The holidays give us all a fantastic opportunity to build community in our properties and in the towns where we live. Most properties out there have some sort of charity drive or holiday celebrations. There are a handful of holiday ideas that your property management can engage in not just your residents but the community at large.
A giving tree–
The Salvation Army has been offering this program for quite some time, now. A tree is usually decorated with the wish lists of children living in poverty. Then, members are able to choose a tag and then gift the child with whatever happens to be on the list or other things they feel may be beneficial. For more information on how you can either set up a Christmas Angel Tree or how you can get help with gifts, please see the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Blog. There are also usually other programs in individual communities for adopting families for the holidays for help with both meals and gifts.
Holiday galas–
Holiday galas are really just big parties where funds are raised for various causes. Some people offer silent auctions, some offer tickets for sale, others still yet offer Toys for Tots donation boxes for attendees to utilize. Live music or a DJ is often a great idea, and having food made in a potluck fashion can reduce the overhead costs. Choose a fun theme and then promote your gala via social media to get everyone involved.
Toy drives–
Toy drives have long been popular charity events. There are usually nationwide drives that you can sign up for, but also more locally based drives. The previously mentioned Toys for Tots is always a popular one, but your local hospital most likely also holds a toy drive this time of year for the less fortunate. Operation Homefront offers another drive that distributes the toys to junior enlisted military families.
White elephant parties–
White elephant exchange started out as a joke, gag gifts exchanged, ala “the white elephant” but over time has morphed to mean something else. Residents, employees, and other personnel are encouraged to bring in gifts that cost a certain amount of under. There are often themes involved, and this makes things a lot more fun than a simple gift giving party.
These are just a few of the ways that you can encourage your community and really engage you tenants this holiday season. Do you have other things you do for the holiday season?
