Cleveland’s young professionals are charged with shaping the future of the city. And while there are more than 70 organizations catering to the 15,000 young professionals in the area, there isn't one dedicated to uniting these groups to make a difference and make a change. Engage! Cleveland is striving to do exactly that.

“These organizations are extremely important because they integrate young professionals with the community,” says Andrew Bennett, president of the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club. “But think about the full-time resources and coordinating all of the work they are doing. What would it look like if young professionals were fully integrated into the community?”

Engage! Cleveland grew out of Cleveland ConneXion, which sought to provide a unified voice for Cleveland’s YP organizations. It has continued to evolve over the past year as a forum to engage the area’s young professionals, make them want to stay in Cleveland and work at creating a thriving, vibrant business community that people actually want to be in.

“The private sector employers are interested in attraction and retention issues, the public and the non-profit sectors need a better understanding of what young people want. What do they really think? What do they really want?” says Bennett. “Right now there is no go-to central location to tap into the community.”

That’s where Engage! Cleveland comes in.

“I’m constantly asked, ‘How do I get tapped in to the community,’” says Bennett. “We’re trying to make Engage! Cleveland that hub to better enable and capitalize on all the great things happening here.”

Source: Andrew Bennett
Writer: Karin Connelly