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Team One: Team Work Makes the Dream Work!

Team One, an advertising agency located in Playa Vista, has been adopting an 826LA Field Trip each month since December 2015. The publication of The Paintbrush at the Bottom of the Sea: An Adventure of Magical Bow Ties and Noodle Planets, written by Ms. Galvan’s 2nd grade class from Grand View Boulevard Elementary School, marked the 10th Team One field trip. We’re commemorating this milestone by sharing more about what Team One does with 826LA!

Back in August 2015, Rachel King, an Associate Project Manager at Team One and 826LA volunteer, reached out to 826LA to see about employees volunteering. Over the course of the next few months, details were hammered out, plans were confirmed, and before long, we had a brand new corporate partner. Mike, 826LA Programs Coordinator, and Lauren, 826LA Volunteer Manager, got a chance to visit the number one team at Team One! 

In her first email, Rachel wrote “We believe in ‘Launching the Remarkable’—remarkable work and remarkable ideas. I could tell in your training and the excerpts that were read there, that this is what you do at your locations daily, by fostering creativity and fun! I strongly believe our missions are aligned and we can potentially start a long-lasting relationship.” We couldn’t agree more. Eric Jorgensen, a copywriter at Team One, agrees. “It was amazing to work with kids who want to put their imaginations to work and write something fun,” he says, “It reminds me why I started writing.”

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So, what does adopting a field trip mean? It’s a lot of leg work initially, but we’ve fallen into a great routine; Programs Coordinator Mike Dunbar and I visit Team One every quarter to train new, interested employees. We drop off piles of field trip books for people to keep and enjoy. Team One arranges a mobile Live Scan unit to come out to their office following these trainings, so that everyone gets background checked right away. Rachel and her crew pick dates for a couple of months at a time, and we reserve them for Team One.

Team One then organizes a group from their 50+ employees trained to be 826LA volunteers, and sends them in for a field trip at our Mar Vista center. Since last December, they’ve adopted almost all the field trips we offer from Storytelling & Bookmaking (with someone always up for illustrating), to Choose Your Own Adventure, to Small Group Storytelling, to Well-Wishing and Poetry Writing.

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“Partnering with 826LA has been seamless and widely well-received in our agency!” Rachel says, “Not to mention, the field trips are a perfect blend of childlike whimsy and academic learning and mentorship—guaranteeing student AND volunteer engagement. This has been a great opportunity to get involved in the community while giving employees a creative outlet and re-energizing morning before work.”

Here’s to another year of shark-legged human/lion hybrids, cranky Barnacles, and proud kids, Team One. Thanks for being our partner!  


If you’re interested in volunteering with 826LA, click here. To learn more about corporate volunteer opportunities, email Volunteer Manager Lauren Humphrey at lauren@826la.org.

Photo Credits: Matt Hartz, Team One

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