YLS Member Spotlight: Barbara Maldonado
I felt most connected to United Way when I went through training to evaluate the organizations that applied for United Way funding. This provided the opportunity to understand the level of detail United Way focuses on to ensure every organization, both large and small, has an equal opportunity to receive funding. That experience also strengthened my understanding of the impact this organization has on the greater service community in the Chicago area.
As a Masters student in Non-Profit Management at Spertus College, my interest in United Way began with my professional aspiration and passion for nonprofit work. Given the overall support that United Way provides to the community via its own programming and campaign development as well as the other organizations it supports, I would like to get further involved and contribute on a leadership level within my committee and fully transition my career into the nonprofit sector.
My favorite memory with YLS was seeing the March Madness event come to life this year. After months of planning, it was wonderful to witness the Ballroom at the Mid-America Club full of young professionals interested in the United Way mission.
What I enjoy most about my involvement with YLS is spending time with the incredibly talented committee volunteers and United Way staff members. It is very empowering and exciting to be a part of a group of like-minded young professionals that believe in the mission of supporting the needs of the nonprofit and service organizations that fulfill the needs of so many that would otherwise not have a voice.
I LIVE UNITED through my involvement with United Way, by serving on several nonprofit boards and working regularly at a homeless shelter. I strongly believe in the Jewish value of tikkun olam, which means “repairing the world” and I have made it my lifelong commitment to support the community around me through a mix of rolling up my sleeves and volunteering and offering up my leadership commitment to the organizations that I am passionate about.
Barbara Maldonado
YLS Outreach Member
& Social Media Strategist
@bmaldonado
