It's holiday party time, so we're asking employees what they think about their companies' bashes. (That's the point, right?)
An over-the-top internal bash for a nonprofit might seem dubious, so along with employees, the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation invited the org's beneficiaries and their families to its big holiday event last night. CBS Television City hosted the party for 400, which brought out M.C. and Star 98.7 DJ Lisa Foxx, Disney Channel actors, and costumed Santa and Mrs. Claus characters. This is what staffers and guests thought of the democratic approach to the holiday event.
“We don’t have a big holiday party—we don’t do a fancy night out for the staff—but coming here is better than going to some fancy party. Just seeing the kids open their presents, that’s the best part. I'm having a great time.”
—Stephanie Schneider, corporate accounts manager
“How can you not love it? This is really what doing the holidays are about to us. It's really about them, not about our office. It's about making the most memorable night for these kids, because they need it.”
—Christina Murphy, director of events and celebrity relations
“Tonight is very fun because of the arts and crafts. They have a lot of Christmas things.”
—Edna, 11
"A lot of the other holiday parties are for people having fun for themselves. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—you're supposed to be happy. But we have the opportunity where we [the staff] can enjoy ourselves with other people who aren’t able to enjoy themselves throughout the year. Here, we have an event where we can share.”
—Vivek, IT and finance staffer“The fact that it’s the holidays and it’s a time for not only our families and children to celebrate but our staff members to celebrate makes it really meaningful.”
—Donna Dedario, senior communications manager
"I like taking pictures.”
—Victoria, 5
“This event is a lot more than we expected. We knew CBS was on top of things, but this really blew our minds. We are really amazed with the floor-to-ceiling decor; everything is decorated beautifully. We’re thrilled with the snow falling, families doing crafts and eating—we have chocolate fondue and a tiered cake. Santa’s coming and we’re giving out toys.”
—Denise Martin, manager of program services
“What I liked about tonight is that we got to do all this fun stuff. The stocking decorating was my favorite part.”
—Hailey Duran, 10
“This is absolutely gorgeous. They told us to look up when we first walked in, and we look up and see all these cameras that are used in movie sets. And then they told us that there would be surprises, and we would see different stars from TV, so the kids already spotted some of the Disney and Nick stars. [My daughter] is really excited—the stars came over and took pictures with her.”
—Kathy Young, mother of beneficiary
Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly reported the radio station that DJ Lisa Foxx works for.
An over-the-top internal bash for a nonprofit might seem dubious, so along with employees, the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation invited the org's beneficiaries and their families to its big holiday event last night. CBS Television City hosted the party for 400, which brought out M.C. and Star 98.7 DJ Lisa Foxx, Disney Channel actors, and costumed Santa and Mrs. Claus characters. This is what staffers and guests thought of the democratic approach to the holiday event.
“We don’t have a big holiday party—we don’t do a fancy night out for the staff—but coming here is better than going to some fancy party. Just seeing the kids open their presents, that’s the best part. I'm having a great time.”
—Stephanie Schneider, corporate accounts manager
“How can you not love it? This is really what doing the holidays are about to us. It's really about them, not about our office. It's about making the most memorable night for these kids, because they need it.”
—Christina Murphy, director of events and celebrity relations
“Tonight is very fun because of the arts and crafts. They have a lot of Christmas things.”
—Edna, 11
"A lot of the other holiday parties are for people having fun for themselves. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—you're supposed to be happy. But we have the opportunity where we [the staff] can enjoy ourselves with other people who aren’t able to enjoy themselves throughout the year. Here, we have an event where we can share.”
—Vivek, IT and finance staffer“The fact that it’s the holidays and it’s a time for not only our families and children to celebrate but our staff members to celebrate makes it really meaningful.”
—Donna Dedario, senior communications manager
"I like taking pictures.”
—Victoria, 5
“This event is a lot more than we expected. We knew CBS was on top of things, but this really blew our minds. We are really amazed with the floor-to-ceiling decor; everything is decorated beautifully. We’re thrilled with the snow falling, families doing crafts and eating—we have chocolate fondue and a tiered cake. Santa’s coming and we’re giving out toys.”
—Denise Martin, manager of program services
“What I liked about tonight is that we got to do all this fun stuff. The stocking decorating was my favorite part.”
—Hailey Duran, 10
“This is absolutely gorgeous. They told us to look up when we first walked in, and we look up and see all these cameras that are used in movie sets. And then they told us that there would be surprises, and we would see different stars from TV, so the kids already spotted some of the Disney and Nick stars. [My daughter] is really excited—the stars came over and took pictures with her.”
—Kathy Young, mother of beneficiary
Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly reported the radio station that DJ Lisa Foxx works for.
