races…and the fashion! Have guests vote on their favorite hats, snack, and enjoy the afternoon. This is a great team event for fun bonding, and a perfect event to invite potential donors to so they can meet the rest of your team.
  • Mother’s Day (May 14): Show all the moms, aunts, grandmas and wonderful ladies in your life some love! Send out pink cards or flowers to remind the women in your life that they are loved on that holiday and always.

17203145_10158332998665392_5360588626436648132_n

  • Flower Day (May 20): Sell bouquets, or even single flowers with a message explaining why you are walking the 3-Day. It’s a simple and sweet way to encourage donors while also brightening someone’s day.
  • Memorial Day (May 29): Need a date to host your National Barbecue Month event? Memorial Day is the perfect time! Everyone has an open day on their calendar, and what a better way to spend their day off than on a good cause like the 3-Day?

What are your fundraising and training goals for May? How will you work to achieve them?

Easy Team Building Activities

On the 3-Day, we are all part of one big family. We walk, eat, cheer, glamp, share and succeed together. However, many of our 3-Dayers walk as members of teams within that larger family (teams ranging from 1 member to 119!), and we love seeing you all bond and thrive over the course of 60 miles.

race_3018_photo_40560497 (1)

To make your team as strong as possible, we recommend doing a few team building activities leading up to the 3-Day to get bring your teammates as close as possible. This is especially important for teams where not everyone knows each other. We have some simple and fun ideas to get your next team meeting off on a fun note!

Human Knot

Tried and true, this is never a bad idea, and could be a fun way to start each of your team meetings. Starting in a circle, participants connect hands with two others people in the group (but not anyone next to them) to form a human knot. As a team, they must then try to unravel the “knot” by untangling themselves without breaking the chain of hands. Time yourself each meeting and see if you get better the longer you work and train together.

race_3018_photo_40560501

Photo Finish

The aim of the challenge is to set up a “finish line” or your training walk, and get the whole group to step across it at exactly the same time. Strike a pose, or take a leap! If one person is out of sync, then you must start over again. This activity involves planning, communication and timing. Create your own finish line, and make it as exciting or intricate as you like! Then, set a timer on your camera and capture the action. This is great practice for crossing the finish line at the end of your 60 miles.

Human Shapes

Working together as a team, the group must use their bodies to form letters and words. You can lay on the ground to form them, transform your body while standing, or even use your fingers to make words together! Spell out your team name, the name of the person you’re walking for, or phrases like “The 3 Day” and “More Than Pink.” Take photos and tag us on social media! We might just re-post!

race_3022_photo_41104229

Shoe Tower

Just completed a long training walk or a team shoe fitting for the 3-Day? Make use of your sneakers! Using the shoes available to your team, split into two sides and try to construct the tallest tower of shoes. The team with the tallest tower wins the challenge!

Geocache Adventure

A lot like a scavenger hunt, a geocache adventures rely on clues, but has the added level of using GPS coordinates to find an item. There are several apps available to use on smartphones that you can use for geocache-ing. The team captain can hide clues or 3-Day treats in locations around a park or your local town. Then, split into pairs and go off hunting! The pair that hits all the spots first, and gets to the “finish line”…wins! This helps team members work together to achieve a specific goal, just like you will on the 3-Day.

race_3022_photo_41104239 (1)

Group Timeline

Using poster board, a bulletin board, or a large piece of paper, create a timeline. Have it start on the birth year of your team’s oldest member, and go up to this year. Mark each year on the timeline. Then, also mark important years for Susan G. Komen and the 3-Day, like the first year there was an event in your city.

After that, give your team members four slips of paper, and ask them to mark down four important moments in their life. Let them pin them to the timeline. This will help your team members learn more about each other, and about the history of the 3-Day.

What are your favorite team building exercises? Tell us in the comments!