I was interviewed last week by a reporter from San Antonio who asked “what makes Silicon Valley appealing to young professionals?” As I thought through the usual suspects: decent living-wages; fantastic weather; or access to metropolises, beaches and snow, I couldn’t put my finger on what makes it truly unique and appealing.
Fast-forward to a lunch I had with a colleague from San Jose Rotary, who summarized it well: it’s the community. Lifelong residents or new immigrants feel a sense of belonging and connection in the Valley. I shy away from the word “responsibility” because it’s overused these days.
I launched a TYP support initiative earlier this year for Family Supportive Housing (FSH) an amazing, local program to help empower homeless families in San Jose to move from homelessness to self-sufficiency. With TYP’s goal of developing personal/professional skills, FSH is an ideal fit. This program provides a 90-day transition-cushion for families, then ongoing support as they transition out of FSH. I’ll boast for them: they have an 85%+ success rate for families that come through their program!
In February a group of 20 TYPs (capped at 20 because of the capacity, not the TYP interest-level) hosted a Saturday lunch and play day with the families including face painting, crafts and social time. I wanted TYP to put in place a longer-lasting support system, thus we are developing an evening tutoring program for the children in the FSH program. As TYP’s Community Outreach leads, Jessica Rink of Bank of America and Kevin Cookson of Bozzuto Insurance Services, build our tutoring program; both Kevin and Jessica brought their professional edge on an individual level to FSH.
Earlier this Summer, Kevin (recruiting his brother and father) responded to a smaller need of FSH: improvements to patches of concrete in the common area. Fernandes & Sons donated the concrete and the “Cookson trio” provided the manpower to reduce hazards to the children.
Later this month, Jessica will bring Bank of America’s Financial Literacy training program to the families at FSH; where bank employees come to deliver lessons in personal financial basics such as how to structure a budget and build a credit history.
The sense of community of this Valley, and the sense of connection, growth and development of TYP allow us to bring lasting value to the Silicon Valley table. Long live individual determination and supportive companies – long live the Silicon Valley community.
