The Patchogue Young Professionals describe  “young” as a mindset and not an age. If you are a “YES” person, you can hang with us! In the last three years of our committee we have accomplished so much! Our group has a ton of out-of-the-box thinkers and we all celebrate each other’s strengths.  We held so many events that raised over $20k on a bi-monthly basis and have met so many inspiring professionals in our area.

2020 brought us a few surprises and cancelled a few events we had on our plate but we kept working! We held a fundraiser for our chamber in the form of a drive-in movie theater night. With the help of sponsorships and a huge marketing push, we sold out FOUR showings in one weekend. This resulted in us raising $7,000+ to help the chamber through the year. We also planned a newly annual awards dinner to recognize individuals in our community that really shined in 2020.

This year we are continuing to partner with Patchogue-Medford High School with several different events. We have created a “Shark Tank” style competition for the students in which they compete to prove their company is the smartest investment for the “Sharks”. The team that performs the best, based on specific criteria, gets a cash prize of $1000. We have also created an event for the students to attend during the day that is hosted by our committee and several local politicians. In this course presented by Jo Bennet from Edward Jones, students will learn even more financial skills to help them set up their young adulthood for success.

Those same students are also offered the opportunity to take our college financial program based off of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace Program. This is a 12 week course that walks students through ways to avoid going into debt to pay for college and helps set them up for financial success early in their adult life. We also have these students attending one of our professional development events, where we partnered with Toastmasters to teach public speaking skills.

One thing we know how to do well is adapt and keep moving! We are always looking for more organizations or companies that can help our network become more successful. If you’re interested in learning more, sponsoring one of our events or buying a ticket to the next event, head to PatchogueYoungProfessionals.com.