Ideas for the Workplace

If you’re at work on World Animal Day, try some of these ideas to brighten up the day for you and your colleagues. The easiest option would be to organise some kind of fund-raiser for a favourite animal charity, but because WAD is essentially a day of celebration the emphasis should be on fun.

• Photo challenge – ask colleagues to bring in a photo of a pet. Display these together on a board, which can also be brightened up with animal clip art and copies of the WAD logo. Number the photos and invite colleagues to match the pet with their owner. Charge a small fee for each entry. Have a prize for the highest number of correct answers – this could be a voucher, a bottle of wine, box of chocolates, or similar. A variation would be to invite colleagues to bring in photos of themselves as babies, the challenge being to identify which member of staff they grew up to be!
• Bring your dog to work day – this can be a lot of fun, and could be a good charity fund-raiser if people are asked to pay a token amount for the privilege. However, this does need to be done with consideration; remember, some people are allergic to dogs, are afraid of dogs or just simply do not like them, so check this well in advance. Also, make sure that participating pooches are sufficiently well-behaved. An aggressive or excitable dog will almost certainly result in WAD being banned in your workplace in future.
• Cookie creatures – bake some animal-shaped biscuits to sell to colleagues at coffee break time to raise money for a local animal shelter. Arrange your produce on a decorative basket, plate, etc, to bring home fact that this is a day of celebration. You can download some background information about World Animal Day to hand out as well if you think colleagues might be interested.
• Jigsaw treasure hunt – display a completed jigsaw puzzle with an animal picture, having stuck the WAD logo or another symbol onto the back of one of the pieces. Invite colleagues to pay a small amount to remove a piece. The person who finds the symbol wins a small prize.
• Adopt an animal – get together with a group of colleagues to sponsor an animal. These could be wild animals such as whales, dolphins or wolves, or animals in shelters that cannot be rehomed. Most animal charities that offer sponsorship schemes will send photos and newsletters and, in some cases, let sponsors visit their animals. Newsletters and photos could then make an interesting display to brighten up the workplace.
• Lunch time learning – invite someone from a sanctuary or welfare organisation to give a presentation at your workplace during the lunch break. Alternatively, arrange with a group of colleagues to visit a local wildlife reserve at lunch time – it will make a change from sitting at your desk eating your sandwiches!
• Auction or sale – ask colleagues to donate items for an auction or sale. These could be home-made items, old books, unwanted birthday gifts, etc. If the auctioneer is feeling particularly extrovert, animal fancy-dress costume will certainly add a party atmosphere and encourage bidding. An alternative would be a promises auction, with individuals offering their services as car-washers or coffee/tea slaves to the highest bidder!

Whatever you decide to do, don’t forget to sign the World Animal Day pledge board and tell the world about your plans.