Pounders, a research and development technician in Lake County, Illinois, is one of 3,500 AbbVie employees in 45 countries who worked to make a tangible difference in their local communities during the company’s second annual Week of Possibilities.
The results are impressive: During this year’s Week of Possibilities — the signature event in the company’s year-round Possibilities 365 volunteer program — AbbVie employees provided more than 17,000 service hours to the communities where they live and work.
In North Chicago, where AbbVie is based, transforming education is a special focus. The school district there was taken over by the State of Illinois in 2012 due to years of poor academic performance. The district now faces debilitating funding problems. In early 2015, nearly 1 in 4 North Chicago residents were living in poverty andunemployment was as high as 9.7%; meanwhile the area’s property tax base is shrinking.
During this year’s Week of Possibilities, AbbVie targeted North Chicago Community High School and the Neal Math & Science Academy for library revitalizations, dramatically renovating each with new furniture, books, resources and computers.