Zurich team gets in the weeds with nonprofit Little City

Down the road from the Zurich North America headquarters, dozens of Zurich volunteers fanned out across the softball field at the Little City campus, many donning gloves, but not the kind used by a catcher. They weren’t there to play ball.

Instead, for the next six or so hours, they hacked and hauled rogue shrubs, tree branches and 10-foot weeds that had encroached on the outfield where Little City hosts Special Olympics games for its participants.

The volunteer service day was just the latest in over a decade of Zurich outings and grants that have helped the Little City community, where children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities find support to lead productive lives. Zurich’s longstanding commitment to the nonprofit is one reason Little City named Zurich its 2023 Corporate Partner of the Year last spring.

Zurich’s Head of Large Casualty, Bill Chepulis, is in his 12^th year serving on the Little City Board of Directors. He said that, while hybrid work makes it challenging to convene colleagues from across Chicagoland on the same day, over 60 people from various Zurich teams turned up for the August event. Zurich employees are eligible for 16 hours a year of paid volunteer leave for community service work with manager approval, as giving is part of the company culture. In 2022, Zurich North America colleagues logged over 30,000 hours of volunteer service in our communities.

The work at Little City on a summer Tuesday brought sweat and sore muscles as the volunteers cut and carried woody bundles to a chipper operated by a landscaping company. Some volunteers then helped spread the mulch elsewhere on campus. Clearing the overgrown vegetation at the fence line enables Little City to expand its outfield and eventually post sponsor banners and a wooden scoreboard, which another group from Zurich began building and painting indoors. Zurich volunteers also trimmed trees around the playground and ballfield.

“This was one of our heavier-duty assignments,” Chepulis said. “Over the years, Little City realized that when Zurich comes onsite, we mean business, so they’ve stepped up the intensity. This one was a true test. We were all knee deep.”

Little City’s staff was grateful.

“Over the many volunteer events from Zurich, they have proven to be outstanding in their field, and this day was literally no exception,” said Craig Wissmiller, Little City’s Grounds and Exterior Maintenance Supervisor. “They sweat, got dirty and kept on going, asking what else they can do right up until their departure time.”  

Madeline Martin, Little City’s Manager of Volunteer Services and Development Support, said the 60 Zurich volunteers completed in a single day what would have taken Little City’s three-person exterior maintenance staff a few weeks to complete among all their other duties. “Not only did Zurich do a fantastic job outside, the indoor team also started on a scoreboard for our softball field.”

Last year, Zurich volunteered 480 hours at Little City, split between the traditional August event and a newer event where volunteers help decorate Little City residences for the December holidays. When Zurich accepted the Corporate Partner of the Year award last spring, Little City praised the combined impact of the grants, sponsorships and service Zurich has provided over the years. A portion of grant dollars has gone toward Little City’s Duffey Family Children’s Village and Center for the Arts and a buildout of several sensory rooms in the children’s homes.

“The consistency of being there, of supporting the organization — it’s possible because there is such an appetite internally at Zurich to help,” Chepulis said.

Community support is vital to an organization that not only serves children but also adults. Costs and fundraising challenges can increase as the age range of a nonprofit’s client population expands.

This was the second Little City volunteer outing for Robert Bubnich, Vice President and Head of Zurich One Solution in U.S. National Accounts at Zurich North America. He now has asked to join Little City’s volunteer horticulture team.

“I love the passion the staff shares for what they do when they work with these very special individuals, and I love being there to help,” Bubnich said. “I have a family member who is on the autism spectrum, and he did not have this kind of support, so when I volunteer and support Little City, I am giving to families that need these services.”

Over the years, Little City also has made field trips to Zurich’s campus, where framed artworks created by two Little City clients hang near the Zurich cafeteria. The artwork also was made into note cards that Zurich employees could give to customers.

Carol Serra, an Executive Assistant to Chepulis, has led coordination of several volunteer events at Little City.

“All of them are special, but this was the best effort I have seen from Team Zurich since I have been putting these together,” Serra said. “You had to see the before and after to appreciate what they did. They truly made an impact.”