ComEd Employees Plunge into Cold Waters for Warm Cause

What comes at the end of a cold winter with freezing temperatures and little sun? For ComEd employees, it's a dip into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. On Sunday, March 1, nearly 500 ComEd employees, family and friends will participate in Special Olympics Chicago's annual Polar Plunge at North Avenue Beach to benefit approximately 7,500 athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Joining this year's ComEd Coolers, who are traditionally the event's largest fundraising team, are ComEd CEO Joe Dominguez and Senior Vice President and General Counsel Verónica Gómez. The ComEd Coolers will again be led by Chicago Bears great Otis Wilson.

"Year after year, ComEd employees are eager to give their time and money because of the importance of Special Olympics Chicago's work," Dominguez said. "To me, it shows our mission of ?powering lives' goes beyond providing safe and reliable energy for our customers. It shows we take seriously our responsibility to give back to the communities we serve."

ComEd employees so far have raised more than $116,000 for this year's plunge and plan to add to this number before Sunday's event. Over the previous eight years, ComEd employees raised approximately $1.4 million for Special Olympics Chicago.

"The great work and mission of Special Olympics motivates me year after year," added Gómez, who leads her own Gomez's Glaciers, one of ComEd's top fundraising teams. "I'm also grateful for the support I've received from my ComEd colleagues and other donors who are equally committed to making a difference in our communities."

ComEd employees' time and generosity are not limited to the Polar Plunge. In addition to the company's investments in job training and economic development, and programs to help customers reduce their energy use and bills, ComEd employees in 2019:

• Recorded more than 26,000 hours of volunteer service with charitable organizations in northern Illinois focused on a variety of issues, including education, the environment, and diversity and inclusion.
• Donated nearly $1.3 million to 782 charities through the company's employee giving campaign.
• Served on the boards of more than 161 nonprofit and educational organizations.

Special Olympics Chicago expects approximately 4,000 people to participate in this year's Polar Plunge and raise approximately $2.02 million. Special Olympics Chicago uses the funds to support year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-style sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 100 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers ? the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.