Take Your Child to Work Day is a national celebration dating back to 1993, and it's recognized as a day to give children a glimpse into the working world. At Yext, we're always aiming to inspire the next generation of innovators — so our Employee Resource Group for Parents & Caregivers, Expand, was excited to host our first rendition of the program in April after a two-year hiatus.
While we weren't able to host the event in person again just yet, we marked the occasion with a week full of virtual programming starting on Monday, April 25th. We were also able to coordinate registration for all participants to receive a kids kick-off kit which included a welcome poem, sticker sheet, branded TYKTWD notebook, and a 10-piece box of crayons. The kits were a huge hit and we received several masterpieces! As sales Engineer Jillian Mazziotti put it, "the kits made my kids and I feel seen, and they were excited to see and be a part of what their mom does every day."
Given that our workforce is global and spans 11 countries, we at Yext wanted these events to be hosted in various time zones to accommodate as many families as possible. Our activities were centered around the pillars of collaboration, company, and community, and they were geared towards kids of all ages. In addition to our live sessions, we created offline programming for kids to participate in including an Earth Day scavenger hunt poster design contest.
We started the week focusing on giving back to the community through an e-card-making session hosted by Ronald McDonald House New York. We used the free online design platform Canva.com and designed cards as a member of the RMH-NY team shared more about their mission and gave us a virtual tour of their House. The completed cards are now being displayed on screens around the house for families, staff, and volunteers.
For our next two events, we tapped into the talents of our very own employees. Our Sustainability co-leads Caroline Gould & Chris Haluszczak put on their chef hats and hosted an educational cooking class centered around Earth Day. The duo shared the history of Earth Day and ways to implement sustainable practices into their everyday lives, followed by an interactive class making dirt worm pudding cups. (Yum, right? It was, we promise!)
Another one of our talented colleagues, Dana Fesjian, is a certified yoga instructor and teaches classes when she's not busy building new Yext solutions. Dana led a kid-centric yoga session that combined breathwork, fun poses, and guided meditation to support awareness and relaxation.
We wrapped up our week of festivities with two separate family trivia nights (1 for our international employees and 1 for those in the US). Using the interactive platform Kahoot, played a 4-round trivia, quizzing families on Disney characters & movies, Yext, Earth Day, and holidays. The top 3 winners from each event received prizes such as subscriptions to Audible, KiwiCo, and Little Passports.
Following our first morning session, Arpita Mukhuty who is based in our Hyderabad office said, "Kudos to the team for arranging the trivia night. It was such a wonderful show and my kids were glued to the screen!"
We look forward to expanding this initiative and celebrating again next year! In the meantime, learn more about Yext culture and events here.
