Exelon Honors Naperville Resident for Outstanding Volunteer Service with Gigi's Playhouse

Exelon Corporation has recognized employee Michele Ptaszek of Naperville, Ill., with a merit award for her volunteer service with Gigi’s Playhouse Fox Valley, which provides services for individuals with Down syndrome. The volunteer recognition is part of Exelon’s annual Energy for the Community Volunteer Awards and comes with a $5,000 cash grant to the organization in Ptaszek’s honor. 

Ptaszek, a senior marketing specialist at Exelon subsidiary ComEd, has been a volunteer with Gigi’s Playhouse for more than eight years providing emotional, social, educational and therapeutic support to children with Down syndrome and their families.

Ptaszek uses her professional experience by providing marketing and branding guidance to increase awareness of the work done by Gigi’s Playhouse and their mission. She also organized and led two successful education modifications seminars for educators in the surrounding school districts who have students with Down syndrome. 

“Michele has been a critical member in the success of our organization by doing more than simply delegating and directing tasks,” said Steve Murdock, board president of Gigi’s Playhouse Fox Valley. “She is a leader and takes an active approach in her volunteer work at the Playhouse by being involved in the design and move to our current facility. Michele is viewed as the face of Gigi’s Playhouse by many thanks to her involvement in the community.”

Currently, Ptaszek is serving her sixth year on the Fox Valley board and is working with local educators to re-launch a specialized math tutoring program. She takes a leadership role in fundraising efforts and is currently helping the organization create a mobile gallery to increase visibility on the potential of individuals with Down syndrome.

“Our strategic goal is to continue to maintain a solid core of programming for newborns and younger children, as well as their families, but to also grow our educational programs as the children reach adulthood," Ptaszek said. “The grant from Exelon will go a long way as we rely entirely upon donations and contributions.”

Terence Donnelly, ComEd chief operating officer, presented Ptaszek her award in Chicago on Friday, May 9.

“Employee volunteers like Michele bring Exelon’s corporate citizenship values to life in the communities where we work and serve,” Donnelly said. “On behalf of all Exelon employees, I am honored to celebrate Michele’s accomplishments. Her commitment to Gigi’s Playhouse personalizes the impact all of our employees have in the community through their volunteer service.”

Exelon introduced the Energy for the Community Volunteer Awards in 2007 to honor employees who demonstrate exceptional commitment to community service and to encourage increased volunteerism. Ptaszek is one of 18 employees to receive volunteer awards and grants to the nonprofit organizations they serve. Exelon donated a total of $145,000 in cash grants to those nonprofits this year.

Exelon’s Energy for the Community Volunteer Awards were open to all eligible employees from the Exelon family of companies who volunteered at least 50 hours of community service in 2013. Last year, more than 3,800 Exelon employee volunteers gave nearly 88,000 hours of their time to community nonprofit organizations. The donated hours are equivalent to 2,200 workweeks or over 42 years of full-time service.

The awards highlight Exelon’s Energy for the Community corporate citizenship program, which encourages volunteerism to support environmental stewardship; education, arts and culture; neighborhood enhancement; and diversity in the community.