Johnson & Johnson Case Study: 45 Volunteers, 41 First Aid Kits in One Hour

The Program

An employee volunteering hour only works if every person walks out feeling like their hour counted. Johnson & Johnson brought 45 employees together at its Raritan campus to build first aid kits for individuals from underserved communities. The window was one hour, inside a workday, with people arriving from meetings and heading back to them. That leaves no room for a slow start or a room that drifts.

What We Did

The impact: we guided a group of 45 corporate volunteers through a community driven impact activity, from the first welcome to the final group photo.

We hosted and facilitated the session as lead host, booked through Goodera, the corporate volunteering platform that produced the program. Our job was the room: open the hour, connect the team to who the kits were for, walk everyone through the build stations, and keep the pace steady so the work finished inside the hour with energy left for the close.

The build ran as stations: bandages, gauze, antiseptic wipes, swabs, tweezers and gloves, with a card writing table where volunteers added a handwritten note to go inside the kits. Every kit was packed, zipped and accounted for before the group photo.

Event Photos

How We Opened the Hour

We started with a presentation. In a one hour corporate volunteering event, the first few minutes decide whether people treat the activity as a break from work or as something that matters. We kept the open engaging and direct, so the group understood what they were building and why their hour counted. The room bought in fast.

We did not play music during the build, and that was the right call for this room. Once the team understood the purpose, the work carried its own energy: conversations across the tables and people helping each other pack. No countdowns or table competitions were needed. Knowing when not to add something is part of audience engagement too.

The team finished on time and did a great job packing. We closed with three group photos, so every volunteer left with a picture of what they built together.

What the Room Told Us

“Great job. You were amazing. Great energy.”

Johnson & Johnson volunteers, said to us in the room

A member of the Johnson & Johnson team told us directly that the session was engaging and that we brought great energy. By the end, the group was excited and grateful to be part of the activity.

The Outcome

41 first aid kits finished in one hour by 45 Johnson & Johnson volunteers, each one carrying a handwritten note. The room ended the way a corporate volunteering event should: everyone together, kits in hand, proud of what they built.

Why It Worked

A volunteering hour is a live event with a deadline. The same skills we use to hold a corporate conference or a brand activation apply here: a clear open, a reason to care, simple instructions, steady pacing and a finish people remember. When the host owns the flow, the planner and the team can focus on the work and the people it is for.