My Nonprofit Reviews

Sorry, I definitely did not have a good experience. After graduating high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my summer. I figured volunteering at the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad was an option to open doors and provide opportunities for my future. After a while waiting for some administrative processes to be taken care of, I was finally a probationary member.

I did not expect the level of hazing, nepotism, and sheer hostility provided by active members and officers at the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad. I cannot speak for other probationary members that were on the same shift as me, but I definitely didn't feel welcomed ever at the rescue squad as a fellow member due to the hazing I had experienced early on in my training. From getting sprayed with soap water from a tank, getting beat up, and getting told to shut up in front of a patient, I thought that this behavior was normal to experience at a firehouse. As an eighteen year old, who has never done any volunteer work before, I was frightened for my future career in the medical industry.

I did tell the chief, Chief Dempsey, of the hazing that I had experienced. Unfortunately, I reported the incident too late so nothing could be done except for a report and warning that went into the files of the members that did the hazing.

Don't get me wrong, the organization is doing great things by providing the services they provide. But I do not believe they deserve the title of a great non-profit organization. Sorry.