On Saturday, May 19, more than 800 employees, family members, and friends will perform a variety of hands-on service activities to benefit local community organizations in 19 cities and towns across northern Illinois.

Employees from Nicor Gas, a local natural gas distribution company, will be joined by employees from Nicor Services, an unregulated provider of appliance protection plans and other home related services, and Nicor Enerchange, provider of natural gas to commercial and industrial customers in the Midwest primarily in the northern Illinois market, to complete a variety of community service activities ranging from beautifying a local playground to replacing the turf grass and buckthorn with native grasses at a nature center. These Volunteer Day activities will take place throughout the Nicor Gas service territory, including the Chicago suburbs of Joliet, Bloomington, and the Rockford area.

“As a leading employer in northern Illinois for nearly 60 years, we have a responsibility to contribute to the well-being of the communities we serve. Embracing that philosophy, our employees give generously of their time and talents to help others,” said Ralph Cleveland, president of Nicor Gas.

Nicor Gas also will present a $15,000 capital grant to DuPage Habitat for Humanity at the project site in Villa Park. The mission of DuPage Habitat for Humanity is to provide opportunities for homeownership to limited-income individuals and families. The grant will be used for housing construction and rehabilitation. 

This year, one Volunteer Day project is particularly meaningful for Nicor Gas employees who will spruce up the banks of the Fox River in Yorkville to make way for a bike path. The trail will honor the memory of a former employee, who in 2009 passed away after being struck by a car while riding her bicycle on the roadway.

Other planned activities include:

• Aiding the Ray Graham Association, United Way’s 2011 Agency of the Year, volunteers will provide landscaping, window-washing and painting services at the Iona Glos Specialized Living Center home for individuals with disabilities at 720 N. Lombard Road, Addison.
• Volunteers will spruce up the Hesed House, a homeless shelter at 659 S. River Street, Aurora.
• Batavians for a Healthy River and other community groups will join forces to clean up the Fox River in downtown Batavia.
• A team will tackle renovations alongside Habitat for Humanity volunteers at a new renovation project at 1623 Iowa Street, Bloomington.
• A perennial favorite, more than 50 volunteers will assist with landscaping outdoor spaces and painting marcfirst, group homes for individuals with mental and physical disabilities in Bloomington.
• At the Belvidere/Boone County Food Pantry at 200 S. 5th Street in Capron, volunteers will sort and organize food donated during recent community drives.
• This activity took place on April 28, 2012. Working alongside the local Kiwanis Club, volunteers replaced dirty sand with new wood chips, removed broken equipment and laid new mulch at World of Wonderful Park in Carthage.
• DeKalb volunteers will return to the Salvation Army Food Pantry at 830 Grove Street to perform outdoor cleanup.
• Benefiting Downers Grove area women’s shelter, volunteers will plant community gardens and clean up the grounds to beautify the facility.
• Evanston volunteers will paint, build shelves, sort food in the pantry and help organize clothes at Hilda’s Place, a transitional shelter for single men and women, which is operated by Connections for the Homeless.
• Volunteers will provide painting, mulching and landscaping services to the Ford Heights Community Service Organization, a group that provides social and human services for underprivileged families and individuals.
• A favorite, our volunteers will sort and organize food at the Northern Illinois Food Bank’s new Geneva facility.
• Will-Grundy Center for Independent Living, an organization that provides support to people and families with disabilities and special needs in Joliet, will receive new greenery, fresh coats of paint and manicured outdoor spaces.
• Naperville volunteers will pitch to plant and landscape the property around the 60-acre McDonald Farm run by the Naperville Conservation Foundation.
• At the DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville, about 25 volunteers will participate in exhibit repair and plant outdoor gardens.
• Lending a hand to Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry at 1871 High Grove Lane in Naperville volunteers will sort food collected during a recent community food drive.
• Volunteers at Lake Katherine Nature Center in Palos Heights will clear buckthorn and spread prairie seeds harvested from Nicor Gas’ prairie and will help rehabilitate natural areas as part of the eco- and family-friendly project. They also will clean up the nature trails.
• The Rock River Valley Food Pantry will welcome volunteer efforts to help sort food and clean up around the grounds at two locations in Rockford.
• Schaumburg volunteers will pack nutritious, life-saving meals for starving children at the Feed My Starving Children site on National Parkway. The meals will be shipped to more than 60 countries around the world.
• Volunteers will partner with Habitat for Humanity to renovate a house in Villa Park. A $15,000 capital grant check also will be presented to DuPage Habitat for Humanity at this site.
• About 20 volunteers will share their resources at the People’s Resource Center in Wheaton by distributing food and cleaning up the outdoor grounds.
• Flowers and mulch will be planted at The Manor at Hearthstone Communities, rehabilitative and nursing care facilities at 920 N. Seminary Ave. in Woodstock.
• Yorkville volunteers will perform outdoor planting and indoor painting at the Kendall County Food Pantry.

About Nicor Gas

Nicor Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Resources (NYSE: GAS) is a natural gas distribution company that serves more than two million customers in a service territory that encompasses most of the northern third of Illinois, excluding the city of Chicago. For more information, visit www.nicorgas.com.

About AGL Resources

AGL Resources (NYSE: GAS) is an Atlanta-based energy services holding company with operations in natural gas distribution, retail operations, wholesale services, midstream operations and cargo shipping. As the nation’s largest natural gas-only distributor based on customer count, AGL Resources serves approximately 4.5 million utility customers through its regulated distribution subsidiaries in seven states. The company also serves more than one million retail customers through its SouthStar Energy Services joint venture and Nicor National, which market natural gas and related home services. Other non-utility businesses include asset management for natural gas wholesale customers through Sequent Energy Management, ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities, and ownership of Tropical Shipping, one of the largest containerized cargo carriers serving the Bahamas and Caribbean region. AGL Resources is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For more information, visit www.aglresources.com.

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