Late October, more than 150 staff from DBS participated in the Shanghai Young Bakers (SYB) Market Exchange at the DBS office. The event set out to raise awareness for social enterprises among employees and encourage greater interaction.

Engagement for the event started the week before where staff are called upon to raise funds for a year supply of eggs for SYB beneficiaries. Thanks to the generosity of the DBS staff, they raised close to RMB9K within a week! Within one month, DBS collected enough to cover SYB’s needs in eggs for the whole 2017-2018 school year. Knowing that SYB uses more than 32,000 eggs during its one-year training in bakery and pastry, this is no small feat, and a huge help for our program.

On the event day, SYB program director and graduates shared their experiences, touching many DBS staff with their stories. IBG-COO also shared why DBS supports SE and how staff play an important role as we engage SE. He also shared the story of how DBS China-IBG has worked with SYB since Aug this year while they have procured around 200 bakery boxes from SYB and how the head of IBG distributed those bakery boxes to DBS staff one by one to show senior leadership’s appreciation over the hard work leading to the business development.

Staff also got the opportunity to get their hands dirty as they try their hand at cookie decoration.

They also helped promote SYB’s cause by posting selfies of themselves with SYB’s baked goods on WeChat and sharing SYB’s services among their friends.

If you would also like to organize a fun and meaningful activity with SYB on your lunch break, or find other ways to engage your staff to “bake a difference”, please get in touch! From enjoying delicious breads and cakes in office, to simple bakery workshops or meaningful interactions, there are many recipes to ensure a successful activity!