I’d done volunteer work for various organizations throughout my life. Boy Scouts, school, church youth group…in my youth it was just something you went and did. The Eagle Project I did sure looked good on resumes and school applications too.

Now that I’m started with my engineering career with Exelon, however, volunteer work has become more important to me. At first when I was starting at Dresden Generating Station, it was something to do on the weekends to get out of the apartment for a while. As I’ve been at Dresden longer, however, it has become something I’ve found I need to go and do to live a balanced life.

In large part, I have my company, Exelon, to thank for getting me out of the apartment and into the surrounding community. Their “Energy for the Community” web tool allows myself and any interested employees to get involved in volunteer events throughout Chicagoland and other areas. We can even organize and post our own events!

One of my favorite volunteer events through the company has to be the first I went to. One of the Radiation Protection professionals at Dresden organized a volunteer event at Bernie’s Book Bank in Lake Bluff, IL.

We were a happy group

For two hours, the group of about 10 of us from across the Exelon organization worked with other groups to put bags of six books together that would eventually be distributed to 2nd and 3rd graders during the summer vacation months. It was a really relaxing event: you simply took six books of a certain size and gender interest, put them in a bag, and repeated the process until the two hours was up.

I’ve been to more volunteer events since, and I’ve tried to remember each time to do a selfie to capture the moment (because isn’t that what millennials are supposed to do?).

Dog parade in La Grange, IL with OLE (Organization of Latinos in Exelon)

Cleaning up after the Color Run in Millennium Park, Chicago, IL

Habitat for Humanity in West Pullman, Chicago, IL

Pride parade with Exelon PRIDE in Chicago, IL

Cheering on our vets at the Warrior Games in Chicago, IL

Sorting and stacking books for the Newberry Library Book Fair, Chicago, IL

Organizations I Support

Besides looking good for the camera, however, I have come to believe in some of the causes I’ve gone out to support. The following are organizations that I personally care about and that I try to donate my time to regularly.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. The organization performs a variety of education and advocacy work at the local and national level. I personally both volunteer with and take part in local services that my Affiliate, NAMI Will-Grundy, performs where I live. If you know someone who is suffering from mental illness or know someone who has a family member with mental illness that needs help, NAMI may be able to assist you.

 

At a local student health day in Morris, IL. Must have missed this selfie earlier…

My family has pretty much always had a family dog. As a result, I really like dogs. I like cats too, but I’m terribly allergic which makes it a bit hard to own or work with them.

…That aside, since moving to Morris, IL to work at Dresden Generating Station, I’ve found myself missing my family’s current canine, Rudy, and figured it might be fun to volunteer with a shelter in the area. To that end, I’ve found myself volunteering with the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago and the Will County Humane Society in Shorewood.

The Will County Humane Society houses around 30-40 dogs and 75-100 cats at a time. They are a no-kill shelter, so animals that come through their doors take the time they need to physically and emotionally recuperate until they are adopted to a new home. I’ve started to go on Wednesday nights to help walk and kennel the dogs that are in residence. I’ve found it’s both good for the dogs (they get a walk or two from a person) and me (I get a lot of walking in).

The Anti-Cruelty Society is a private, non-profit “no-kill” shelter in Chicago. They offer adoptions, affordable spay and neuter, education, and dog training services to the local community. I began working with Anti-Cruelty Society through Exelon’s Developing Young Professionals (DYP) who partner with the Society’s Construction Crew. About once a month, a group from DYP will get together if the Society’s multi-purpose room and put together disposable dog and cat toys and treats for the animals in the shelter. While we are assembling the toys and treats, the shelter will typically bring in a group of puppies or kittens they are socializing to roam freely through the space. They are a great organization and if you are in the Chicago area, I’d highly recommend working with them if you like animals.

I’m allergic, but I couldn’t resist playing with this little girl for a short while.

It’s a fun time making cat toys!

Green Harvest is a non-profit food agency that serves the working poor in the cities of Aurora, Montgomery, Naperville, Oswego, Plainfield, Plano, and Yorkville in Illinois. Families and individuals served by Green Harvest get about a weeks worth of food once a month for 6 months.

At Dresden our North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN) regularly has events at Green Harvest. We go about once every other month for about an hour, sorting delivered food into distribute-able packages. I’ve taken the lead in the last two volunteer days Dresden NAYGN has organized, and look forward to future events as we have them!

Look at that happy group of young people. Just…look!

The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is the exclusive provider of blood products and services to 86 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin. When I lived in Davenport, I regularly donated whole blood, and then later when requested, platelets. Platelet donation remained a regular part of my life until I left the Quad Cities area in April 2017. While I am looking to resume donating soon with Heartland Blood Centers in Joliet, I encourage anyone who can donate blood or blood products to do so. Platelet donation takes a little more time (2-3 hours every two weeks) but they also give you snacks and basic cable while you’re donating, so that’s pretty awesome!