ComEd Partners with After School Matters® to Employ Local Teens for Summer Youth Ambassador Program

CHICAGO, July 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ComEd today announced a new partnership with After School Matters, a non-profit organization, to provide 100 Chicago-area high school students opportunities to become advocates for energy management through ComEd's Youth Ambassador program.  

The students, ages 15 to 19, will learn first-hand from industry experts about the benefits of energy efficiency and smart grid technology. In turn, the students will serve as ambassadors by sharing this information with peers, neighbors and residents at many community events throughout the summer.

"Through the Youth Ambassador program, ComEd is building a new generation of energy advocates, while providing these students with valuable work experience," said Kevin Brookins, senior vice president of Strategy and Administration, ComEd. "We are committed to helping all of our customers become more energy efficient and making sure they are aware of resources available to help them save energy and money."

ComEd's Youth Ambassador Program curriculum will be taught by qualified Chicago-area instructors and interns, guiding students through a seven-week, science-based program. In a series of instructor-led lessons, the students will learn about electricity basics, energy usage and management, grid modernization, wind and solar energy, and more. The students will also gain valuable work experience such as public speaking and outreach, and resume writing, and attend a career day at ComEd to hear from professionals in the utility industry.

"After School Matters is glad to expand our STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] programming and provide 100 teens with summer jobs through the ComEd Youth Ambassador program," said Mary Ellen Caron, CEO of After School Matters. "It is through valuable partnerships with business leaders such as ComEd that we are able to provide high quality hands-on programming to thousands of Chicago's teens every year."

Founded in 1991 by former Chicago First Lady Maggie Daley, After School Matters is a nonprofit organization that offers Chicago high school teens high quality, out-of-school-time opportunities to explore and develop their talents, while gaining critical skills for work, college and beyond. Over the past two decades, more than 100,000 teens have participated in the organization's hands-on, project-based arts, communications, science, sports and technology programs at Chicago public high schools, community locations across the city.

In addition, the Youth Ambassador program is an element of ComEd's customer education campaign on its $2.6 billion investment to modernize the region's electric infrastructure and implement smart meters and smart grid technologies under the Smart Grid Law enacted in 2011 by the Illinois General Assembly. 

During its inaugural year in 2012, 70 students were part of the Youth Ambassador program. In addition, 15 of the top Youth Ambassadors were hired for year-long, part-time positions at ComEd to educate customers about energy efficiency and energy conservation. ComEd's Youth Ambassador Program runs from July 1 through August 16. 

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 6.6 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population.

SOURCE ComEd