After six weeks of fun, fundraising, and team-building, Mindgrub’s first Games for Good initiative has come to a close. Games for Good ran from November 9th through December 18th with three lofty goals in mind: connecting employees while working remotely, promoting well-being, and giving back to our community.

To kick off the six-week program, Mindgrub employees were split into four teams. Once teams had chosen their names (Pandemic at the Disco, House of TRuth, Fully Allocated, and Work From Homies), teammates worked together to select the nonprofit that would receive their donation money. The organizations they chose:

• Code in the Schools: An organization dedicated to providing in-school, after-school, and summer programs to expose youth to key concepts early, help them develop 21st-century skills and capabilities, and build pathways from school to jobs and higher education.
• House of Ruth Maryland: A nonprofit leading the fight to end violence against women and their children by confronting the attitudes, behaviors, and systems that perpetuate it, and by providing victims with the services necessary to rebuild their lives safely and free of fear.
• CLLCTIVLY: A community organization creating an ecosystem to foster collaboration, increase social impact, and amplify the voices of Black-led organizations in greater Baltimore.
• Learning in a Box: A program of Improving Education that provides pre-kindergarten through second-grade students with a kit containing a wide range of interactive resources that can be used to engage in fun, meaningful learning activities at home.

In addition to participating in a GivHero step challenge to earn donation money, each week offered the chance to earn points towards more funds through themed dress-up days and mini-challenges like Speed Origami, a Day of Giving, scavenger hunts, silly photo challenges, a murder mystery party, and a gingerbread house contest.

Through the step challenge, the four teams accrued over 12 million steps, walking their way to $4,000 for the four nonprofits, plus an additional $1,437 donation to the Maryland Food Bank from the Day of Giving.

In the end, it was the Work From Homies who snagged the Gold Medal, earning an additional $1,000 for their chosen nonprofit, Learning in a Box, and bringing the total donation amount for Games for Good to $6,437!

“I have to be honest, when we first started to plan the once in-person Mindgrub Olympics, I was concerned that it would not have the same impact it had in the past,” said Kim Paradise, Mindgrub’s Chief of Staff and Head of the Charitable Giving Committee. “One thing I have learned for certain this year is change illuminates character. Mindgrubbers embraced this experience in a way I could have never imagined.”

“The beautiful sense of camaraderie and teamwork brought out the best in all who participated, and I can honestly say that my spirit is renewed after months of being in a pandemic,” Paradise added.

Watch the highlight reel to catch a glimpse of the fun that was had in the last six weeks. 

Interested in joining our team? Explore our openings at mindgrub.com/careers or sign up for our Careers newsletter. 

This article is a follow-up to a statement from November 9, 2020, announcing the launch of Mindgrub’s first-ever Games for Good initiative. You can read that statement here.

About Mindgrub | Mindgrub is an award-winning agency and consultancy that transforms businesses by designing technology for people. Our full-service team specializes in enterprise mobile and web development, application support, devOps, digital marketing, branding, user experience design, quality assurance testing, and emerging technologies.

Connect with Mindgrub online at mindgrub.com.