Local interns break fundraising records

When Sam Reidy kicked off her second year as an intern at Exelon’s Quad Cities nuclear plant and was reminded that the annual philanthropy project led by the summer’s interns could not be done on-site because of COVID-19 restrictions, she knew she faced a unique hurdle. “We met with the senior leadership team and they challenged us to still figure out a way to do it,” she said.

Each year, the interns operate a philanthropy project and select local charities to receive the funds. Last year, the group sold root beer floats to support Living Lands and Waters, and then participated in a clean-up excursion with the nonprofit. The company’s eight interns are all working remotely this year, however, making it difficult to pull-off a standard, in-person fundraiser.

Instead, the interns chose to split into two teams, a biking team and a walking team, and challenged company employees to donate $3 for every mile biked and $5 for every mile walked. The more people donated, the more the interns had to bike or walk. They also sought input from the company on which organizations to direct this year’s proceeds to and the resounding response was the Quad Cities Disaster Recovery Fund at the Quad Cities Community Foundation, and River Bend Foodbank.

“It is perfect because we have been talking about relief efforts for the pandemic—the recovery fund is perfect because it continues to touch so many areas of this community,” she said.

“The Quad Cities Disaster Recovery Fund and the grantmaking that happens is only possible because of the generosity of our community,” noted Anne Calder, vice president of development. “The thoughtfulness and innovation of Exelon’s summer interns to not only support the fund, but to do so in a way that builds community and connection during this pandemic, is incredibly special. We are grateful for every mile they bike and walk.” 

Ken Ohr.

Reidy and the team recognized the importance of social connection during the project when they invited Ken Ohr, site vice president of Exelon, to join the biking team the second week. “He is very social and people got really motivated to give when they saw it was their boss riding the bike,” she said, laughing. Others joined too, including Drew Griffiths, director of site engineering, and Brian Wake, plant manager.

Donations shot up immediately due to their participation, and Ohr, Griffiths, and Wake ended up riding more than 50 miles that week.

Ohr also promised to match the total raised by the interns dollar-for-dollar, and Exelon corporate agreed to match Ohr’s donation dollar-for-dollar as well. Last year, the $1,200 raised was leveraged to $10,000 after the matches. 

This year, the interns raised $6,300, which was matched by Ohr, the corporate office, additional employees, and two local residents for a total of $34,100. 

The project has been a boon to a summer impacted by the pandemic. “For my whole summer, the entire social aspect of my life basically disappeared,” she said. Still, she’s been pleasantly surprised by the way her internship has shaped her perspective in positive ways. “Some of the interns have never met the people they’re working with in-person because we’re all working remotely,” Reidy said. “Our site intern coordinator, Lisa Farrell, has been invaluable in keeping us connected, especially those of us who haven’t been able to meet everyone. Lisa got everyone feeling comfortable and connected right away, which made the virtual nature of our work this summer a much easier experience.”

Reidy’s fellow interns for the summer included Jorge Bravo, Salem Hawatmeh, Sydney Kwan, Sam Norman, Aniel Patel, Nate Schlueter, and Jimmy Shehee.

The philanthropy project has been a tie to bind them together as a team. “It has been this common goal we all worked toward,” she said. “Everyone was so great—from Sydney acting as our ‘chief communications operator’ keeping the site updated and engaged in our efforts, to Jimmy going on a 123-mile ride to garner additional donations from his friends and family.” 

“The philanthropy—the generosity—is something I really love about Exelon,” Reidy added. “Everyone who works here lives in the Quad Cities and the company really believes in giving to others. We have a work community that is very much part of the larger community.”

You can join in the generosity of Exelon’s interns by making a gift to the Quad Cities Disaster Recovery Fund here. Donations continue to be accepted to support the ongoing recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic.