Goodwill of Greater Washington’s Goodwill Excel Center tapped into the transformed power of art and repurposing during its recent staff team retreat.
The theme was “Let’s open windows of imagination, transformation, and purpose—together,” so what better way to do this than transforming window sashes into art. The workshop was part of a day-long session with the Excel Center’s administrators, teachers, coaches, and leadership. The hands-on art session concluded with a gallery walk of the team’s creative efforts and the presentation of awards made out of thrifted trophies. The result? A deeper connection of the team to one another and the Excel Center’s mission. Score!
Thanks to the Excel Center’s Executive Director, Dr. Chelsea Kirk, for the opportunity to create, design, and facilitate the workshop. Hats off to the remarkable, passionate, and dedicated people there who are changing lives each and every day!
“As we embark on the 25-26 School Year, The Goodwill Excel Center is fueling up for the year ahead. I wanted to bring our team together for an opportunity to collaborate and create and talk about our personal why for the mission while also connecting it to the idea of working with our students and seeing their endless possibilities and talents,” said Dr. Kirk.
“I think it’s important to carve out time to build this energy before the year begins, and Tim was the perfect facilitator for this! After our initial brainstorm, he and I landed on using a metaphor of a window for the canvas! He helped us transform window sashes into amazing pieces of art that represented each of our team members and our students, and will be permanent fixtures in our schools for us to see each day and remind us of our commitment and the experience in creating these. Everyone can create, and we do this each day with our students and our community as we never stop seeing the endless possibilities in front of us!”
(This quote is so amazing that I am going to frame it—in a Goodwill-found frame, of course!)
Here’s how you can do the same for your team, too:
1. Select your theme & build around it
We’ve heard the saying, “When one door closes, a window opens,” so window sashes were picked up from Second Chance in Baltimore and repurposed as canvases for the Excel Center’s team.
What other themes might tie into your group’s purpose? Goodwill often has large canvases that would be painted upon as a group.
Chairs and mirrors are also great for transforming and connecting to themes of change, support, and reflection. Flowerpots and other garden items are ideal for themes of blooming and growing.
2. Collect items, art supplies from Goodwill
Stop by your favorite Goodwill nonprofit retail store and pick up items to use to transform and embellish. Paints, markets, papers, and other craft supplies are often available there. Hunt for small items like glass beads, board games, books, and the like, which can be added to make the window tell a story.
Set up long tables with everything folks need for their projects, from glue sticks/school glue/hot glue guns to paint pens, markers, craft paints, and lots of small art brushes. Offer a stash of old magazines, cards, calendars, and other paper items to be cut and adhered…so ensure you have a collection of scissors, too! Buttons, beads, jewelry parts, and other items are always great additions for accessorizing any DIY project.
3. Protect your place
As always, have plenty of paper towels and wet wipes to keep your space clean! Purchase plastic drop clothes to cover all tables and workspaces to keep them protected, pretty, and pristine. Ideally, select a space with non-carpeted floors and easy access to a kitchen with a big sink.
4. Create a tone with aprons, agendas, and an ice breaker
Make your meeting feel very different than the usual ones. This is a time for fun and creativity. The Excel Center ordered colorful craft aprons for each person. As soon as they were put on, it changed the atmosphere from one of serious work and strategy to that of crafting and creating.
Every workshop, meeting, or retreat needs an agenda with goals, details, and times. This will help keep attention focused and model best meeting practices. Another way to engage someone is to invite someone to be the agenda keeper.
Another important tool for connecting your team is providing a fun icebreaker. With most groups, there are usually one or two new people, so the icebreaker helps everyone get to know them and veteran team members better. We created a special Excel Center bingo game that linked to the mission and provided fun things to share. You can do the same to reflect your organization’s unique culture.
5. Set the stage for connecting, creating
Ideally, your teams will be divided into smaller working groups. The window sashes were the perfect size for three to four individuals to work on together easily. The groups were preassigned with thought and care. Consider doing the same.
Also, invite your team to bring a small personal item to add to their window—perhaps a photo, a feather, or a small jewelry item. To start things, folks sat in their small groups to share the items they brought and why. This is another way to bring folks together as they hear and share. For this session, one person clipped a piece of her pink wig to add!
6. Let the team go to town—with some guidelines
Invite your team to check out and help themselves to the arts supplies and other materials provided. As they go through the creative process, remind them of the time constraints/deadline to keep them moving. Have someone help by clearing used items and cleaning paint brushes.
7. A gallery walk—show & tell time
Once your time has concluded and the window sashes—now art pieces—are finished, place them in a central location and on tables, if possible, for easy viewing. Then invite all to walk around to admire the creative talents of their fellow staff members.
For the Excel Center workshop, folks gathered in a large conference room, so the art pieces were placed up front.
Invite each smaller working group to come up front to share their upcycled creations. This is another way for folks to get to know each other and for each person to get comfortable speaking in front of a group. During our workshop, this was such an amazing and inspiring part of the time because of the powerful words and passions shared! All were inspired; that was very clear!
8. And the winners are….
Let’s be honest, we are all a little competitive, right? To spark your team’s competitive juices, consider offering an award or two.
Keeping with the repurposing and reusing theme, two thrifted trophies along with small party favors (that looked like small winner’s cups) were transformed into awards using spray paint matching Goodwill’s colors. Logos were printed out and glued on—priceless!
The awards presented were Most Aligned with Mission, Most of the Box/Out of the Window, and Best in Show. While only three awards were given, the 12 groups all created show-stopping, eye-catching, and heart-warming pieces.
They will be proudly displayed in the Excel Center for the students, visitors, and staff to see these beautiful creations!
Similar Reads:
- https://findingyourgood.org/diy-how-a-thrifted-canvas-lays-foundation-for-community-art-connection/
- https://findingyourgood.org/how-to-create-an-earthy-friendly-mural-from-repurposed-discarded-items/
Tim Kime
Artist, Motivational Speaker, Life Coach
