Charlotte, NC | April 3, 2017 – Jackrabbit Technologies’ annual employee retreat took on a new meaning this year and all it took was a team challenge event.
It just so happened that the retreat organizers on Jackrabbit’s staff, came up with an idea for a team building event called the Trike 500. While this wasn’t entirely accurate since the “cycle” involved ended up being a toddler bicycle with training wheels, the event was quite a spectacle AND required the acquisition of some sort of “cycles” that would be challenging for adults to maneuver.
Part one began with an interesting test of engineering skills as the unassembled bicycles (and a small set of tools) were presented to the teams.
The teams that had the best engineers were ahead of the pack, quickly running to the race course where heats of races determined a grand winner.
This happened more quickly than expected so an impromptu blind obstacle course was set up, pitting teams against one another.
This took considerably more time than the original race and was quite hilarious. This took tremendous team trust since one team member guided the blindfolded teammate through the obstacle course.
All of that was a lot to say to get to the best part of this “event”: the donation of bicycles to Trips for Kids Charlotte (TFKC).
After the final obstacle course contest, each bicycle was checked for correct assembly. Every team didn’t have a dad with “Christmas Eve toy assembly experience” so there were a few corrections that needed to be made!
The week after the retreat, the bicycles were delivered to TFKC where Laken Flanders, the Jackrabbit team member who organized the donation, was able to see a delighted recipient of one of the bicycles.
“We didn’t have a truckload of bikes for TFKC, but we know we were able to make 7 kids happy and improve their lives with our gift,” Laken noted.
“Donating the bikes was a no-brainer. I like this organization’s goals of teaching the recipients life lessons from earning their bicycles. It helps them to become better contributors to society,” comments Jackrabbit CEO and cofounder, Mark Mahoney.
While challenging for some, there were Jackrabbit team members who seemed at ease on the tiny bicycles. Amber Smith was a prime example of this.
Jackrabbit Technologies’ software serves the children’s activity center market so the company obviously has ties to children and feels duty-led to help underserved and impoverished children close by or around the world have what they need to be happy and healthy. Visit Jackrabbit Technologies’ website and Facebook page.
Trips for Kids Charlotte (TFKC) provides transformative cycling experiences for underserved youth. We do this through our mountain biking Ride Program, our after-school Earn-A-Bike Program and the Charlotte Re-Cyclery (used bike shop whose income helps us continue to grow and serve more kids). We strive to prepare children for success by teaching respect, honesty, teamwork, overcoming challenges, healthy and safe lifestyles and service. Visit TFKC’s website and Facebook page.
