Support the 2025 WEF Community Service Project

The 17th Annual WEF Community Service Project will take place on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Aldridge Elementary School in Chicago. Located between the Little Calumet River and the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, the Aldridge community has been historically impacted by pollution and poor air quality. Today, the school is dedicated to creating a safe, inclusive, and academically enriching environment for its students. Their motto, “Everything Grows in the Garden,” reflects a strong commitment to academic growth through environmental education, as well as personal and community development.

DONATE TO THE PROJECT

Everything Grows in the Garden

This year’s project will provide an exciting opportunity for Aldridge Elementary’s garden club and STEM curriculum. Volunteers will help create a new outdoor learning space with native plantings, pollinator gardens, and species showcases. The new garden will connect classrooms to the outdoors, supporting both environmental stewardship and hands-on science education. 

The project is a collaborative effort with Aldridge Elementary School, Collective Learning Lab, and local support partners including the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Department of Water Management, and GreenPrint Partners. 

Join the Service Project

The WEF Students and Young Professionals Community (SYPC) organizes the Community Service Project each year. Registration for the service project is free and open to all WEFTEC attendees and their guests. Volunteers will receive transportation to and from the site, a t-shirt, lunch, and a WEF Community Service Project ribbon for their WEFTEC badge.

You can sign up to volunteer for the service project at the same time you complete your WEFTEC Registration. If you’ve already registered for WEFTEC, you may contact customer service and request assistance to add this event to your profile. 

Offer Your Support 

If you are interested in helping plan this year’s project, please contact the 2024 Service Project Chair: Brandon Friedland 

Service project volunteers help design, market, and raise funds and materials for the project. This project provides a great opportunity for WEFTEC attendees to give back to our host city. 

Even if you’re unable to join us on-site, you can still help support the service project. WEF accepts personal and corporate donations at any level to help continue and grow the projects.  
 
DONATE TO THE PROJECT
 
Since 2008, the WEF Community Service Project has made a significant impact on several WEFTEC host cities: creating 8 rain gardens, 9 bioswales, 3 outdoor classrooms, and 1 stormwater-managing walkway, each of which includes hundreds of native plantings.