Kohl’s Cares cleans up Mooseheart campus

Waking up early on a Saturday morning and driving from all across Chicagoland to Mooseheart Child City & School, about 500 Kohl’s employees volunteered their time to beautify the school’s 1,000-acre campus.

With groups of about five employees attending from 50 Kohl’s stores in the region, the department store’s corporate office will be making a $63,000 donation to Mooseheart as part of the Kohl’s Cares Associates in Action Go Green program.

“I can’t think of a donation event here that’s brought in that much,” said Darryl Mellema, spokesman for Moose International. “Mooseheart benefits on the day because they’re painting and mulching, and then Mooseheart benefits afterward.”

During the three-hour cleanup, volunteers spread mulch, painted fences and planted trees and shrubs near campus homes and the football field.

“We definitely appreciate the manpower,” said Gary Urweiler, Mooseheart’s superintendent of education. “With our campus being as big as it is, we do have some spring time work.”

The 1,000-acre area off Route 31 between Batavia and North Aurora has been home to Mooseheart Child City & School since 1913. The residential child care facility is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary, so officials want the campus in top shape.

The partnership with Kohl’s, now in its third year, is helping achieve that goal, Urweiler said. And serving at Mooseheart plays perfectly into the volunteer initiatives Kohl’s supports, said Nicole Reed, a Kohl’s district manager.

“It allows us to be able to serve kids and take care of the environment,” Reed said.

The Kohl’s Cares Associates in Action program encourages store employees to volunteer for nonprofits that serve youth, especially for environmental initiatives that benefit such youth-focused charities.

“It really is a nice mesh between what you care for and what we care for,” Urweiler told volunteers before they rolled up their sleeves and started their work. “You’re making an investment in changing kids’ lives.”