Monica Beistline, a Maintenance Support Representative at Exelon Generation, was raised by a single teen mother who had her when she was a high school sophomore at the age of 15. Monica and her mother were essentially homeless, disowned by her grandmother. Her mother worked multiple jobs to make ends meet and give Monica as normal a childhood as possible. She worked as a book keeper while she studied to graduate from high school and then continued her quest to become an accountant. Today, her mother is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Chief Financial Officer of a company. Speaking about her mother, Monica says, “She gave me huge shoes to fill and has taught me that if you work hard, you can achieve your goals. Even in our hardest times, my mother was always very generous giving back her time and money when [she was] able.”
Monica assists the
YWCA Tri-County Area, an organization dedicated to empowering women and enriching the community through educational programs focused on emotional health, wellness and self-sufficiency, for several reasons. She wants to give back and help mothers and children dealing with issues similar to those she dealt with while growing up, including access to affordable child care to allow empowerment of their parents. She also wants to empower younger women with the belief that if they work hard, they can achieve their goals. Finally, she wants to introduce girls to STEM to show them how cool and exciting the studies of science, technology, engineering and mathematics can be, and encourage them to pursue STEM-focused careers, where women continue to be under-represented. Since 2015, she has served as a YWCA Tri-County Area board member and is now the board vice president and member of the executive and finance committees.
In her current role, Monica helps secure sponsorships, organizes fundraisers, and recruits her Exelon colleagues to volunteer. She helps run the Thanksgiving meals program and the Christmas gifts program for YWCA families and works with young girls in the community to introduce them to STEM career fields. She finds it gratifying to be an example for young women and show them that someone’s current circumstance doesn't have to determine who they become. Monica’s tireless dedication was apparent in May 2017, when she arrived at 8:00 a.m. to volunteer at YW’s All Girl Health and Wellness Convention after working an all-night shift at the Limerick Generating Station.
The Achievement Award grant will benefit the organization's diversity and tolerance programming. This includes support for the annual Stand Against Racism advocacy project, chapters of Girls Learn International at Pottstown and Pottsgrove students, and a pilot program partnering with the Pottstown school district to explore implicit biases with the school teachers, administrators, and staff that may affect students and their education. These projects will serve as starting points for future conversations about diversity, bias, inclusion, respect, and understanding.
About the Exelon Energy for the Community Employee Volunteer Awards Program Each year, Exelon makes grants totaling $200,000 in honor of 24 outstanding employee volunteers for their work in the community. Nonprofits will receive grants of $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000. Since 2007, the Awards Program has recognized over 200 employees and provided more than $1.5 million to their nonprofit partners.
At Exelon, individual initiative drives our success.
Volunteerism is part of who we are. Our employees are purpose-driven in their work – as well as in their free time. In 2017, 7,808 Exelon employees spent more than 210,000 hours volunteering with nonprofits in the diverse communities we serve. We encourage them to track their hours so we can recognize and reward their service.
