What would you do for 10k?

By: Kaitlin Arntz, Public Relations Associate

I never knew I could feel this way. And no, I’m not talking about falling in love. I’m talking about the immense sense of pride and awe in my coworkers I felt on Thursday as we packed up our donations from Enova’s second annual Warm up Chicago hat and glove drive.

Last year, when we collected 2,652 items, I was amazed. But nearly four times that amount this year? 10,000 hats and pairs of gloves? That means, on average, each employee participant donated more than 22 items. Hats off to my colleagues for their support of this effort! (Pun intended.)

Chicago Cares, a nonprofit that connects volunteers with volunteer opportunities, organizes the citywide Warm Up Chicago drive every year. Enova partners with them on regular group volunteer events, and for our December volunteer project they organized a packing party. While they had originally planned two additional projects for us to work on, they quickly made the executive decision to stick to packing when they saw what we were dealing with.

As we were working, I remembered how cold I felt coming into work that morning. That infamous Chicago wind somehow found a way to breach my winter coat, and I was freshly reminded that winters in Chicago are brutal. So while I’m proud of my coworkers’ donation efforts, that sentiment is dwarfed by the feeling of knowing at least a portion of our city’s underserved will have some protection to help them stay warm this winter.

Thanks to my Enova colleagues for their generous support, and Happy Holidays to all!