Voices of VU-PHL: Meet Kyle Payne
Kyle Payne, Director of Finance
Happy (almost) spring, VU Crew! We’re excited to introduce you to a very important member of our board - Kyle Payne. As Director of Finance, Kyle manages our finances and ensures that we have enough cash on-hand to purchase supplies and other materials for our monthly events. Check out our latest Q&A to learn how a fellow board member convinced Kyle to join our crew.
How did you get involved in VU-PHL?
This is all thanks to current board member Mike Dombkoski. He knew I was itching to get involved in a volunteering organization in Philly, but was hesitant, so he invited me to the Spring Happy Hour event last year. Upon meeting everybody on the current board and learning more about the organization at the event I knew it was the right fit. I applied to become the Director of Finance the very next day!
What is your favorite part of volunteering with VU-PHL?
It is hard to choose just one thing, but I would say the people who attend the events. I love working alongside individuals who also care about improving their surroundings. It is so inspiring to see how quickly our events fill up on Eventbrite and then when attending the events to see the positive energy that is in the air amongst the volunteers. This makes me feel the strong sense of purpose and reassurance of why VU PHL exists, what we are doing to impact the community in the best way possible and how it will keep on growing.
Why is giving back so important to you?
As a Philly citizen since 2015, I firmly believe volunteering and giving back to the city is the best way to get to know the community and its residents. When you place yourself in situations to make your community better with like-minded individuals from the area, you can learn so much about this city and how it works. Volunteering and giving back in general is so important to me, but there is something truly special about Philly-based volunteering. Giving back to the place you call home helps to unite the community and bridge some of the social, economic and political differences that this city faces.
What advice do you have for young Philadelphians looking to get more involved in the community?
Do not be intimidated by attending an event alone and let that be the factor of why you do not volunteer. I am guilty of this. I went far too long living in Philadelphia wanting to give back and ending up not because I did not know anybody going to the events I was interested in. VU PHL is the perfect place to start! Consistently, about a third of all VU PHL events are attended by brand new individuals who are also looking to get involved and broaden their network in the city. We have eleven people on the board who come to every event that are labeled by name tags and you can approach any one of us and we are more than happy to welcome you and introduce you to some great people. Try it out!
Can you give us a recap of our February event at the Stephen Girard Elementary School?
This was a big one for us. Our event sold out in three days and a record amount of 71 volunteers came out for it. Stephen Girard is a K-4 elementary school in South Philadelphia whose student body is very ethnically diverse and 100% of the population qualify as economically disadvantaged. Our goal for the event was to add elements of beauty to the school and to make the school the most welcoming environment possible for the students. We accomplished this by assembling gift bags filled with handcrafted flowers, decorating bookmarks to encourage students to keep on reading, making beautiful classroom signs and adding to a mural to recognize donors. We also cleaned the classrooms, vacuumed the floors, picked up trash inside/outside and organized the storage closets. This all totaled over 210 hours of volunteer work in a span of three hours! Not too shabby!