Fun team bonding activities in Chicago for summer intern classes: teams earn play cash, then pack school supply backpacks that are donated to children.
Summer intern classes in Chicago arrive eager, a little nervous and spread across departments. This program gives them a shared moment early on. The crew travels to your office or event space in Illinois, randomizes interns into teams, runs challenges for play cash, and closes with a backpack assembly line for children who need school supplies.
From cash to filled bags
The closing round is the one people talk about afterward. Teams spend their earned cash on school supplies and race the clock to stuff backpacks in an assembly line format. Roles settle on their
Fun team bonding activities in Chicago for summer intern classes: teams earn play cash, then pack school supply backpacks that are donated to children.
Summer intern classes in Chicago arrive eager, a little nervous and spread across departments. This program gives them a shared moment early on. The crew travels to your office or event space in Illinois, randomizes interns into teams, runs challenges for play cash, and closes with a backpack assembly line for children who need school supplies.
From cash to filled bags
The closing round is the one people talk about afterward. Teams spend their earned cash on school supplies and race the clock to stuff backpacks in an assembly line format. Roles settle on their own: someone stocks, someone packs, someone checks and zips. The result is a row of filled backpacks headed to children who need them, plus a winner decided by how well each team worked as a unit.
A first group win for interns
Fun team bonding activities help an intern class form a network that lasts beyond the summer. This one mixes puzzles, light challenges and a giving finish, making it more memorable than typical fun team bonding games. It works as team building activities for new hires and as summer team building events, especially when mentors join teams. Across the Great Lakes region, team bonding events with a donation also show interns what the company values. Fun team bonding ideas are plentiful; this one is easy to host. For larger classes, team bonding activities for large groups scale with wristbands and more facilitators.
Starting with an icebreaker
The session opens with an icebreaker that sorts the room into teams of 4 to 8, and groups of 80 or more get a wristband system that mixes people at random. One host leads the whole program, with one facilitator for every 20 to 30 guests to guide teams, keep rounds moving and settle questions.
Crowning the winners
Every competition needs a finish line. Medals are awarded to the winning team, and events with 75 or more guests add medals for second and third place, which keeps more teams in the race through the final build.
Choosing a space
Space needs are modest. A ballroom, meeting room, open workspace or covered patio will do, as long as there is a flat, safe area and enough tables for teams to work and pack. Everything arrives in the crew's event material kit, including challenge props and custom puzzles, and the same crew sets up beforehand and clears out afterward.
Numbers to plan with
Small team or full company, the structure holds. Anywhere from 15 to 1,000 guests can take part, the run time is 90 minutes, and the challenge lineup can be weighted toward themes such as leadership development, communication or change management when the agenda calls for it.
Puzzles, tasks and play money
Teams rotate through short rounds that mix three flavors of play. Experiential learning challenges are shaped around the theme of your event, light physical tasks get people out of their chairs, and cerebral puzzles reward the quiet problem solvers. Every round pays out in play cash, and that balance becomes the buying power each team carries into the final build.
Part of every session
- Full hosting: one lead host plus one facilitator for every 20 to 30 guests
- All challenge materials, puzzles and props
- Backpacks and essential school supplies for packing
- Charity coordination with the program's children's charity partner
- Donation receipt instructions for your records
- First place medals, plus more medals for groups of 75 and up
Giving that is documented
Where do the backpacks go? They are donated through the program's charity partner for children, a nonprofit in the Bay Area, with the crew coordinating every step of the donation. You receive donation receipt instructions, and the follow up after the event includes highlights your team can share internally.
Planning for your intern class
Summer is peak season, so check availability for your Chicago date eight to twelve weeks ahead. Pricing is transparent before checkout. Share headcount and room details.
