Young Professionals Lending a Hand at NCS

Lydia Nichols was a recent college graduate when she first heard about NCS in 2019 after moving to New York City to begin working for Bloomingdale's. She had a few days off around Thanksgiving and wanted to help her community, so she volunteered at the Thanksgiving celebration at our Chance for Change clinic located at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.

She was so inspired after just a few hours spent with the clients there that later that day she joined NCS's NextGen Network, a group of young professionals supporting NCS's mission through volunteer activities and monthly donations.

"I could tell right away that I wanted to be connected to NCS. I loved that you not only provided housing, a foundational need, but also empowered each client and provided them with opportunities to succeed. You can see the respect given to each client across all of the programs. It's been inspiring getting the monthly NextGen update emails and seeing how many Louis Nine House residents have earned diplomas, gotten jobs, and moved out— even during the pandemic!

The NextGen Network was a great fit for me— I had just moved to NYC and wanted to meet new like-minded people while also networking and helping my neighbors. I have really enjoyed the NextGen volunteer opportunities and... appreciated that I could set up the donation once and know that I'm helping these clients that I've gotten to know every month."

Thank you, Lydia, for all the ways you support NCS and our clients.

And you can read about NextGen Network founder and co-chair, Rachael Piltch-Loeb here.