Young professionals of Anson kick off new year

WADESBORO — The Young Professionals of Anson will hold their virtual kick off meeting on Jan. 27, and hopes you will take the opportunity to become a member of the organization.

YP Anson brings together young professionals between the ages of 21 and 39 to meet and develop socially and professionally through different networking and community service opportunities. The group supports each other while also supporting the county.

In 2017, Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Shelby Emrich started brainstorming ideas for Anson’s youth to get involved with the community. Other surrounding counties, like Union and Richmond, have similar young professional clubs which get the younger generation plugged into the county. Emrich believed it was time for Anson to create a club of it’s own.

The organization began in 2018 with a kick-off meeting at Oliver’s Restaurant.

Club member Ashley Scarborough remembers the impressive turnout during the first meeting. Within the first year, YP Anson had close to 40 members and with it’s first fundraiser, the organization grossed about $4,500 for Anson students in an emergency food and clothing fund. YP Anson again raised money to donate to the school fund in 2019.

This past year, YP Anson created a scholarship for students in the county.

“Considering the circumstances, to be able to maintain involvement from that many people felt like a success,” Caty Edwards, chair for YP Anson, said about the group’s past year in a pandemic.

Edwards and her husband joined YP Anson after moving to the county in the summer of 2018. It was a way for them to meet other young professionals in the area, get plugged in with what is going on in the town and county and find out how can they help make Anson County better.

“I was born and raised here in Anson County,” Scarborough said. “After college when I returned here to work, it was my goal to give back to the community that shaped me.”

Both believe the benefit of joining YP Anson is not only to network and meet other young professionals in the county, but to give back to Anson.

“We want to see Anson grow and improve,” Edwards said. “We want people to come back and want to live here and to grow this county and see it expand … Getting a common group of people together who have that same desire and passion is helpful in trying to accomplish that goal.”

YP Anson tries to meet every month, but in true 2020 fashion, the meetings were held virtually or social distancing outside. The group switches each month between a social event or a fundraising and community give back event.

“We try and meet once a month just to network and to learn what’s going on in the community, how can we help,” Scarborough said. “

This year’s plan starts with a kick-off virtual social followed by a Valentine’s Sweetheart Dinner for February. Other social events include a family cook out, vocational tours and a tacky Christmas sweater party. The community give back events include Read Across America, Teacher Appreciation Week, assist with planting flags for 9/11 and a Veterans Day ceremony.

The biggest event for YP Anson in 2021 will be the re-introduction of Anson’s Day of Caring.

United Way of Central Carolinas used to host a Day of Caring in which about 250 volunteers came together to help nonprofits, elderly or disabled persons on this particular day. There would be a kick off at the Wadesboro town square to start the Day of Caring. But for the past three or four years the event was no longer happening.

The hope was to host the event in 2020, but because of COVID-19 the YP Anson organization had to hold off one more year. The Day of Caring is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. Scarborough volunteered to help organize the day and she is already underway planning on bringing it back better than ever.

“We need to get out there,” Scarborough said. “We need to be visual for other community members and other neighboring communities to see that Anson County has youth that are willing to give back, to make this a great place and to just broadcast the positivity in this county that we live in.”

YP Anson wants young professionals to feel like they have support and a place in Anson County. The group hopes to grow and expand this year and if all goes to plan, there will be less virtual events and more interaction between members.

Edwards said the people in YP Anson are just a fun group to be around. It is not your typical meeting of one speaker. Everyone truly gets involved and it is more social than one would expect.

Those who are interested in learning more about YP Anson are encouraged to attend the meeting on Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. Email Emrich at semrich@ansoncountychamber.org to receive the Zoom link. There is a one-time yearly fee to join the group. Dues are not required to be paid at this information session.