This month YPN encourages you to:

• Get Involved with the YPN Volunteer Committee and Make a Difference in the Region
• Recap YPN’s Networking Event at the Adventure Aquarium’s Currents Ballroom
• Recap YPN’s Professional Development Program on Entrepreneurialism
• Attend the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Mayoral Luncheon
• Join YPN in Thanking Kevin Cafferky for his Participation in Principal for a Day and Read to Me

Get Involved with the YPN Volunteer Committee and Make a Difference in the Region

The Young Professionals Network is continuing in its mission to make an impact in the Greater Philadelphia region through its personal, professional and volunteer activities. This year YPN is building on the relationship with McClure Elementary school; including participating in the Greater Philadelphia Cares Clean-up Day, Principal for a Day, and a Holiday toy drive for December 11 monthly networking event.

The goal is to donate 400 educational toys. Please bring unwrapped toys for kindergarten through fourth grade aged students in the $10 - $20 price range to the December networking event at Marathon Grill. If you would like to make a donation and are unable to attend the event, please contact Jacob Rozran at ypn@greaterphilachamber.com.

This year, YPN will join the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and its Working Solutions initiative to provide opportunities for youth (Summer Internships, Business Mentoring Youth and advocacy efforts). The Chamber is a partner in WorkReady Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Youth Network administers WorkReady Philadelphia, and the Summer Internship program, on behalf of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board and its Youth Council. The WorkReady Summer Internship program is also supported by WorkReady partners, including the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce through its Working Solutions initiative and the United Way of Southeastern PA.

YPN strongly encourages its members to make a difference by participating in Shadowing Day and Business Mentoring Youth.

• Business Mentoring Youth is an unpaid employer mentoring program that provides high-quality workplace exposure for 10th graders through two to four hours in an area business learning invaluable lessons about the world of work and interacting with seasoned professionals in a wide variety of companies.
• Shadowing Day is January 25, 2008 and the day when Philadelphia area businesses/organizations welcome ninth grade students from the School District of Philadelphia into their workplaces to give them firsthand exposure to the everyday working world. Shadowing is an experience during which students are paired with employee hosts for a day to learn about their particular careers.
• For more information, www.workreadyphila.com/signup.html

The Chamber’s Young Professionals Network strives to provide outstanding and rewarding personal and professional development experiences for its members. As YPN increases its volunteer activities, we wanted to recognize the commitment of its members through a Volunteer of the Year award. YPN is pleased to introduce our "Volunteer of the Year" award. This award will be given to a YPN member whose participation at YPN sponsored volunteer events goes "above and beyond" the call to serve. A points system has been developed by the YPN Volunteer Committee to track a member's attendance, the number of non-member guests recruited by a member, and where a member's personal effort at any given volunteer event truly stands out. This year’s volunteer events include: Philadelphia Cares Day, Holiday toy drive at McClure, Career Day at McClure, and End of Year Celebration. Attendance will be tracked through sign-in sheets at the event. Please join us at the December event to learn more about this exciting award.

Recap YPN’s Networking Event at the Adventure Aquarium’s Currents Ballroom

This article was written by Amy Gorman, Corporate Sales Manager at Moshulu Restaurant, for the Chamber Blog.

The event at the brand new Currents Ballroom at the Adventure Aquarium was a huge success! I think it’s nice when the events take us out of our "comfort zone" and let our YPN members experience places they wouldn’t go on a regular basis. The weather was surprisingly warm and made it a great night to be on the Camden waterfront; our ever-changing Center City skyline was aglow across the Delaware. It was also informative to hear Kelly Johnston, the VP of Campbell’s Government Affairs department, discuss his views and goals for the city of Camden and overall economic impact for the city of Philadelphia. I’m already looking forward to the next YPN networking event in December — and I won’t forget my gift for the toy drive!! Click here for more pictures from the event.

Recap YPN’s Professional Development Program on Entrepreneurialism

The Young Professionals Network recently held its second members-only professional development program. The topic of the night was Entrepreneurialism and the speaker was Steve Grandizio, President of Friendly Mortgage. Steve talked about how his professional career evolved from being a semi-professional baseball player into being the president of one of the most successful mortgage companies in the region. He also explained how making one improvement in your company can mushroom into something much bigger. In the case of Friendly Mortgage, Steve offered a justification of how making the choice for funding a trip based on merit at the office lead to happier employees and ultimately the reception of a “Best Company to Work For” award from the Philadelphia Business Journal. Steve was also recently recognized as the 2007 Young Entrepreneur at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s 25th annual Excellence Awards. This award was created to highlight an individual less than 40 years of age, who is a founder, owner, CEO or president of the company, someone who provides a positive and diverse social impact on the region and who has strong community involvement. Steve is all that and then some. The forum ended with a short video showing the importance of striving to be just a little bit better in our everyday lives. The next Professional Development Program will be held on January 28, 2008 about career advancement.

Attend the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Mayoral Luncheon

25th Annual Mayoral Luncheon

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel
Liberty Ballroom
17th & Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Save the date for our annual Mayoral Luncheon. Join hundreds of your business peers as the Chamber celebrates a new day for Greater Philadelphia by welcoming Mayor Michael Nutter when he makes his first formal address to the regional business community.

Fees:
YPN Member individual: $60
Member Table of Ten: $600

Registration ends Tuesday, February 12, 2008

To register for this event, please email Jacob Rozran at ypn@greaterphilachamber.com.

Join YPN in Thanking Kevin Cafferky for his Participation in Principal for a Day and Read to Me

YPN would like to thank Kevin Cafferky, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Young Professionals Network and Corporate Controller of Philadelphia OIC, for donating his time to be Principal for a Day at McClure Elementary and a reader for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Read to Me day. Kevin, who also chairs YPN’s Public Relations/Marketing committee, took two days out of his busy schedule to help out with these great causes. Please join us in thanking Kevin for all of his hard work.

Are you a new member of YPN?

Want to meet other new members and get an overview of the organization? Join YPN Board members Kevin Cafferky and Bernadette Pitts this month at the Chamber for YPN New Member Orientation. Kevin Cafferky, MST is the Corporate Controller for the Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. a not-for-profit education and training program. He has run his own accounting and tax consulting business for the past thirteen years and is also an adjunct professor of Finance in the Temple University School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. In addition to being Vice-Chair of YPN, Kevin is also the Chair of the Young Friends of the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) and also serves on the finance committee of the Center City Proprietors’ Association (CCPA). Bernadette Pitts is a Senior Account Manager at Digitas Health, a Philadelphia-based interactive marketing agency serving the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to YPN, Bernadette is also actively involved in the Junior League of Philadelphia.

The next YPN New Member Orientation will be on Monday, January 28, 2008 at 5:30PM. The orientations will be held at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce located at 200 S. Broad Street (Broad & Walnut) on the 7th floor. Please confirm your attendance by emailing your contact information to Jacob Rozran at ypn@greaterphilachamber.com.