Habitat World Online

All in a Day's Work (cont.)

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

In Charlotte, N.C., Habitat communications manager Akilah Luke was on board with the idea of reaching out to young professionals, so last fall she got started the way young professionals are known to do: She networked. “We did some research and found another HYP in Cincinnati and Austin, and we contacted them and asked some questions,” she says. “The challenge is the initial start-up — how do you get the word out when you don’t have an initial list?”

They started by sending an e-mail to friends and volunteers recommended by Habitat staff members, finding electronic communication an essential tool for reaching a population that is not only upwardly mobile but also geographically mobile. HYP organizers in Charlotte send out e-mail reminders before each event with time and location information; volunteers on the e-mail list forward the invitation to coworkers and friends to spread the group’s reach. In past months, young professionals there have gathered to watch the Charlotte Bobcats play basketball, to raise money for a house in El Salvador with a mud volleyball tournament and to plan a silent auction.

The combination of service and fun is a trademark of HYP activities, Luke says. In Charlotte, the young professionals build with Habitat on the fourth Saturday of every month, and a social event is planned for the Friday before. “Being on the site with people your age and meeting new people is a niche with our group,” Luke says. “One night you meet people at the social, and the next day you’re on the roof with them.”

The theme holds true in different locations. When Amanda McPherson moved to Austin several years ago for her job, she soon began looking around for a way to become involved in the community. “HYP was one of the most diverse young professional groups that I found — people that do all sorts of work, people that come from all kinds of religious and ethnic backgrounds,” she says. “I feel like it’s very welcoming to anyone because our primary purpose is to serve, so it draws a different type of person than a strictly social thing.”

SPREADING THE NEWS

The depth at which young professionals are willing to become involved in their communities makes them especially effective advocates for affordable housing.

“We all love the ‘weekend warrior’ construction volunteer, but there is a growing need for Habitat to attract volunteers who are willing to do more than just get their hands dirty,” says Faith Zahn, campus chapters associate at Habitat for Humanity International. “Advocates are willing to reach out to others and share ways that individuals can get involved in the larger issues Habitat faces as an organization of change.”

Getting the word out — whether about Habitat specifically or affordable housing in general — is part of the formal commitment members of Austin’s HYP group make when they join. Each member is responsible for volunteering 16 hours per year, contributing a minimum of $20 per month and becoming an advocate for affordable housing and Austin Habitat, even if that just means mentioning Habitat’s perspective on housing when the topic comes up during dinner with friends. The standards for membership help create a sense of ownership of the movement, Ellis says, and help attract leaders.

HYP leaders are unsure exactly how many young professionals groups are building with Habitat now, but they agree the movement is poised to expand quickly. With such a mutual attraction between Habitat and young professionals, the ultimate beneficiaries are the homeowner families who have more affordable housing options as a result of more volunteers raising more funds. The fact that so many young professionals find their service to Habitat fulfilling and fun is an added bonus.

“A lot of us have jobs that don’t allow for a really tangible product at the end of the day,” Ellis says. “As a lawyer, I can work like crazy for a week and when I’m done just have a stack of pages to submit to a court. Most of us have those paper jobs, computer jobs, so we like being on the build site and having something tangible to work toward. And when our young professionals go out on the build site to volunteer, they’re doing it with 25 other young professionals.

“Our model has been successful, and I don’t think it’s that hard to replicate,” he continues. “Any large city with a strong population of young professionals should be able to do this. If they’re not doing this, I think they’re missing out.”