SHI and Microsoft ran a Build-A-Bike® team building event in Warren, New Jersey on August 4, 2026. Three hundred participants gathered at Forest Lodge NJ, competed through team challenges, and assembled bikes before handing them off to the Greater Somerset County YMCA. Participants came from Texas and New Jersey, two of the company’s main operating regions. For many in the group, it was one of the few times they had been in the same area.
SHI is a global IT solutions provider and one of the world’s largest private technology companies. The company delivers hardware, software, cloud solutions, and managed services to organizations worldwide. Their New Jersey team is based in Somerset County, the same area the YMCA serves, which made this donation a direct investment in their own community.
Build-A-Bike® at Scale: Microsoft and SHI Come Together for an Unforgettable Build-A-Bike® Event in New Jersey
It doesn’t get much more exhilarating than this type of activity. 300 team members, half from one side of the country, half from the other, all coming together outside for 2 hours of growth, purpose, and fun. So many things made this event special, but part of it was the size.
Large groups require structure and finesse. At 300 participants, team dynamics shift in ways smaller events don’t face. Goodwill and enthusiasm carry a group of 30. At 300, the format has to do the work. Build-A-Bike® scales by dividing the group into focused, competing sub-teams.
It all becomes one big race. Dozens of groups all, simultaneously, frantically shouting across tables, trying to solve the clues and riddles, so they can earn their bike parts before the team next to them. Getting all the parts they need, then working out in real time how the parts fit together like one big Lego. It’s electrifying, invigorating, and easy to lose in the moment what you’re truly working towards. But once that last bike is finished, every team is instantly reminded why they’re there.
The Reason Everyone Was There
The heart of the event was the charity component, and the YMCA did an excellent job setting the context for why the builds mattered. Their presentation gave the SHI team a real sense of the impact each bike would have, and that context showed in the energy in the room. Teams leaned in, had fun with the challenge, and took pride in seeing their finished bikes lined up and ready to go to kids in the community.
By the numbers, the event delivered exactly what it needed to: 38 bikes built by 38 teams in under an hour, a room full of leadership and sales working side by side, and a strong sense of shared purpose to close out the Kickoff meeting. It was a clear example of team building done right, fast, engaging, and meaningful.
Planning a charity team building event for a large group in New Jersey or the New York metro area? Build-A-Bike® gives every participant a team to compete for and every host organization a donation worth making.