This past Saturday, June 7th, ESD volunteers joined over 5,000 others in Chicago Care's Serve-a-Thon, an annual event where volunteers come together to transform Chicago Public Schools and improve learning environments throughout the city. Our voluneers were a part of a group of 200 who traveled to J.N. Thorp Elementary School to paint murals and hallways and building benches and cubbies.
"Serve-a-Thon brought me closer to my ESD family, helped me improve other Chicago communities, and really made me feel like I was part of something bigger than myself," says Carlos Clark, a member of ESD's Marketing team. "It was an amazing experience, and I can't wait to roll up my sleeves again next year!"
Kylie Pedersen, a mechanical engineer in ESD's Workplace Solutions practice, says her favorite part of the experience was meeting Lee, a student at the school they were painting. "He had a broken ankle but was still extremely excited to help out. While he helped us paint one of the murals, we got to talk to him about our jobs as engineers. He really enjoys Math and said he now wants to be an engineer."
"It's nice to get out of a focused office environment and spend some time with coworkers improving our community," says Curtis Aubry. "It really puts in perspective the importance of relationships – not only with the people in your life, but also with the communities around us."
ESD's involvement in Chicago Cares Serve-a-Thon 2014 was sponsored by ESD O.P.E.N. (Outreach, Philanthropy, Events, Network).