Explore the special days and themes for the month of May!
This calendar is a guide for you and your team to use as you plan meaningful, internal events and activities virtually for the month of May. Bring everyone together this month to focus on mental health awareness and support, and celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Add Epoch’s calendar to be ahead of 2023’s cultural and holiday events!
An important theme for May is celebrating AAPI Heritage Month to recognize the contributions of AAPI individuals to the history and culture of the USA. It’s also important to address the injustice of Asian hate that is happening in the world. Many organizations are taking action to stop this injustice and protect vulnerable communities. Looking at our other blog post for 7 ways to celebrate AAPI month!
May the fourth (force) be with you! Gather all of your Star Wars-loving team members and celebrate all things Star Wars with various activities. Spend the day creating fun and engaging ways for employees to come together and share their love of Star Wars. Here are some fun ideas to get the entire team involved:
Cinco de Mayo is an annual celebration to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over the French Empire. Over the years it has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. This special day is best celebrated with festive outfits, Mexican food, traditional parades, and music!
Idea: Host a virtual cooking class of traditional Mexican food and dishes where employees can follow along and make their own Cinco de Mayo festive meal. To make things easy for your employees, use Instacart to give employees a credit for the ingredients they will need for the class.
If you want to learn more about how Cinco de Mayo is a commonly misunderstood holiday - consider spending 4 minutes on this post. In the article, the author Jillian Abel writes: “There’s been cultural appropriation of the Mexican culture in an attempt to celebrate the holiday, along with a general lack of knowledge about the national holiday. Let’s unpack [in post] what Cinco de Mayo really means, and how you can celebrate it respectfully.”
This day remembers those struggling with infertility annually on the Sunday before Mother’s Day. Help open the conversation among your employees to share and support one another through the challenges of infertility. Leverage your Women ERG and offer an ear to listen to those who are struggling. This can be a very sensitive topic, so keep that in mind.
On this special day, it’s important to celebrate the mothers and motherly figures in your life and show appreciation. This is a great opportunity to get the children of your team’s working moms involved in creating fun and loving crafts or cards to make.
Idea: Offer kid-friendly crafting events to teach them how. Another option is to send out a little gift or care package to all the mothers on your team to make them feel loved and special!
May 17th represents a worldwide celebration of sexual and gender diversities. Many initiatives take place in many countries around the world on this day to foster change as it is an issue on a global scale. The main goal of May 17 is to “draw attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics”.
Idea: Find local initiatives and events near you to show support and help combat this issue. Or have a virtual screening of an LGBTQ2+ film or documentary - here’s a list.
Even though the majority of offices remain closed, instead of biking to work, get employees to go for a bike ride during their lunch or after work. It’s a great way to take a break from the computer screen and get active. Employees can even get their whole household involved in a family bike ride.
Idea: Post this on a Slack or Teams channel and encourage employees to share photos of their bike rides!
This United Nations-sanctioned international holiday, World Day for Cultural Diversity, helps to promote and educate everyone on the diversity issues that exist globally. The best way to celebrate this monumental occasion is by educating your team on various cultures. If you have a global team or ERGs, take the time to get to understand and learn about each culture through multiple employees’ experiences, in a company-wide virtual event.
Who doesn’t love a good hamburger? They are such a staple food item and you can never go wrong with a hamburger cooked right on the BBQ. Have a company-wide hamburger lunch where employees can make their own or order a burger from a local restaurant or fast-food chain. Give out Uber Eats or Instacart credits to treat your employees to a delicious meal and easy delivery.
Idea: Post this on a Slack or Teams channel and encourage employees to share photos of their best burgers!
This federal holiday in the USA honors the military personnel who lost their lives while serving in the United States Armed Forces. There are many ways your team can honor this important day. Support the Memorial Day Foundation by sponsoring Memorial floral wreaths to be placed on War Memorials across the country.
Idea: Attend virtual showings of Memorial Day parades to show respect. Honor this day by wearing and decorating home office spaces in patriotic colors.
Employee well-being should always be top of mind, especially during May. It’s an important time to bring light to mental health issues and the resources and support available to employees. Offering webinars or live chats to start the conversation, and improve internal communication surrounding this topic are primary steps to creating an inclusive culture. Stress-relieving events can also tie in with mental health by allowing employees to take a break and clear their minds.
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