THANK YOU…

…for making our 2019 St. Louis, MO Regional PMDoS a success!

January 21, 2019 | 9:00am-3:00pm | 5240 Oakland Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110

PMIMSL Confluence Service Event for Local Nonprofits

What if Martin Luther King, Jr. had been a hacker?  More than 50 years after his death, the memory of the great civil rights leader continues to inspire people to organize and use their skills in innovative ways to lift up their neighbors.  On January 21st, members of the PMI Metropolitan St. Louis Chapter, led by Shaun Simms, PMP, participated in the first-ever Confluence event hosted at the Paraquad offices by the Bloom Café in central St. Louis.  Inspired by the hackathon concept where teams of coders huddle together for a weekend creating working software to address a need, teams of project managers came together on MLK, Jr. Day to perform intensive project management consultation in service of three local non-profits. 

For the event, 14 service-minded volunteer project managers assembled into three teams comprising diverse skillsets and backgrounds.  Then over the course of eight hours, these teams applied the tools of their trade to uncover and address some of the most impactful challenges facing Youth in Need, YouthBridge, and Paraquad.  By the end of the day, all three organizations walked away with realistic, executable plans that included actions, owners, dates, and measures for success. 

The project plan presented to Youth In Need included six months of action items to capitalize on opportunities in their outreach and youth shelter programs.  Similarly, Lifebridge walked away with a plan to systematically address their communications strategy.  And Paraquad’s strategic planning efforts focused on raising awareness and support for the organization’s health & wellness center. 

The feedback was quite positive from the organizations that participated. While each of the planning documents produced that day represented in and of itself the product of about 40 hours of combined project management labor and expertise, additional lasting value was created as well, as connections were forged between the non-profits and volunteer project managers. 

Indeed, Paraquad became the first organization to opt into the “Value Beyond Program” to receive additional, long-term volunteering project management support.  Shaun commented, “I’m hoping our all day planning session and ongoing support will allow them to focus on the people they serve, while we take care of the project management.”

As is often the case, the volunteers reaped rewards from their service as well.  Hannah Kalebaugh appreciated the exposure to building a project plan first-hand.  “Being able to sit in a room and unpacking the pain point then walking through resolutions was amazing,” she said.

A massive "Thank You!" to the leaders of the three nonprofits for spending their day off with the PM volunteers and for their all participants' shared commitment to lifting up St. Louis.

Participants:

Team Youth in Need:  Andres Delgado, PMP; Leslie Whitlock; Darnette McCleary, PMP; Aashrita Sodagam

Team YouthBridge: Tom Rechtien, PMP; Kelly Bottini, PMP; Karen Smith; Hannah Kalebaugh; Ali Waqar, PMP

Team Paraquad: Shaun Simms, PMP; Tina Anderson;  Morgan Fender, PMP, RN; Trish Rose-Sandler, PMP; Sarah Maurizi, PMP

Sponsors

PARAQUAD’s BLOOM CAFE PROJECT

Thank you and Congratulations to Ellen Hickman, PMP and Shaun Simms, PMP of PMIMSL and PM4Change Impact Director who shared their project management leadership and competencies to assist with the planning and opening of Paraquad’s Bloom Café prior to the January 2019 PMDoS event.

Bloom Café was established to help individuals with disabilities receive formal training in culinary skills, a paid internship to gain work experience, and job placement services.

PMIMSL PMPs collaborated with local leaders and a team from Higher Focus Consulting & Management along this journey from vision to opening day! The Bloom Cafe opened to the public for business, on March 21, 2018.

Shaun Simms, PMP  reflects  on the collaborative; “PMI Metro St. Louis has worked to create wonderful partnerships with impactful organizations, like Paraquad. Collaborating to open the Bloom Cafe was such an emotional project, because I was able to see firsthand some of the lives this place will change.”

Want to participate? Work for a nonprofit or social change organization? Register and join us for our next PMDoS event in a city near you!