05 Nov A Different Kind of Change

Over the years, the Youth Opportunity Center Foundation has been devoted to supporting the activities at the YOC through fundraising, awareness-generating events, community education and more. As the global events of 2020 grew more and more impactful, we began to look at our strategies for continuing to do the work we at the Foundation were charged with doing.

To remain resilient, the YOC Foundation has had to focus on a different kind of change.

Instead of focusing solely on dollars and cents, we’ve had to adapt how we function, and change how we interact with donors like you, and the community at large. We wanted to address some of the changes you may have seen and may continue to see over the coming months.

With our campus closed to non-essential visitors, we are not currently hosting on-campus lunch and learns. Instead, look for our new Virtual Lunch and Learn series. In these sessions, we will explore new and existing services, campus tours, interviews with industry experts and so much more. We will continue to hold these during the noon hour, and all will be hosted via Zoom webinar.

In consideration for the health and well-being of all, we are currently not meeting one-on-one with donors for lunches or other meetings. Instead, we encourage you to join us on a Zoom call with one or more YOC or YOC Foundation staff. We would love to chat, see your faces virtually, and even enjoy a lunch together virtually! Contact Laura Retter (lretter@yocinc.org) if you’d like to schedule a one-on-one Zoom meeting.

We will encourage more and more online giving. At the YOC, to protect the health and safety of staff and residents, we are encouraging remote work when possible. To best manage the donation processes, online donations are always encouraged. As a bonus, online donations require less administrative overhead, so more of your dollars go directly to the kids we serve! Want to help out even more? Consider setting up a recurring monthly donation, which requires the lowest administrative overhead of all.

Understanding this global pandemic may have had a significant impact on our supporters, we have developed a list of low- and no-cost ways to support the YOC. If you’re interested in learning more, contact Laura Retter (lretter@yocinc.org). While we can’t come present to your business or organization in person, don’t forget that we’re able to present virtually! We have amazing videos we can share, or we can simply be present with your organization via Zoom or videoconferencing software of your choice.

We will continue to share updates regularly via social media and email. Make sure you follow the Youth Opportunity Center on Facebook and LinkedIn, and also ensure we have your email address!

Change is inevitable, and while the global pandemic may hopefully subside, we may find ourselves in a new normal. While we will never shy away from in-person meetings and presentations once it’s safe to resume those activities, we feel confident that these changes and adaptations we’ve put in place will surely allow us to interact with more of you in the future, to have more meaningful conversations, and to come together in a way that is beneficial to all – most importantly the kids we serve.

This story is taken from the 2019 – 2020 Annual Report. To view the full report click here.