‘Fun’ has a bigger meaning to employees at our Clear Pack Plastics site in Franklin Park, Illinois. It’s THE key to employee engagement and community-engaged service.
On Saturday, May 11, Karina Ramirez—a Sonoco Plant Recruiting Specialist—and her employee engagement team, better known as the ‘Fun Team,’ hosted an Autism Awareness Month Run/Walk during the day at a local park. This plant event raised nearly $3,000 for the Chicago Autism Network. “I credit the success to the Fun Team,” said Karina. “The idea and the creativity of the event made it possible. It wouldn’t have happened without their support and help.”
Plant management started the Fun Team to engage employees and increase retention through various, local events. Since 2019, Karina has led this team, which includes members from every shift. They meet each month to create and plan events for the Franklin Park site where about 180 employees work.
Recently, a Fun Team member came up with the idea for Sonoco to sponsor a 5K or 10K charity run. With limited time, the plans shifted from joining a local race to creating a non-competitive event for Sonoco employees and their families. Choosing an autism-related donation naturally fits, because the Franklin Park team includes employees and family members of employees with autism. While this site had previously raised funds for autism-related causes, this run/walk marked their first time fundraising this much for an autism related cause.
Karina selected a handful of charities that assisted individuals with autism and families caring for autistic family members. The team reviewed these options and selected the Chicago Autism Foundation because of their work with local communities and families within the foundation network.
With the non-profit selected, Karina finalized the event details. She started with booking the nearby Redmond Park, which conveniently includes a looped path that’s exactly one mile long. Next, she worked with approvers to coordinate a Sonoco donation of $10 per mile completed. Then, she and the team decided how to track the miles with latex bracelets. The Fun Team spread the word by putting sign-up sheets in the plant. As a result, over one-third of employees plug family members voluntarily participated—many showing up on their day off.
Shift managers supported the event by rearranging schedules for employees who wanted to participate. With the team’s help, Karina set up the event with ballons, water, snacks, event t-shirts and hosts to cheer on the walkers/runners at different parts of the course. Even the weather cooperated with sunny skies and mild temperatures.
On the event day, approximately 115 participants completed one or more laps for this worthwhile cause. From packers, maintenance and shipping employees to supervisors, the Franklin Park team and their families smiled as they finished their share of the total 286 laps—raising $2,886 for the Chicago Autism Foundation.
What made this event such a success? Karina says, “This event got the employees out of their daily routines of work and life. And they came on a Saturday—their day off—to engage with their coworkers and family members and support a worthy cause. It really initiated a spirit of teamwork and participation from the employees.”
With high engagement and excited workplace chatter, this event won’t be the last of its kind. Employees want to do something fun like this again in the future.
Better Packaging. Better Life.® is our tagline, but it’s also a reflection of our commitment to caring for our communities—from responsibly sourcing materials to protecting products to serving in our Sonoco communities around the world.
