Mulching, Litter, Sunburns… All Part of the Job!

By: Colleen Moore, Research Intern

Colleen Moore

Last Thursday Chicago Starcom employees took to the Chicago area parks to do some clean-up and give back to the community in an event called Starcom Serves.  

Starcom Serves is a company-wide day of service where employees take a step back from their email, Blackberrys  and media math to volunteer with a Chicago-based non-profit. In a time of economic instability and the negative connotation of Corporate America, it is great to be apart of a company that sees the importance of social responsibility. 

The day hectically began in Starbar, the bar on the 21^st floor, as employees donning bright blue t-shirts and smelling of sunscreen met with their teams and filed out to buses to hit the streets. The research team (my team) headed off to Montrose Park on Chicago’s north shore to help Friends of the Park, the non-profit we teamed up with, to clean/restore the park as well as lay mulch around the trees. 

After a fabulous demonstration on mulching trees (mulching should be spread out in the shape of a saucer, not a mound) our team took to it. With the brawn and back of a few fellow gentlemen manning wheelbarrows of mulch, the research team put our back into it and raked and shoveled all day long. 

Once a few hot hours had passed and the mulch piles began to dwindle, it was time for a tasty lunch of sandwiches, chips and cookies (my favorite part). Lunch also allowed some time to wander Montrose Park and take in the beauty of Lake Michigan. Like many people on my team pointed out, Montrose Park is a hidden gem in the city, where you didn’t even feel like you were in Chicago.

For the remainder of the day, the teams supported the litter pick-up efforts on the park’s lawns and beaches. Many of us followed the dunes and even stumbled upon a bird sanctuary. 

As the event came to a close, teams packed back up in buses and headed back downtown to partake in refreshments and food in the Leo Burnett room. Though I headed home early to tend to my sunburn, I was thrilled that I was able to spend a day of work outside and also discover a part of Chicago that would have never found! 

As an intern, Starcom Serves not only provided me with an opportunity to meet new people in the company, but also allowed time for my team to bond. Hard work, a great group effort and lots of laughing helped the day pass by quickly. 

Even though we have only been interns for a little over a month now, I can see how quickly I have slipped into the nine-to-five slump where you almost start to forget why you are here and why you love what you do! 

It’s crazy how an afternoon outside spending time giving back and making new friends can bring a new, fresh perspective to my internship. With this restored energy I find myself with a new skip in my step as I wander around the office. I hope all the interns are feeling the same!