Below are our 3 key missions by which the Madison Young Professionals will strive to empower the young leaders in our area and hopefully help create a better vision for tomorrow. We feel that these missions embody what is needed from our younger generation to succeed and help lead us into the future.
Civic Involvement
Civic Involvement is a must among future leaders of tomorrow. There is a multitude of skill sets learned from volunteering with non-profit groups in the geographical are in which we work. The sense of accomplishment of helping those in need is of course the ultimate goal, but the networking that is had with volunteering is priceless to say the least, and the education gleaned from leading volunteers directly translates to team management in the work place.
Our first major event was the Santa Express Train Ride on December 5th 2009. The Madison Railroad in conjunction with the Venture Out Business Center hosted a charity train ride for children to see Santa Claus. An indoor hospitality room was provided for people to stay warm while they waited. Children were able to write letters to Santa, have some hot chocolate and cookies, and have their picture taken with a backdrop of the train. MFYP members ran the hospitality room throughout the morning. All proceeds went to providing Christmas presents for area nursing home patients deprived of family.
We have since then created the Jefferson County Community Volunteer Fair to help those wonderful non-profit groups that struggle to be seen have a voice and a chance to interact in the public directly.
Professional Development
By offering our local young professionals access to free or low cost seminars and workshops we hope to encourage these individuals to better themselves and better Madison.
We have offered seminars on business etiquette, social media, business killer mistakes, networking do’s and don’t's, and more. We attempt to keep offering different options so as not to get stale and we try to stay current with development programs that our area specifically is in need of.
Social / Professional Networking
We offer monthly social networking gatherings for our area young professionals to meet and share ideas with one another. We encourage those out of our so called “age range” to attend also as they are an integral part of our current and past leadership. While the term “drinking club” has been thrown around town, we would like to express that all of our public events have been held in family friendly environments where those under the age of 21 were welcome and encouraged. We attempt to move our meetings around regularly so as to help stimulate the economy some. Please check our calendar for the next meeting time and place.
We have also begun holding Meet & Greets for our political candidates so they may have the chance to meet with our younger arena of future leaders. We need to have a voice and see how the political structure works. By offering both sides the chance to meet we great improve our chances of improving Madison.