Spring 2011
A new training program is preparing young professionals to serve their community while uniting them with organizations in need of their service.
Ready2Serve is an initiative of The Network: Young Professionals of the Quad-Cities, a program of the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce. The 22-week training program teaches young employees about the responsibilities of serving on a board, how to get involved, and gives them actual volunteer experience.
“We developed this because there is a need for young professionals to serve on board and committees and to serve in this community. But there was nowhere for organizations to go find them,” said Anne Spoden, director of The Network.
She said The Network receives requests from businesses and organizations for suggestions of young professionals to recruit. To answer the call, she said, the board training program was developed.
Participants must complete 22 hours of community service with a variety of charities and organizations. The program also includes three informational sessions. Those who complete the volunteer hours and attend at least two sessions graduate from Ready2Serve, Spoden added.
The benefit to organizations, she said, is they know these are volunteers who has been trained and, in many cases, have worked with them through the volunteer requirement.
“It’s a fun program, too,” she said, adding that participants get the chance to network with fellow young professionals.
For Chelsea Hillman, who graduated in the first class, Ready2Serve helped her identify which organizations to put her energies into. “I saw the program as a great opportunity for young professionals to go through training and get introduced the nonprofits in the area,” she said.
Hillman, the marketing and communications director for Integrity Integrated, already was getting involved in the community but the training connected her with other organizations and helped her move into leadership positions with them. The Muscatine, Iowa, woman now serves on the PR Network board, The Network, Girl Scouts of the Mississippi Valley and the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women.
“It was an eye-opening experience to see what was out there,’’ she said, adding that it also helped her meet more Quad-City young professionals.
Spoden said Ready2Serve has graduated a total of 35 young professionals in its first two sessions and a third session will end July 6.
The first graduates of Ready2Serve are Carol Barker, self-employed; Karen Boyd, Black Hawk College; Tanisha Briley, City of Davenport; Curt Brown, Deere & Co.; Michelle Carroll, Village Home Stores; Kate Cuellar, American Heart Association; Jenn Cox, Happy Joe’s; Jenny Culp, Happy Joe’s; Chad Driscoll, Big Brothers Big Sisters; Luke Ebener, Riverbend Financial Group; Erica Flecker, American Red Cross; Anna Gibney, Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa/Western Illinois; Trina Hanssen, Northwest Bank & Trust; Kelly Hendershot,Townnews.com; Chelsea Hillman, Integrity Integrated; Natalie Johansen, TAG Communications; Evan Johnson, Blackhawk Bank & Trust; Jamie Lange, American Red Cross; Jared Leuders, Clinton Lumberkings; Lee Marbach, Russell Construction; Heather Mattern, Augustana College; Erin McCounaughy, Russell Construction; Jaclyn McKenzie, Werner Restoration Services; Jessica Meyer, American Red Cross; Josh Miltenberger, Russell Construction; Elizabeth Newton, Deere & Co.; Meghan Peterson, Department of the Army; Stephanie Reagan, Davenport West; Heather Rusch, Per Mar Security Services; Caitlin Russell, Russell Construction; Melissa Schilling, Scott County Courthouse; Adam Smith, RiverStone Group; and Courtney Winninger, Davenport Parks & Recreation.
For more information on Ready2Serve, call Spoden at (563) 823-2659.
