Photo courtesy of Dublin Business Academy and OCLC
Though its soccer team will not be able to compete, OCLC is expected to field several teams as part of the Corporate Challenge.
The Dublin Chamber of Commerce has something new in the works this summer. The wildfire of corporate fitness weekends that has swept through the nation has finally reached Dublin in the form of the Dublin Chamber Corporate Challenge.
This fitness challenge is a two-day affair that takes place June 22 and 23 at Crowne Plaza Dublin and Dublin Jerome High School, respectively. The goal of the event is to encourage fitness and community service through competitive activities and involvement with many local nonprofits.
The event originated as a group community project developed by students of Leadership Dublin’s Executive Program, which has been run by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce for more than 20 years. The program is designed for business professionals who already have experience in the field.
Photo courtesy of Dublin Business Academy and OCLC
“They already have expertise that they can bring from their workplace,” says Jenny Amrose, chief operating officer at the Dublin Chamber. “So they can help write marketing plans, put budgets together and do research for projects that are needed to help support the nonprofits here in Dublin.”
Each year’s group community project is used to benefit local nonprofits in some way.
After the projects have been outlined and researched, says Amorose, they are given to the nonprofit they benefit to implement, and this year, the challenge will benefit the chamber. Other organizations that have benefited from the project in the past include Dublin City Schools, the Dublin Food Pantry and the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Dublin branch.
The Corporate Challenge also benefits Dublin City Schools in major ways. T-shirts for the event were commissioned through the Dublin Business Academy, a student-run program in the district. The program allows high school students to gain real-world experience by running a screen printing business, the profits of which go right back to their schools.
The Corporate Challenge will also benefit the Dublin Scioto High School women’s volleyball team.
“They will be running our volleyball tournament portion for the corporate challenge,” says Amorose. “And then we will make a donation back to their team as a thank you. We’re really looking to try to connect students with the businesses here in Dublin, and this is a fun way to do that as well.”
This isn’t the only way that the event will benefit the community. The winners of the challenge’s three divisions will get the chance to give back to a specific piece of Dublin.
“Whoever wins those divisions, they get to pick a charity of their choice, and we make a donation in their name,” says Amorose.
Photo courtesy of OCLC
A volleyball event will be part of the Corporate Challenge, with OCLC -- which already has its own volleyball team -- likely to participate.
The Corporate Challenge is modeled after similar events in other cities, but the committee in charge has found a few creative ways to make the Dublin challenge unique to the area.
“We have a committee of 100 people that are working on putting this event together,” says Amorose. “Because our committee is so large and we have representatives from businesses in Dublin … we’ve actually come up with some activities that are unique to our businesses here.”
The cup stacking event, sponsored by Wendy’s, is now a Frosty cup stacking contest; the balloons in the dart challenge have been replaced with gloves produced by Cardinal Health; and the obstacle course will be representative of OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital.
Other activities at the Corporate Challenge include a football toss, relay sprints, Minute to Win It-style challenges and a basketball shootout.
Valerie Mauger is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
