We’ve Got (Virtual) Spirit!

by with No Comment CCAH RetreatCelebrationclient servicesgiving thanksNew Opportunitiesnonprofit fundraising

Each September we have CCAH’s annual spirit week, but this year, spirit week went virtual! This fun-filled employee appreciation week included a lunch hour at the Charlie Hides Funhouse, a team-vs.-team MadLib competition, and our annual award ceremony (this year held over Zoom).

Each day had its own treats and surprises in addition to our weeklong Guess Who game, where employees were challenged to match fun facts with new staff, and the correct answers were revealed at our Thursday happy hour … it was such a fun way to get to know our fellow coworkers!

Monday

CCAH was closed for Labor Day, but we could hardly wait to return to the (home) office to kick off the spirit week festivities.

Tuesday

It was Mad Lib day! This fun team-vs.-team competition encouraged people to think outside the box as they completed a CCAH-themed MadLib! Teams worked together to come up with the zaniest nouns, adjectives, and verbs they could to impress the judges with their creativity. We also kicked off our New Staff Guess Who game, where everyone worked to match fun facts with the employee who has done it. With facts ranging from a fear of frogs to a world-class ranking on Pokémon Go, to speaking about fundraising on six continents; we’ve certainly hired some pretty interesting people during the pandemic!

Wednesday

For our lunch hour, we brought back Charlie Hides with a brand new gameshow: Charlie’s Funhouse! Staff members went head to head to win fun prizes in a variety of games: the Price is Right (but only with UK food items with interesting names), Name that Tune, and the Masked Celebrity, to name a few. Not everyone was a winner, but we all walked away with a smile after an hour in the funhouse!

Thursday

At happy hour, we kicked off the festivities with a scavenger hunt. Employees rans around their houses and apartments trying to be the first to find a particular item — from something red to something with a face — we had 15 seconds to find our items and run back to the screen before time was up!

From there, employees were recognized — from plaques for those celebrating two years with the company to CCAH monogramed swag gifts for those working here for five, ten, twenty, and twenty-five years.

Quentin Patrick received the Bill Goldstein Legacy Award for his twenty years with the firm. This award recognizes excellence in service and a commitment to outstanding loyalty to CCAH, our clients, and their missions. Twenty years symbolizes a remarkable achievement in one’s career and demonstrates fortitude, grit, and perseverance. Over the years, Bill Goldstein’s work had profound impact on some of the most critical issues facing our country and people around the globe. We are proud to honor his legacy with this award. 

Katie Chambers received the coveted CCAH Spirit Award. This award goes to one individual, voted on by the management committee and partners, who we believe embodies dedication to clients and their fellow colleagues, always lending a helping hand and jumping in if someone doesn’t understand. Katie goes the extra mile for a client with a positive attitude and a smile in every situation.  As one person noted, her “positive attitude is actually infectious for everyone she works with.” Congratulations to Katie Chambers for this distinction!

The Spirit Committee judges also announced the answers to the Guess Who matching game! While only five CCAH employees were able to get a perfect score (congrats to Arwen, Kahla, Srikar, Julia, and me—Becca!), everyone was a winner when we got to learn more about our coworkers.

Friday

Spirit week was finally coming to a close, but not without one final announcement: we changed our name! Jenny Allen officially became a name partner, making our company now Chapman Cubine Allen + Hussey — you can read all about it here if you missed the announcement blog. With this exciting news top of everyone’s mind, it was easy to forget about the MadLib competition (even though that was also a very exciting moment in CCAH history). Team Mia took home the win, and all of the bragging rights that came with it. 

As a final surprise, everyone was excited to find goody bags at their door the week after spirit week. MJ, Katie, and Quentin had worked tirelessly to ensure a sweet snack for all of our employees even though we were far apart.

With that, we closed another wonderful week at CCAH. Now we are back to work, refreshed and ready to take on Q4 and another full year of doing great work for all our amazing clients! 

It’s Earth Day!

by with No Comment CCAHCelebrationCoronavirusCoronavirusCOVID-19Earth Dayenvironmentalgiving backgiving thanksMaking a differencevolunteering

This Earth Day, CCAH is celebrating a little differently than usual. Rather than going outside to enjoy nature and hopefully give back, we are all staying in our homes. However, while there are many serious worries to be had about our current situation, one silver lining of social distancing is an increased appreciation for the world around us, and the ability to see our world through a lens with less pollution.

To celebrate this strange Earth Day, which also happens to be the holiday’s 50th anniversary, CCAH is bringing the outdoors inside to help brighten their workspaces.

Go To Nature...

Many CCAHers are making sure they are getting their exercise by walking outside when safe. According to CDC guidelines, if you do decide to talk a walk, make sure you are keeping 6 feet between you and others not in your household, and you should wear a mask if you are able. Check out CDC resources and local recommendations before deciding if going on walks while social distancing is right for you! 

While at home, you can also take Jenny’s lead with a garden! While Jenny carries her lemon tree inside and outside every day, you can pick low-maintenance plants to start out with! Arwen recommends mint as an easy plant since “it’s kind of a weed, so you don’t need to worry about making it grow!”

Or Bring Nature to You!

One way to make sure you are keeping nature in mind during the COVID-19 pandemic is to bring plants into your workspace. Many people believe houseplants are the key to making your home office feel like a place you want to work, since plants can bring in a splash of color and make you feel less like you’re stuck inside—and, according to a NASA study from 1989, many plants can even help purify the air (although more recent research indicates that this may be a bit of an exaggeration unless you really, really like plants).

And if you didn’t have houseplants prior to stay-at-home orders, don’t worry! It isn’t too late.  When CCAH had a spirit day to show off our plants, Catherine got a special delivery along with her groceries …

No Green Thumb?

If you want to celebrate Earth Day but don’t have the gift to keep plants alive (like me), you can always donate to an environmentally-focused nonprofit! CCAH is lucky to work with several important changemakers, fighting to make a difference for our Earth. Bring your voice to the global conversation around climate change, and check out the Earth Day site for more ways you can get involved for Earth Day’s 50th anniversary!

What CCAH Is Thankful for This Holiday Season

by with No Comment CCAHCelebrationclient servicesgiving thanksinspirationThanksgiving

CCAH has a LOT to be thankful for! This year, we’ve welcomed new employees and clients: intelligent, creative, collaborative people and inspiring missions that make our workdays meaningful and fun.

We are proud that CCAH has become a place that feels like home all year round, from raising money for health and disease charities like hospitals who care for sick patients away from home during the holidays, research cures for diabetes and cancer, environmental organizations that help protect public lands and endangered species, to helping elect democratic women. After a year full of progress toward our collective goal to make the world a better place, our hearts could not be more filled with thanks and gratitude.

“I’m spending this holiday season looking back at the year and being thankful for CCAH and the love and support they have shown me this year. I am also very thankful that I get to spend this holiday creating new family traditions as a newlywed.” – Kelsey Sloss, Senior Account Executive, Phone and Mobile Strategies

“I’m thankful for being able to build some great relationships with great people at CCAH!” – Sunny Matani, Account Executive, Direct Mail

“This year I am most thankful for my new friends and work family at CCAH. Having a work place that feels like a second home makes the long days feel like ease.” – Courtney Rojas, Account Representative, Digital

Spirit Week Taylor Swift

“I’m thankful and honored to play my small part within an organization that makes an overwhelming impact in the nonprofit and political communities. Additionally, I’m extremely thankful and overjoyed by the dedication, commitment, and strength that my team has shown this year. We have the privilege of working with outstanding colleagues, suppliers, and clients, and much of our success can be contributed to these relationships, so many thanks to each and every one of them as well.” – Darin Marks, Director of IT and Data Operations

“Outside of work, I’m grateful for my health and that of all my loved ones, as well as the ability to live in and build supportive and loving communities that are dedicated to fighting to justice. And I’m just as grateful to be married to a brilliant and kind partner who spends her days tackling some of the most pressing issues of our time.

At work, I’m grateful for the opportunity to raise funds for so many important and transformative causes, and to play a tiny role in moving this world in the right direction. I’m equally grateful to work with such an incredible group of colleagues who support me every day and never stop pushing me to do my best work.” – David Wolkin, Senior Copywriter

“This year I whole-heartedly thank my family, friends, and doggies for their unconditional love and support, the house that keeps me cool from the Florida sun, a great first year at CCAH—and pumpkin pie.” – Margaret Randall, Senior Graphic Designer

“I am thankful for nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, and dreams that turned into reality.” – Jennifer Keenan, Senior Production Director

“I’m thankful for the close friends I have as a support system through tough times in my life, ones who understand without needing much in the way of explanation.  The relationships we have in life make this journey all the more bearable. Starting at CCAH has turned this around for me career wise and I’ll always feel fortunate to have gotten this opportunity.” – Mai Ly, Acquisition Coordinator

“I am thankful for having a strong support system at home and at work to keep me going and pushing me to do great things!” – Mia Mack, Senior Account Executive, Direct Mail

From our CCAH family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

We’ve Got Spirit!

by with No Comment CCAH RetreatCelebrationclient servicesgiving thanksNew Opportunitiesnonprofit fundraisingvolunteering

Each September we have CCAH’s annual spirit week: a fun-filled week including to-order omelets, relaxing chair massages, an amazing day of service, and so much more!

Each day had its own treats and surprises in addition to our weeklong, office-wide “secret pal” game, where those who participated gave and received little gifts throughout the week and had their gift-giver revealed face-to-face at our Thursday happy hour … it was such a fun way to get to know our fellow coworkers!

Monday

We were greeted with an omelet chef upgrading our Monday morning breakfast and delighting staff with fancy flips on all our custom orders!

We also had an epic scavenger hunt in place of our weekly all-staff meeting where we were challenged to recreate funny photos and take a field trip to the Subway up the street.

Tuesday

It was ice cream day! This fun treat was a great way to beat the heat at the end of summer and gather with coworkers who we don’t usually get to see. We also kicked off our Office Decorating Competition, where teams worked together to come up with a theme and impress the judges with their creativity.

Wednesday

For our annual day of service—read all about it here if you missed it last week—we are proud to have packed 192 boxes ourselves, which will help #endseniorhunger by feeding seniors in need right here in the DC metro area and add to the over #1millionmeals packed this year! Before we left, we were also treated to an in-office lunch.

Thursday

CCAH brought professional masseuses into the office offering ten-minute massages for a little relaxation between meetings. Always a big hit, the two masseuses were booked all day!

The Office Decorating Competition judging also happened Thursday so that we could award the winners their prizes at Closing Ceremonies, also known as company happy hour that night.

And these teams did not disappoint in their decorations. There were competing shrines to Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber as two superfans convinced their teams to take part in their fanaticism. Taylor Swift’s team was passing out crowns, while Justin Bieber’s was playing a soundtrack of his greatest hits—just what the rest of the office wanted to hear as they were starting to wind down their Thursdays… 

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Spirit Week Taylor Swift
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One team turned their office into an exclusive club, Club Polo, complete with light up signs and their very own bouncer. The club rules included polo shirts, flip flops, and diet coke, after their fearless leader, Jenny Allen.

One team created an interactive caption contest, inviting the office to take part and come up with their funniest jokes.

And another team turned the entire office into Candy Land, even taping down construction paper game spaces along the hallways between the various offices they spanned. 

At happy hour, employees were recognized—from buttons for those celebrating their first spirit weeks; plaques for those celebrating two years; and CCAH swag gifts for the class of 2018 and those working here for five, ten, fifteen, and twenty years.

Sunny Matani received the coveted CCAH Spirit Award for going above and beyond for his coworkers, always ready with a joke to lift someone’s spirits. The Spirit Committee judges determined that they could not possibly have chosen a winner for room decorating, but with award names like Biggest Fan (for the Taylor Swift team) and Most Likely to Visit the Dentist (for turning our office into Candyland), it was clear that everyone was a winner!

Friday

After a long week full of great quality time spent with coworkers, everyone was ready for the weekend. We held a company continental breakfast—fruit, croissants, donuts, and bagels—and our “Buck-Up” happy hour in the kitchen and, like every Friday, closed another wonderful week at CCAH.

 

Now we are back to work, refreshed and ready to take on Q4 and another full year of doing great work for all our amazing clients! 

Sandra on a Valentine's date

We Heart Valentine’s Fundraising

by with No Comment Califronia State Parks Foundationcharitable givingcreative ideasgiving thanksintegrated marketingnonprofit fundraisingNonprofit Marketingonline fundraisingStrategy

Sandra on a Valentine's dateBy Sandra Paul Bishop, VP Client Services | Valentine’s Day conjures up images of hearts, flowers, candy and intimate dinners for two. But the holiday can also serve as a catalyst for giving and showing serious love for a cause near and dear to your heart. Instead of buying up the traditional holiday trappings at the local drug store, nonprofit organizations across the country are urging supporters to support a favorite cause. 

Shannon Murphy Honored as Volunteer of the Year

by with No Comment awardsChapman Cubine Adams Husseycharitable givinggiving thankswomen business leaders

By: Kim Cubine, President | Improving our local and global communities is a vital part of the CCAH corporate culture.  We’ve recently shared stories of how the entire team gives back throughout the year, and our executive team is no exception.  In fact, one of our fearless leaders was recognized for her volunteer efforts just this week!