The YPAC will be a coalition of young professionals in the city who will help LSH fulfill its mission on a volunteer basis.
Fishtown-based Lutheran Settlement House, a nonprofit, community-based organization committed to serving children, adults and families living in Philadelphia is reaching out to young professionals in effort to put together a Young Professionals Advisory Council. The YPAC would be a coalition of young professionals in the city that would help LSH fulfill its mission on a volunteer basis.
“We’d like some brand ambassadors to help us with our work, attract new work and new donors to get other people excited about [what we do],” said Erica Zaveloff, LSH’s director of development. “A lot of the work we do depends on volunteers and it depends on donors from our community and we always need more help in reaching new audiences and helping people to support our mission and having the resources we need to support our clients.”
LSH has four main programs:
- A senior center, where about 50 seniors come every day for meals and activities such as art classes, bingo and even tai chi.
- An adult education program that aims to get adults back into the workforce. This program will review resumes and help improve job interview skills. Additionally, there is a computer lab for those who need to utilize computers, and tutoring for those looking for high school equivalency degrees.
- A bilingual domestic violence program that focuses on helping both male and female victims of domestic violence.
- A homeless shelter, based in West Philadelphia, where families can stay in an effort to save money and get back into housing.
It’s not clear exactly what young professionals in the YPAC will be doing as of just yet since it’s still in the early stages, but Zaveloff said it will largely revolve around promoting the brand and exposing LSH’s work in an effort to attract new donors and find more people who can benefit from LSH’s programs.
The idea of YPAC is geared toward young people, however, the organization isn’t picky about age.
“I’m open to anybody,” said Zaveloff. “Anybody who’s passionate about what we do I’d love for them to get involved in some capacity.”
Zaveloff said that LSH is especially looking for people “who are excited to build something from the ground up,” since this is a new development for the organization.
“Especially for younger people who are just starting out in their field and they have some kind of community work in their regular job,” she said. “And people who have a job that doesn’t help people directly, and they’re looking for something that’s a little bit more satisfying.”
Zaveloff added the opportunity could be a great resume builder and great for networking with new people.
Anybody interested in getting involved to volunteer for LSH can contact Zaveloff at 215–426–8610 ext. 1218 or [email protected].
