Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/41404
to GAdvertisingrow Your Business Arssrpvrhqrvvtphyy( #'# %! qh www.upandcomingweekly.com School Blues? Come play half off Back to (910) 829-9171 www.fascinate-u.com for more information! UP & COMING WEEKL Call 910-829-9171 e inf UP & COMING WEEKLY, Sept. 7 1 16 Green Street in Historic Downtown Fayetteville Admission Prices: Are You Investing In Your Future? by JENNY BEAVER I read an article recently littered with statistics about young professionals in the United States: "There is more than two trillion dollars of spending power in the more than 100 million people under the age of 35." "Young professional or- ganizations help connect yp's to their community. Research shows that when yp's feel they can make a difference in their community, they are two times as likely to stay." "Three out of four young people under the age of 28 first pick a place to live and then find a job." The best way to feel connected is to be involved. "The average age of a first marriage for a first generation "gen-xer" is currently 28, which means by the time young talent "settles down," they are in their late 20s and early 30s." What does all of this information mean to Fayetteville and it's surround- ing communities? It means that we have to start investing more in our young employees. We can no longer afford to bring a young professional into our businesses and "let them sit." We must take time to introduce them to our community. Don't just take them out to lunch during a busy work-day and feel like you've done your job. Show them our downtown; take them to a 4th Friday or a Fayetteville After Five. Invite them to a play at the CFRT or the Gilbert. Alert them to our many festivals like the Dogwood Festival or International Folk Festival. Get them signed up for Leadership Fayetteville which takes them on an intimate tour of our city and Fort Bragg and allows them to experience the history of our hometown. And better yet, get them involved with the Fayetteville Young Professionals (FYP) and let us do all of that for you! Studies show that young professionals are often more instrumental in continuing to build a community than our Baby Boomer counterparts! In 2012, research has found that two Baby Boomers will leave the workforce for every ONE staying. And guess who's eagerly waiting to replace them? Yp's. But we have to get them and keep them in our community before we can con- tinue to build our economic future. Our best chance of not only attracting young professionals but keeping them, is to find a way to make them feel connected to this community. The best way to feel connected is to be involved. Join FYP. Our organization has continued to grow each year since our start in 2009. We are an energetic group of 20 and 30 something's that enjoy getting together to hang out, site see and volunteer. We are here to help make our community more attractive to your young employees so that they will choose to "settle down" in Fayetteville. If you don't want your young employees staying here because they have to but because they want to, it all starts with the Fayetteville Young Professionals. Whether having fun with our softball team, chatting at our bi-monthly meet- ups or learning how to improve ourselves with our Professional Development Lunch-n-Learns, FYP keeps your young professional active and involved! When you get a second, look around at the successes of our community and ask yourself, what am I doing to help my business succeed? If you're not out there urging your employees (between the ages of 21 and 40) to join FYP or if you're not willing to sponsor one of our programs for the 2011-12 year, then you're not doing everything you can to invest in the future of your busi- ness or in the future of our great city ... and maybe it's high time you do. For more information about FYP, please email: info@fayyp.org. Join us Sunday, Sept. 18 from 1 - 4 p.m. at Festival Park in Downtown Fayetteville for "Sunday Funday Flag Football & Tailgate." To sign up to attend or play on a team, visit: www.fayyp.org. JENNY BEAVER, Contributing Writer, Fayetteville Young Professionals. COM- MENTS? editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 16 UCW SEPTEMBER 7-13, 2011 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM