IICF Midwest also hosted several large volunteer projects, including the IICF Literacy Fair at Breakthrough in Chicago and events at Cradles to Crayons Chicago over a three-day period, where nearly 200 volunteers from numerous insurance companies donated essential items for children living in poverty.
Hundreds of volunteers attending an insurance conference in Chicago, Ill., took a chunk of their free time writing thank you notes to servicemen and women and well-wishes notes to children living in low-income situations.
It’s the thought that counts, and that’s the spirit that drives the annual Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s Week of Giving, according to Bill Ross, CEO of the nonprofit IICF.
“At the end of the day, giving back drives change within a community, and giving back to a community also drives change within an organization and the industry as well,” Ross said. “We learn about a community, we see what their needs are, and we learn how to put our focus on that.”
The IICF’s annual Week of Giving in October brings insurance industry professionals together for a week-long series of volunteer projects to serve local nonprofits and charities in their own communities.
This includes volunteer events designed to support at-risk women, children and youth, the homeless, those with disabilities, senior citizens, military veterans and other areas of focus for IICF divisions.
The year’s Week of Giving was held from Oct. 13 to Oct. 20 and included 560 volunteer projects in the five IICF divisions – Western, Southeast, Midwest, Northeast and United Kingdom – and involved 135 companies and 11,270 volunteer hours in 243 cities, 40 states and two countries.
The projects put people in the community together with employees and executive volunteers, so these insurance professionals aren’t merely writing checks for charity, according to Ross. “They’re putting a face on insurance,” he added.
The aforementioned Week of Giving event in the Midwest involved 600 volunteers attending the Gamma Iota Sigma International Conference in Chicago and spending a day writing hundreds of thank you notes and well-wishes notes to servicemen and women and low-income children.
IICF Midwest also hosted several large volunteer projects, including the IICF Literacy Fair at Breakthrough in Chicago and events at Cradles to Crayons Chicago over a three-day period, where nearly 200 volunteers from numerous insurance companies donated essential items for children living in poverty.
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