Networking on the East Side of Mid-Michigan

Downtown Flint (Photo by Sarah Razak)

Mlive.com reported last Sunday that Flint, Bay County and Saginaw County have all started young professionals networking groups to fight brain-drain.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, young people in Jackson also have also been getting together to make connections and help each other out finding jobs. Now city officials are catching on. Unlike Jacktown Connect, groups such as the Flint Young Professionals, Saginaw Valley Young Professionals Network, and Energize (of Bay County), charge a membership fee — ranging from $10 annually in Bay County to $60 in Flint. The groups are working to provide members with benefits and discounts to local restaurants and stores.

In addition to traditional networking, some of the groups are also trying to engage young people in the community. Energize hopes to get young people interested in serving on boards and doing other community work. Focusing on community activism opportunities as well as employment opportunities is really important, given that most young people want something more than just a good job.

Similar Posts:

• Young People Make Connections in Jackson (November 19, 2009)
• Ohio Uses Wrong Tool in Brain Drain Battle (November 3, 2009)
• Grand Rapids’ ‘Mich-i-can-do Attitude’ (December 11, 2009)
• ‘Pure Washtenaw’ Campaign an Awesome Idea (November 6, 2009)
• Midwest v 2.0: New Innovations, Re-energized Workforce, Sustainable Future Event (November 12, 2009)

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