Young Professionals Board Engages Community
A beautiful spring day to celebrate community and honor the life of George Floyd recently brought together YouthLink’s Young Professionals Board, a 13-member group of Twin Cities business professionals dedicated to providing opportunities for young people experiencing homelessness. Faical Rayani, a Business Analyst at Hayworth Marketing and Media, is the chair of this dynamic group. “I’ve always been interested in housing insecurity so I talked with Monica Nilsson, a local housing advocate, and she gave YouthLink a high recommendation,” said Rayani, a Minneapolis resident who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia.
Upon moving to the North Star state, he was inspired by Minnesotans desire to get involved and make a difference in their community. “And YouthLink makes it easy to get involved, they really value input from community members and you feel like you’re making progress here unlike other organizations where you put in a lot of time and you don’t even feel like you’re making a dent,” he said. “I think this is one of the best ideas we’ve ever had,” said Carl Hoke, YouthLink’s Food Services Manager, who has worked with the group on several events. “Not only are the YPB members really nice and always helpful, it’s a good resume builder to show that you’re engaged in the community.”
Last year, the Young Professionals Board coordinated a virtual fundraiser and clothing drive during the pandemic and they also work with YouthLink’s Voices of Youth Council to find out what the youth want and consistently refine their outreach activities. As the board can have up to 15 members, they are looking for additional community members interested in joining their group. “The YPB was way more welcoming than I thought it would be,” says Rayani. “I thought joining a board sounded super scary filled with people who were going to know way more than I did but I’ve found it to be full of friendly people that just want to contribute to making a difference.”
Learn more about the Young Professionals Board by visiting our website: http://www.youthlinkmn.org/people/young-professionals-board/
