Zurich Volunteer Fest and Skillshare Summit

The Schaumburg Towers atrium is the place to be today for active or would-be volunteers, when the first-ever Volunteer Fest and Skillshare Summit takes place in Schaumburg.

The day starts when volunteer leaders will be honored with a breakfast hosted by NAC CEO Mike Foley and NAC Chief of Staff Kathleen Savio. Guests include Chris Smith from HandsOn Suburban Chicago, Emilie Tenenbaum from the St. Bernard Project, and Suellen Wolk from the Northwest Suburban United Way.

From there, Schaumburg will welcome representatives from more than 40 non-profit organizations who will meet with employees in the Towers atrium and provide information about their organizations from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Employees can learn about both personal and professional volunteer opportunities including board member openings, special events, and ongoing and one-time opportunities.

Following the Volunteer Fest, non-profit representatives have been invited to the Skillshare Summit where they will be able to choose two mini-courses taught by Zurich subject matter experts, including:

• "Fly like an Eagle: Navigation the Law," presented by Corporate Law
• "Let's get Strategic: Planning for Real Results," presented by Strategy and Planning
• "Tweeting, Friending and Linking...Oh My!" Getting the Full Value of Social Media as a Marketing/PR Tool," presented by Marketing and Public Relations
• "Be the Change: Connecting with the Corporate Volunteer," presented by Corporate Giving and Community Relations

According to Jillian Walsh, Direct of Corporate Giving and Community Relations, the event serves two purposes.

“Now more than ever, the non-profits that Zurich supports are looking for ways to do more with less. The Volunteer Fest is a way for our employees to learn about a number of volunteer opportunities, while the Skillshare Summit allows Zurich to demonstrate skills-based volunteering by sharing our expertise with the non-profits,” Jillian said.