As a human resources professional, Merle Ward is adept at navigating the LinkedIn job portal to research and recruit job candidates.
Ward, a UL Research Institutes (ULRI) and UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE) senior talent acquisition adviser, is in good company as she scrolls through LinkedIn profiles — some 72% of recruiters use LinkedIn to recruit talent, according to a FinancesOnline summary of LinkedIn statistics. An oft-cited ResumeGo study found that job seekers with a comprehensive LinkedIn profile were 71% more likely to get a job interview.
Ward recently put her expertise to work for people staying at a Connections for the Homeless shelter in Evanston, Illinois. Joined by two other ULRI-ULSE talent acquisition team members, Ward’s volunteer group provided one-on-one LinkedIn profile and resume assistance to about a dozen people living in the shelter, a former hotel called the Margarita Inn that can house about 60 people at a time. Working with participants to uncover and articulate their unique voices and capabilities was a meaningful application of the volunteer team’s career opportunity knowledge, Ward said.
For their part, Margarita Inn participants responded so favorably that Ward aims to offer career workshop services regularly.
"I really appreciated the personal attention I got in updating my resume," said Phillip, a Margarita Inn resident who attended the event. "The advice about how to describe my experience in ways that would connect with employers was especially helpful."
Living the UL enterprise mission through volunteerism
Ward’s efforts are part of a larger organizational partnership that ULRI and ULSE have forged with Connections for the Homeless since moving to downtown Evanston nearly a year ago. Along with shelter, Connections provides education, employment, and homelessness prevention services. Support for Connections was a natural for ULRI and ULSE, meshing seamlessly with their mission of working for a safer world, said Tina Vaughn, ULRI and ULSE senior manager of community affairs and engagement.
“Volunteerism and strengthening our communities are an expression of our commitment to our mission,” Vaughn said. “It’s why employees receive two paid days off a year to volunteer – we aim to live our values through volunteerism as well as through our work.”
ULRI and ULSE employees have pitched in to contribute to support Connections for the Homeless in the following ways, as well.
- Sack lunch preparation. A team of ULRI-ULSE information technology (IT) team members have been making sack lunches once a month since June to provide free meals at three Connections locations. With the help of 10 to 15 people, the IT team usually prepares about 150 sack lunches — though they’ve managed to make as many as 300 lunches at a time. All told, the group has so far made nearly 700 lunches, and intends to continue an effort that the group has turned into a good-natured competition, said Karen Smilie, an IT vendor manager who serves as the project’s organizer.
“We have two assembly lines going; one person is doing the peanut butter, one person does the jelly. It’s fun,” Smilie said. “We can do 150 lunches in under 30 minutes.”
- Prepared meals for Margarita Inn tenants. ULRI and ULSE employees prepared meals for more than 80 people at the Margarita Inn in December 2023.
- Fundraising. ULRI and ULSE sponsored a Connections annual lunch and learn fundraiser, INSPIRE, in which speakers discussed the barriers to affordable housing that increase homelessness and perpetuate racial inequity. The organizations also made a monetary donation in December 2023 to support the Connections mission.
- Clothing collections. ULRI and ULSE employees began donating clothes at the start of 2024 to help stock Connection’s free clothing closets at its Evanston drop-in locations on Dewey Avenue and inside the Lake Street Church of Evanston. Ten bags of clothes were collected.
- Top clothing needs as the weather turns cooler include men’s hoodies, sweaters, pants and underwear as well as backpacks.
Showing up for the community
For Connections Communications Director Eric Ruder, these efforts augment a collective effort that constitutes an invaluable and effective response to the rising numbers of people experiencing homelessness. The homeless population in suburban Cook County increased by 13% between 2023 and 2024, according to the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County, a Hillside-based nonprofit organization.
“Within a few weeks [of moving to Evanston], UL employees came to our hotel-based shelter to provide lunches, and we're so excited to continue expanding our partnership,” said Connections CEO Betty Bogg. “I know UL employees have a voice in what this looks like, since our first-ever LinkedIn training for residents of the Margarita was due to the initiative of a UL employee. I look forward to seeing where this collaboration takes both of our organizations!”