Posted August 28, 2012
by Kelli Comise
- Kelli Comise, Vice President, Clinical Training & Program Development
edited by Becky Lerner
As I cruised the internet I stumbled upon an interesting fact: There were 62.8 million adults volunteering almost 8.1 billion hours in local and national organizations in 2010, service valued at almost $173 billion.
Our very own Comprehensive Cares will be part of the 2012 stats by the end of the year, but we need your help.
Comprehensive Cares is a committee that was formed in September 2011 by recognizing a greater need for social responsibility and giving back to the communities we serve. But with so many options, we had to first find missing pieces, our fellow charities.
Our first goal was to identify charitable organizations that reflected our vision and our mission. Our vision is to strive to build organizational partnerships that focus on common goals of creating a better quality of life for its recipients. Our mission is our commitment to a corporate culture that supports and encourages community involvement, volunteerism and charitable contributions. After careful consideration and employee feedback the following organizations were selected for 2012:
Honor Flight of Chicago*: a non-profit organization that sponsors flights to Washington DC to honor veterans for their service which partnered with one of our clients, Pathway Senior Living. The Pathway organization identified all of their veterans and applied for the flight to Washington.
Thumbuddy Special**: a non-profit organization that benefits children and families in need of adaptive equipment, communication devices, and adapted wheelchairs and bikes. They also offer scholarships for kids to attend camp and special recreation programs throughout the year.
Community Health Clinic in Chicago*: the state’s largest free health clinic. It offers no-cost primary care, specialty care, medications, education, and mental health support services to men and women who are poor and medically uninsured.
*: needing time donations
**: needing financial donations
Volunteering has many unexpected payoffs. It’s enlightening; it gives you the opportunity to gain first-hand insight into a whole different world that you wouldn’t otherwise experience, but it’s inspiring to see what some can achieve despite what is lacking. And it’s re-energizing; I discover something about myself and others when I volunteer or work with those less fortunate, especially those associated with Honor Flight of Chicago, Thumbuddy Special and the Community Health Clinic. I truly believe that volunteering promotes the good in yourself and others in addition to improving the quality of life of its recipients.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated,
“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
We appreciate those who have taken action with us, but need your help with increasing volunteers and donations. Invest in giving back with time, financial donations, or even just spreading the word about our efforts and helping us ask for involvement.
For more information contact Kelli Comise at kcomise@comprehesniveonline.com .
