With Valentine’s Day around the corner, local professionals had a chance to “speed date” with the goal of networking at the Child & Family Center on Tuesday.
In the second annual Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce’s “Non-Profit Love Match: A High-Impact Networking Experience for Professionals & Nonprofits,” professionals and community leaders mingled, indulged in pizza and wine, and connected over shared interests with local nonprofits.
The incentive of the event was for professionals to connect with a nonprofit they resonated with or wanted to support, with the hopes of it being a match.
“Today’s event is done by the SCV Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Council, and it’s a speed dating event that, in theme with Valentine’s Day, tries to connect people who are interested in getting more involved in supporting nonprofits, learning more about them, and then helping nonprofits find their next volunteers, potential board members, and anybody who might be interested,” said Matt Nelson, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley who also chairs the chamber’s nonprofit council.
In 10-minute sessions, participants visited three preassigned “dates,” then had the opportunity to mingle and network afterward.
“We have people paired up based on interests of what they might be interested in getting involved with. For example, if they’re involved in youth, pairing them up with youth-serving organizations. The speed dating format is a great way to make a connection — you’ve gotta date before you marry, so it’s not a big commitment, but you get that exposure,” Nelson said.
With nonprofits lined up on one side, and professionals on the other, people had more space to meet, compared to last year.
“We had a survey to try to identify interest so we could pair people up with what they may be interested in. This is our first time in this location, and we had a great response last year. We learned what we could do better, and we want to make it an impactful event for our local Santa Claritans who want to get more involved,” Nelson said.
Destiny McCune, marketing and communication coordinator for the Child & Family Center, reflected on supporting the chamber while introducing the nonprofit’s mission to the professionals.
“It’s really great to bring a lot of community organizations all into the same room so that the community can figure out how to get involved. Here at the Child & Family Center, our mission is changing lives, healing relationshipsand helping you thrive — strengthening families today for stronger communities tomorrow,” McCune said. “We do mental health services for children and families, and operate a domestic violence support program, [including] the only 30-day shelter here for those feeling abusive relationships.”
Being a part of the event but also hosting, McCune considered Tuesday’s event to be a great opportunity.
“It’s exciting to have this here. It’s fun to host, but it’s also a great opportunity for people to see where we do our work, and where children and families are coming. We serve over 2,000 children a year,” McCune said.
