What’s better than an afternoon at the Field Museum? An afternoon at the Field Museum with Corpsgiving and LinkedIn!
More than 600 LinkedIn employees were in Chicago for the company’s annual staff retreat, and after four days of teambuilding and corporate training, they were more than ready to lend a hand to help twelve Chicago nonprofits get ready for fall. Each nonprofit had a table and an assembly line task set up on the Lake Michigan side of the Field, and the LinkedIn volunteers spent the afternoon racing from one group’s table to the next, offering enthusiastic assistance.
At the UI station, volunteers assembled 150 back to school backpacks for UI participants. Each bag included a reusable water bottle, pencils, pens, notecards, a UI wristband, and a handwritten note from the volunteer who assembled the bag.
The next day, April Lillstrom, one of UI’s Play with Potential Program Managers, brought the newly stuffed bags to Daley Academy in the New City neighborhood. “When the new school year kicks off in a few weeks, these bags will be a huge boost to the kids who receive them,” April says. “Having basic school supplies at the start of the year prepares kids for the start of classes and for all the work they’ll be doing in a few weeks.”
A special thanks goes out to both Corpsgiving and LinkedIn for bringing in the new school year on a high note for the kids at Daley Academy. Thanks to their efforts, the start of classes in Septemer is looking especially bright.