“Young Leaders Society had a lot to celebrate this past year. Considering these trying times, YLS members still gave generously their time, effort, and money to United Way,” said Elaine McDermott, CPA for Peter Shannon & Co. and YLS committee chair for member development. “It was important to us to celebrate all that YLS accomplished this past year and help continue the momentum into the next year.”

Around 45 people attended the event, which applauded the past year’s accomplishments and awarded $1,215 to Katie Patterson of Arcelor Mittal as the lucky winner of the Split-the-Pot raffle. After graciously giving back a portion of her winnings, a total of $1,500 went back to our community programs through this event.

“YLS events allow attendees the opportunity to meet like-minded people – young professionals who care about their community and are excited to give back,” said Tim Petersen, foreign exchange analyst for Northern Trust Bank and 2010 YLS Volunteer Committee chair. “I thoroughly enjoy meeting new people at the events and, of course, the thrill of possibly winning a large sum of money!”

From left to right: Tim Petersen, Kelly O'Brien, 2010 YLS Executive chair, and Meghan Galbreth, fundraising manager at United Way

There are so many great reasons to be a part of United Way’s YLS group. Countless volunteer opportunities help young leaders stay connected, informed and involved in our community, while social events provide a great platform for networking and getting to know other young professionals in Chicago. But above all, YLS allows members to learn about the critical needs in our region and give support to programs that strengthen our community.

“[The celebration] event was different from all the other YLS events in the past,” said Petersen. “It is important to offer a variety of events because it will get people interested and excited to try new things.”

There are no special requirements or membership fees to be part of the United Way Young Leaders Society. Just visit our website at LiveUnitedChicago.org/YLS to sign up and someone from the YLS team will be in touch.

For general questions, please email yls@uw-mc.org or call (312) 906-2222. Or to explore a leadership role with the Member Development, Communications, Volunteer, Issue Awareness or Special Events committees, visit the leadership opportunities page.

Related Posts:

• America’s Billionaires Pushing Peers to Increase Charitable Giving
• YLS shines the spotlight on community Rock Stars
• Recognizing Community Rock Stars
• Definition of a Community Rock Star
• YLS helps out in Humboldt Park

This post was written by Christine Heim

Hi! I'm the media and community relations specialist at United Way. Hope you enjoy my blog posts!

Related Posts:

• Recognizing Community Rock Stars
• Definition of a Community Rock Star
• Young Leaders Society raises more than $3,000 at Split-the-Pot raffle
• Member spotlight: Paul Donnell
• YLS members tour Rauner YMCA and volunteer for Healthy Kids Day

This post was written by kmartin

Much to my satisfaction, each awardee has lived up to the definition(s) of a YLS community rock star as defined in my last post ( “Definition of a Community Rock Star” blog post)The program included an excerpt from each of the nominations for the award recipients, and in recognition of their accomplishments, I have relayed those excerpts below.

Brian Johns: Brian is completely committed to improving the community. He has gone above and beyond as a YLS Communications Committee member. Brian reviewed agency applications and attended agency site visits for the funding process of United Way’s 2008 Financial Stability and 2009 Health and Wellness cycles. Brian is involved with Junior Achievement as well as College Summit, which works in partnership with schools, school districts and colleges to develop a sustainable model for raising college enrollment rates community-wide.

Jessica Schaal: Jessica is passionate about making a difference and helping others. Her volunteer activities include reading programs, Junior Achievement, Tax Assistance, and YLS. As chair of the Issue Awareness committee, Jessica has been instrumental in creating programs that bring attention to important issues affecting the community such as preparing a volunteer fair to help encourage volunteerism.

Cody McCray: Cody was a key driving force in increasing physical activity during after-school hours for girls via the GoGirlGo! Chicago program. Program participants not only learned about the health benefits of healthy eating and fitness, but they began breaking down racial and cultural stereotypes by forging friendships and relationships beyond any economic, social, and geographical barriers.

Lauren Brinkmeyer Goebel: Lauren has chaired the United Way Campaign Committee at Rush for several years. She is the point person for their campaign and exhibits very strong leadership and commitment. She understands the vision of United Way and volunteers her time tirelessly to achieve measurable results. In addition to United Way, she is also active in other community organizations, such as Junior League of Chicago.

Kenyatta Anderson: Kenyatta is consistently looking for ways to bring innovative programs and services to the community. At the Women’s Hope and Life Center, she helps women and children who have been victims of domestic violence. Her latest project is to develop the computer center where women can receive training and assistance in securing jobs.

Daniel William Tornil: Dan gives to the community in all aspects of life. Through is church, he is a peer group leader for young adults, he serves meals in homeless shelters and distributes Bibles to the Statesville Prison inmates. He is in Engineers Without Borders where he traveled to Guatemala to help with massive flooding. He also supports the deaf community by volunteering as an interpreter, tutor and mentor.

Congratulations to each of you. You exemplify living united and the YLS tenets, and your recognition is well-deserved.

Thanks and kudos also goes to the event sponsors the House of Blues and State Farm for supporting this awesome event and really making it possible. It was great to see our members recognized in style!

Please share your experience and feedback by posting a comment to this post.

Related Posts:

• Definition of a Community Rock Star
• YLS shines the spotlight on community Rock Stars
• Young Leaders Society raises more than $3,000 at Split-the-Pot raffle
• YLS member spotlight: Brian Johns
• Member spotlight: Paul Donnell

This post was written by Jasmine Shaw

Jasmine M. Shaw - Accenture Consultant - YLS Communications Committee Vice Chair

When I first heard about the nomination process and upcoming event, I was compelled to ask the question, “What is a Community Rock Star?” The conclusion that I reached was simply that to me a Community Rock Star is someone who demonstrates through their consistent and persistent actions that volunteerism and philanthropy are at the forefront of their list of priorities rather than an afterthought or an “if I have time” or an “if I need a resume booster” affair. A Community Rock Star enthusiastically engages with communities in need – regardless of their personal differences or the varying degrees between their stages in life. Furthermore, a Community Rock Star vehemently and shamelessly recruits anyone who will listen to get on board – if not for their particular cause than for another where the need is also great. Individuals meeting these criteria are who I expect to see recognized on March 16th.

Given that a Community Rock Star may be something different for all of us, I am making this post one for YOU to take the reigns and share your definition and/or expectations of a Community Rock Star. Please post your definition as a comment to this post.

Related Posts:

• Recognizing Community Rock Stars
• YLS shines the spotlight on community Rock Stars
• YLS Member Spotlight: Ingrid Schwab
• Young Leaders Society raises more than $3,000 at Split-the-Pot raffle
• Breaking through the Niceties on Failing Education

This post was written by Jasmine Shaw

Jasmine M. Shaw - Accenture Consultant - YLS Communications Committee Vice Chair

When I first moved to Chicago after college in the summer of 2001 I initially thought this would be a two-to-three year stop, and I would be on my way to bigger and better things (as if things got bigger and better than Chicago?!). After a couple of years, I realized Chicago was becoming a more permanent home. As such, I wanted to give back to the city that I was “taking” away from on a daily basis. Thankfully for me, PricewaterhouseCoopers gave me lots of different opportunities to get involved so I could begin to give back to my community. I started off small; initially getting involved by contributing towards the annual United Way campaign. I then got involved through various one-day United Way events sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers .

My current involvement with United Way started after I completed Project Blueprint which is the nonprofit board training program offered through United Way. Through this training I was invited to be a part of the Venture Investment Fund Panel which evaluated “start-up” programs at already established United Way agencies. My involvement with the panel gave me the opportunity to see the inner-workings of United Way and how much they rely on talented volunteers to conduct what I call the “due diligence” over all of the agencies United Way funds. As a former auditor, seeing the extensive review and analysis of each agency was very reassuring to me and prompted me to make larger contributions to my firms annual United Way campaign. I had seen firsthand through the grant review process and on-site review visits that the dollars I contribute toward the campaign are spent in a very prudent and intelligent fashion. As a result of my involvement with Venture I was invited to be one of the founding members of YLS back in August of 2006.

As you can see, my volunteer activity was a gradual process. Along each step of the way, I learned more about the different opportunities available to me and what I enjoyed and where I thought I fit in the best. Today I continue to LIVE UNITED as a member of the PricewaterhouseCoopers United Way Steering Committee for our annual United Way campaign as well as the Volunteer Chair for the YLS Volunteer Committee.

I encourage each of you to learn for yourself what United Way has to offer you and hopefully you will start this process by attending our next volunteer opportunity on May 30! If you ever have any questions about how you can get more involved with the Volunteer Committee, or YLS in general, do not hesitate to contact me.

Related Posts:

• YLS members tour Rauner YMCA and volunteer for Healthy Kids Day
• Young Leaders Society raises more than $3,000 at Split-the-Pot raffle
• YLS shines the spotlight on community Rock Stars
• Recognizing Community Rock Stars
• Definition of a Community Rock Star

This post was written by kmartin

On Saturday, April 18, YLS members visited and toured the beautiful Rauner Family YMCA in the Pilsen neighborhood. 
 
Pilsen has always been an entry point for immigrants in Chicago, starting with people of Czech origin in the late 19th century and to people from Mexico in the 1960s. Rauner Family YMCA’s Executive Director, Martha “Marty” Gutierrez gave YLS members a tour of the state-of-the-art facility that houses a workout room, gymnasium, lounging area, classrooms, computer room and both an outdoor and indoor soccer field. Marty explained how the YMCA works with families in several programs, which promote healthy family practices, assist with teen issues and intervene with gangs. She also spoke about challenges the families face every day in the neighborhood. Despite high levels of violence and gang activity in recent years, Pilsen is a vibrant family neighborhood with character, art and great food. 
 
YLS members were able to experience the strong family presence in the community after the tour when they volunteered for YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day. The day was filled with games and activities, healthy meal demonstrations and a little salsa dancing (which some members took advantage of). YLS members helped to pass out healthy fruits to YMCA families and even got in on some of the action with races, tumbling exercises and soccer with the kids. 
 
YMCA’s fitness coordinator, Angela Appleton said, “The United Way volunteers were a great help! They were there to assist me with whatever I needed to run my fitness classes more efficiently and engaged the youth. I really appreciated their energy and support!”

YLS members who came out to help were also thrilled to be there. Here’s what they said about their visit to Rauner Family YMCA:

“There is no greater gift to our children than the gift of health, no better path to health than proper nutrition, and no better setting for dietary education than on the sidelines of the soccer field at the Rauner Family YMCA. We all learned something valuable. It reminded me that dinner doesn’t come in a box,” said David Batulis, YLS member.
 
“I had a wonderful time at the event. Volunteering at the Rauner Family YMCA allowed me to understand its strong impact in the surrounding neighborhood.  I’m impressed by its goal to become the cornerstone of its community, and I know the YMCA staff would welcome any YLS members who want to help.  Additionally, it was great to meet and spend the day with other YLS members,” said Ingrid Schwab, YLS Fundraising Committee Member.
 
“Volunteering for the day at Rauner’s Family YMCA was a tremendously rewarding experience. The YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day was an opportunity to help improve the well being of youth and their families in the community through the promotion of a healthy diet and proper exercise, we were able to see first hand the positive impact the YMCA has on the children and youth of the Pilsen community. Due to the nature of many non-profit organizations often being shorthanded when it comes to volunteers, the YMCA was very appreciative of the support they received from the YLS and the United Way,” said Zach Walters, YLS Member.
 
After a hard day of volunteering, YLS members met at a local Taquería where they enjoyed some delicious Mexican cuisine. If you are interested in volunteering for the Rauner YMCA, please click HERE or contact Gloria Riley.

Related Posts:

• Member spotlight: Paul Donnell
• Young Leaders Society raises more than $3,000 at Split-the-Pot raffle
• YLS shines the spotlight on community Rock Stars
• Recognizing Community Rock Stars
• Definition of a Community Rock Star

This post was written by kmartin