What is YCP’s Mission?

Young Catholic Professionals is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is proud to be the nation’s largest young professional Catholic network. YCP offers a community of belonging, support, and encouragement that helps restless young workers in their 20s and 30s live and share their Catholic faith through their everyday work. With a network of dozens of chapters in cities across the United States, we offer the next generation a way to go deeper in faith, life, and work. Our number one goal is to create modern-day saints!

What Does a YCP Event Look Like?

YCP offers several different types of gatherings throughout the year that help members seek authentic friendships, a richer sense of purpose, and both personal and professional excellence. A few of our most popular events include:

• Networking Happy Hours
• Executive Speakers and Panel Discussions
• Seasonal Retreats
• National Conferences

So What is it I Do Exactly?

YCP NYC has afforded me the opportunity to keep my marketing and technical skills sharp in my free time. Here is a comprehensive list of all the ways I serve the organization’s mission both in-person and behind the scenes.

• Creating print and digital marketing assets including event flyers, postcards, and trifolds
• Leading social media campaigns to grow our following on LinkedIn, Instagram, and other platforms
• Participating in leadership retreats and strategy meetings to plan future networking events
• Co-hosting our events alongside my leadership team and helping newcomers socialize with like-minded peers
• Attending young adult ministries around the five boroughs to promote the organization in-person
• Signal boosting YCP events on popular young adult Catholic WhatsApp chat groups
• Collaborating with our neighboring chapters and our national team to boost membership organization-wide
• Writing featured blog posts for the national news feed

Why Lead a Dance Class?

After the lockdown period of the early 2020’s, I, like many others, felt a strong yearning for community. In my case, I wanted to grow my friend group with more people of my faith. After an evening of extensive Google searches, I was shocked to find how many young adult events were taking place around New York City on a daily basis! One that caught my eye was a free swing dance lesson and social that was taking place at Saint Vincent Ferrer Church just a block away from my alma mater, Hunter College.

This event resonated with me more so than other young adult ministries I attended. As the dance lessons progressed, otherwise shy individuals began to come out of their shells and form bonds with faith-focused peers they had also been searching for. While holy hours and formal gatherings are essential for spiritual growth, events like dances provide what I regard as “unstructured play” for Catholics to form organic friendships in low-pressure environments.

When I was eventually entrusted with the event’s leadership, I was committed to keeping it the fun and invigorating experience it had always been for me, and I would call upon all my theater and showmanship experience to make it even more so. Each month, more than 30 people show up to play with us, and I give thanks to God for all the skills that He has given to me to ensure they keep coming back.

These dance classes are open to the public, and we only ask that attendees donate what they’d like to support the Dominican Friars who generously let us use their space free of charge. Since taking over leadership, I have also hosted swing dance events at young adult ministries around the five boroughs, following the same structure and raising funds for charitable causes of the groups’ choosing. I hope to continue doing this for as long as I am able, helping to increase the number of married couples that found their start here.