Yahoo! leaders thank their teams for fundraising participation
What do dressing up as Serena Williams and playing trivia with Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz have in common?  They were both rewards to Yahoos for breaking participation records during the annual Yahoo! Employee Foundation (YEF) fundraising drive.  Over $2 million dollars were raised from 57% of Yahoo!’s U.S. employees and a generous donation from our co-founders, Jerry and David.

Here’s a look at some of the ways Y! leaders thanked their employees for donating to YEF.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
Nine lucky Yahoos, chosen at random from the pool of thousands of employees who donated to YEF, were treated to a gourmet dinner and fast-paced trivia game at Carol’s home.  The game was an ice-breaker to get the evening started.  A good time was had by all.

Thriller Dance

The N. America region blew the doors off their goal with a 72% participation rate.  So, living up to their promise to do their version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance if they beat their goal, Hilary Schneider, SVP for the N. America region and her leadership team brushed up on their moon walk and hit the dance floor in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Yahoo!’s Sunnyvale cafeteria..

Their performance was the most exciting event to hit the Sunnyvale cafeteria since the introduction of free soda.  The King of Pop would be proud.

Bryan Lamkin + tennis skirt = Serena Williams (?)
Okay, so maybe Serena doesn’t have to worry about losing her status as the fashion queen of the tennis courts, but Bryan Lamkin, SVP of Products, Global Applications, gave it his best shot.  To thank his team for beating their fundraising goal, Bryan held a Wii tennis contest in the Sunnyvale cafeteria and dressed as his favorite female tennis star.

The Marketing Games
There may be worldwide winter games starting soon in Vancouver, but the Yahoo! Marketing Team couldn’t wait.  As a reward for hitting 73% participation rate among her team, Elisa Steele, Chief Marketing Officer, hosted the first ever Marketing Winter Games.

Activities included moving on giant skis, curling on fake ice floors and playing basketball with ginormous balls and hoops.  Elisa got into the act as she strapped on a full-blown hockey goalie uniform and did her best impression of Jacques Plante, as Yahoos tried to slap thepuck past her.

While it’s often fun and games at Yahoo!, the most important accomplishment was raising money so that the Yahoo! Employee Foundation can continue to provide grants to non-profit organizations championed by our U.S. employees.

Thanks and congratulations to all of the Yahoos who contributed to the fundraising drive, proving once again that Yahoo! cares about our communities.