How a Professional Development Day Planted Purpose
The PMI Western Michigan Chapter (WMPMI) is a community of project management professionals dedicated to growth, connection, and meaningful impact.
When it came time for their Professional Development Day (PDD), they wanted to offer something that attendees would truly remember, something that reflected their values of leadership, collaboration, and sustainability.
That’s when they decided to gift forests, not just swag.
The Challenge: The Gift Everyone Forgets
Mary from the Chapter’s team put it plainly:
“We don’t want another calendar or mug, attendees deserve something special.”
In past events, giveaways were quickly forgotten. This year’s Professional Development Day called for something memorable, meaningful, and environmentally responsible.
The team wanted a way to:
- Create a positive impact beyond the event itself
- Replace disposable swag with a lasting gift
- Make sustainability a real part of their chapter story
They needed a solution that was simple, scalable, and aligned with PMI’s global values of stewardship and innovation.
The Solution: 150 Tree Kit Cups with 3,000 Matching Trees
Working with ForestNation, the chapter created custom Tree Kit Cups as an eco-friendly giveaway for every attendee at their Professional Development Day.
Here’s what made it special:
- 150 custom Tree Kit Cups designed with WMPMI’s branding
- 20 matching trees planted for each kit, totaling 3,000 trees in Tanzania
- Thornless Honeylocust seed species, selected for its suitability across the U.S.
- Fast turnaround: Order placed September 24, kits shipped October 1. That’s rapid from start to finish!
- All fulfilled in time for the big day, showing speed, purpose, and impact in action
- Each attendee received a tangible reminder of growth, leadership, and environmental stewardship. Every kit represented a living tree planted abroad and a story that could be shared proudly.
The Results: From Event Moment to Evergreen Impact
- 🎁 150 attendees received a giveaway they could plant themselves, not one more item to stash away.
- 🌍 3,000 trees planted in Tanzania, giving the Chapter’s gift real global scale.
- 🔄 The Chapter elevated the PDD from “just another event” to “an event that grows forests.”
Takeaway: When You Gift Forests, You Build Stories
The PMI Western Michigan Chapter proved that great events can leave a footprint of growth, not waste.
By replacing forgettable swag with Tree Kits that grow real forests, they created something far more meaningful:
- A connection between personal development and planetary regeneration
- A story that continues to grow long after the event ended
The Professional Development Day became more than an educational milestone; it became a sustainability milestone too.
🌱 Every attendee left with a kit, a memory, and a message: together, we can grow change.