Your company probably invests in team-building activities, wellness programs, and maybe even an annual volunteer day. Yet surveys keep showing the same troubling trend: employees feel disconnected from meaningful work, and turnover remains stubbornly high. 

Here’s what’s missing: purpose. 

Employees don’t just want to work for a paycheck. They want to work for something. They want to know that their efforts — and by extension, their company — matter in the world. When that’s missing, even the best perks feel hollow. 

The good news? Purpose-driven engagement isn’t a pipe dream. It’s achievable, scalable, and transformative for your workplace culture. And Save the Children offers a proven model for making it happen. 

Purpose isn’t a nice-to-have anymore. Research consistently shows that employees who feel connected to meaningful work are more engaged, stay longer, and perform better. They also become your best brand ambassadors, talking about their employer with genuine pride. 

But here’s the trap: many companies try to manufacture purpose through generic volunteering or charity matching that feels obligatory rather than authentic. What employees crave is the opposite — engagement that lets them see real impact, understand why it matters, and feel personally connected to the outcome. 

Save the Children has spent over 100 years building programs that create exactly that kind of connection. And they’ve designed a partnership model specifically for companies wanting to bring that sense of purpose into their workplace culture. 

Four core ways to build purpose with your team 

Journeys With Us: Impact without leaving your desk 
Imagine giving your team a one-hour window into the actual programs your company is supporting. That’s what Journeys With Us delivers. 

Employees take immersive virtual tours to nine destinations — from South Sudan to Cambodia, and from rural Kentucky to rural Colombia. They meet the country office staff on the ground, hear stories directly from program participants, and see firsthand where their support goes. No sunscreen required, but the impact feels real. 

This works because it closes the gap between “we’re giving to charity” and “I understand why it matters.” Employees see the faces, hear the voices, and grasp the complexity of challenges children face worldwide. That understanding transforms how they think about their work. 

Lead time: Three weeks | Participants: Unlimited | Best for: Remote teams and organizations wanting to deepen employee knowledge 

KitUp: Hands-on contribution 
Some teams thrive on tangible, in-person activities. That’s where KitUp comes in. 

Employees pack pre-assembled kits — school supplies, hygiene items, baby/caregiver packages, teacher appreciation kits — to go directly to children and families in Save the Children programs. There’s something powerful about holding a kit you’ve packed and knowing it will reach a specific kid in need. 

Lead time: Five weeks | Best for: In-person team bonding or remote employee inclusion

BuildUp: Creativity meets impact 
This is where purpose gets creative. 

Your team can build and decorate reading buddy tote bags (complete with plush bears and books), design bookmarks with positive messages for kids, create breathing buddy shirts for children learning coping skills, construct little libraries for rural communities, or even assemble a photo mosaic where each employee photo becomes part of a larger image representing hope. 

These aren’t complicated activities, but they matter. They’re tangible, visible, and employees leave the event knowing they’ve created something real that will reach a real child. A teacher will open one of those little libraries. A kid will tuck a breathing buddy under their pillow on a hard night. 

Lead time: 3-10 weeks (depending on activity) | Best for: Teams wanting creative, memorable experiences with visible outcomes 

TeamUp: Giving that builds culture 
Purpose-driven workplaces need a giving infrastructure that makes participation effortless and impact visible. 

Save the Children’s TeamUp platform gives your company a branded, customizable donation portal where employees can give individually or as teams. You can set fundraising goals, enable matching gifts (which double impact), offer payroll deduction, and run peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. Real-time progress tracking and reporting keep momentum high and outcomes transparent. 

This transforms year-end campaigns, volunteer weeks, or ongoing giving from “we’re asking for donations” into “we’re collectively building something meaningful together.” 

Best for: Companies wanting to embed giving into workplace culture with flexibility and transparency 

Why this actually works 
Save the Children’s engagement model succeeds because it checks every box that purpose-driven employees care about: 

  • Authenticity. Programs are tied to real initiatives, real children, and real outcomes. Not feel-good theater. 
  • Accessibility. Whether your team is remote, in-office, or hybrid — whether employees can spare an hour or a day — there’s a fit. 
  • Tangibility. Employees see and often hold the result of their work. Virtual tours feature real staff. Kits reach real kids. Libraries serve real communities. 
  • Flexibility. Start with a one-hour lunch-and-learn. Scale to multi-week initiatives. Co-create custom experiences as your partnership grows. 
  • Strategic alignment. Weave engagement into your company calendar around World Humanitarian Day, World Literacy Day, and Giving Tuesday. Or anchor programs to your own company moments — team retreats, back-to-office events, and/or affinity group meetings. 

In a competitive talent market, purpose is a retention lever. Employees want to work somewhere that stands for something. They want their daily effort to contribute to a world that’s slightly better than the one they found. 

Save the Children makes it possible to deliver that — not as a one-off event, but as part of your ongoing workplace culture. 

The path forward is clear: move beyond transactional engagement. Build purpose into your workplace. Watch retention, morale, and team cohesion improve as a result. 

See the impact 
Check out how your support of Save the Children makes a difference in the lives of children. 

Need help? 
Want to engage Save the Children in your workplace? We’re here to help! Reach out today to get started.