Constellation Energy Celebrates Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day with Service to the Homeless
BALTIMORE--Constellation Energy today announced that 150 children of Constellation Energy employees – Constellation Energy Kids – prepared food items, assembled basic-needs care packages and engaged in other activities to benefit the homeless and the environment as part of the company’s Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Constellation Energy’s unique twist on the national event is designed to teach children the ease and great impact of volunteerism. This year’s event, held in downtown Baltimore’s Port Discovery, focused on community service projects to address the many challenges faced by the area’s homeless population.
“Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is an important and meaningful program for the families of our employees and the communities we serve – and one of the most special events we sponsor all year”
“Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is an important and meaningful program for the families of our employees and the communities we serve – and one of the most special events we sponsor all year,�?? said Mayo A. Shattuck III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Constellation Energy. “Over the course of the day, our children get a glimpse into the working lives of their parents and, just as importantly, learn how vital it is to give back to the communities we serve. Through our Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, we show our children that by helping others we can build stronger communities.�??
This year’s Constellation Energy Kids initiative focused on the theme Warmth for the Homeless – It’s Not Just About the Temperature. There are thousands of homeless individuals in critical need throughout the Baltimore region and around the country. In an effort to address this crisis, the children and employee volunteers:
- Prepared 1,500 hoagies and provided 700 homemade cookies;
- Assembled 500 children’s education bags with pencils, crayons, pens and notebooks;
- Assembled 500 children’s and 500 adult basic-needs bags with toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, washcloths and socks;
- Donated gently used children’s books; and
- Prepared vegetable seed trays for delivery and planting in urban gardens in Baltimore as part of Civic Works’ Real Food Farm Project.
Organizations receiving the food items were AIRS; American Rescue Workers; Beans & Bread; the Franciscan Center; Jobs, Housing and Recovery; Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training (MCVET); Moveable Feast; and Our Daily Bread in Baltimore, as well as the Annapolis-based Lighthouse Shelter, which also received gently used books. Receiving basic-needs bags were Jobs, Housing and Recovery; the Mattie B. Uzzle Outreach Center; MCVET; Salvation Army Booth House; and St. Vincent de Paul’s Sarah’s Hope. Receiving children’s education bags were the Mattie B. Uzzle Outreach Center; Salvation Army Booth House; St. Vincent de Paul’s Sarah’s Hope; and Waverly Elementary School.
Because the needs of the homeless are so great, Constellation Energy is making its Warmth for the Homeless program year-round. Throughout 2010, the company will sponsor projects for employees and their families that will focus on helping the homeless in communities where it does business.
To honor Constellation Energy Kids on Earth Day, Constellation Energy planted an elm tree alongside its 100 Constellation Way headquarters in Baltimore. Additionally, in cooperation with TreeBaltimore, each child was presented with a young tree to plant in an area of their choosing. The children also learned about the environmental and energy benefits of trees, including species selection and planting tips. Later, the children spent the afternoon shadowing their parents at their jobs.
In 2009, Constellation Energy received Baltimore’s Mayor’s Recognition Award for its work teaching children about volunteerism as part of its Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. The award is presented annually by the city of Baltimore, the Baltimore Development Corporation and the Greater Baltimore Committee to companies that significantly improve the city through outstanding community service.
The Constellation Energy Kids initiative is now in its sixth year. Past projects have addressed basic needs, education, the environment, health and human services and the needs of our nation’s military. In 2009, the children prepared 700 meals for Our Daily Bread, assembled 300 baby bags for local homeless shelters, organized and contributed to a book drive to supply children’s books for homeless shelters and created an environmental art mural to commemorate the children’s pledges to enhance and preserve the environment. In addition, the children took a pledge to help reduce landfill waste by drinking water from reusable bottles instead of disposable plastic bottles. To help them keep their pledge, the children received a reusable water bottle, courtesy of Constellation Energy. In 2008, Constellation Energy Kids created 1,500 basic-needs care packages for children in homeless shelters throughout Baltimore. In 2007, Constellation Energy Kids assembled 1,300 care packages for Maryland National Guard troops deployed in Iraq.
The success of its Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day events inspired Constellation Energy to expand its Constellation Energy Kids initiative to include monthly volunteer opportunities for Constellation Energy families. These activities have included creating picture frames containing welcome messages for Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity families; restoring Baltimore’s Clifton Park; planting, caring for and harvesting crops at the Baltimore City Public Schools’ Great Kids Farm; decorating an “Energy Free�?? Christmas tree for the Kennedy Krieger annual Festival of Trees; painting and beautifying Waverly Elementary School’s gymnasium; helping seniors in need through a Senior Fun Day at the Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation’s senior center; and potting seedlings to be used for greening projects around Baltimore.
About Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy (www.constellation.com) is a leading supplier of energy products and services to wholesale and retail electric and natural gas customers. It owns a diversified fleet of generating units located in the United States and Canada, totaling approximately 7,100 megawatts of generating capacity, and is among the leaders pursuing the development of new nuclear plants in the United States. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in Central Maryland. A FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Baltimore, Constellation Energy had revenues of $15.6 billion in 2009.
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