There are countless opportunities for young professionals to meet like-minded people and have fun in service to a good cause. The Young Friends of Beyond Housing offers more. The newly relaunched group gives members an opportunity to better understand how a holistic approach to community development works and connects them directly with the local residents whose day-to-day lives are impacted by their work.
The three Young Friends leaders—Co-Chairs Adrienne Groves and Nico Krehmeyer along with Event Liaison Burgandy Bonser—all have many volunteer experiences on their impressive resumes. They also understand their peers’ desire to give back in meaningful ways, the sense of powerlessness they sometimes feel as individuals, and how motivating it is for them to experience a combination of social fun and mission-driven learning.
Each member of the trio came to Beyond Housing via a different route. For Bonser, whose childhood home was in the Ritenour School District, the connection happened via a Once and for All Speaker Series with local leaders including Maxine Clark, Founder and former CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, and Michael Woods, Co-Founder and President of Dream Builders 4 Equity.
“I grew up so close to the 24:1 Community, and I didn’t know the history. I had been at the Regional Business Council and worked with Dream Builders 4 Equity. I knew they had a vision that a lot of organizations in North City and North County share. I knew the importance of meeting people where they’re at and pausing to understand what the community’s needs are rather than just funding what outsiders think is needed.”
— Burgandy Bonser
When Beyond Housing’s Fund Development Manager Kiah Earl reached out to follow up on the event, she mentioned Young Friends. “It was perfect timing,” said Bonser, whose day job involves strategic planning and execution. “I get so much out of giving back to the community, and I can’t imagine life without some kind of nonprofit work.”
For Groves, the connection happened a few years ago when she was studying at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a classmate posted online about Holiday Friends, Beyond Housing’s annual gift-giving campaign. “I had been wanting to get more involved with different organizations, and that was a simple way to do it,” she said.
She has since graduated from UMSL with a master’s degree in public policy administration, and she works at her alma mater as the associate director of development. Although she had spent years visiting the 24:1 footprint for classes and work, she realized she had a lot to learn about Beyond Housing’s scope of work and its long history.
Groves said the Young Friends events have been inspirational. “Everyone is excited to learn more and get involved. The happy hours are about the programming and building a sense of community, while the work events engage with the people who live here in a way that helps take us deeper and discover the local history.”
Groves appreciated that the most recent membership meeting in late September at Carter Commons in Pagedale gave the Young Friends an opportunity to learn more about the economic development side of Beyond Housing’s work. And she loved the back-to-school resource fair Beyond the Backpack in August.
“I was surprised by how massive that day was—and how much fun it was. There’s an element of seriousness and the feeling that you’re doing good work, but at the same time it’s uplifting and a fun thing for the community to attend.”
— Adrienne Groves
Unlike his Young Friends colleagues, Krehmeyer literally grew up with Beyond Housing. “I remember when my dad was hired in 1993,” he said of President and CEO Chris Krehmeyer. The younger Krehmeyer continues to be connected to the nonprofit through his work at Midwest BankCentre in the Rosie Shields senior living center in Pagedale, which Beyond Housing owns and operates.
Krehmeyer said newcomers to Young Friends are often shocked by how much Beyond Housing has done in the past 10 years.
“Our message resonates, and they want to get involved. Most people feel a sense of powerlessness individually. This work is so daunting. But we emphasize that you can make a difference through where you bank, the places you visit, and what you talk about—and doing these things can be fun.”
— Nico Krehmeyer
He added that young people who live in the 24:1 Community are especially welcome to join the organization because they can talk organically about North County and the benefits of a holistic approach.
Bonser pointed out that the Young Friends are intentional about erasing the disconnect that sometimes exists between boards, the boots-on-the-ground workers, and those who have taken the difficult step of asking for help. The group is also very attuned to the importance of giving people agency, right down to the youngest residents of the community. For example, she highlighted a conversation she had with a young girl at Beyond the Backpack. “She was super excited that she got to pick out cheetah shoes—and that excitement is going to help her do better in school because she has been recognized as a unique person with likes and dislikes who gets to choose based on them.”
A previous iteration of Young Friends in the late 1990s and early 2000s wasn’t able to be sustained, but all three leaders feel the relaunch has staying power this time. Bonser emphasized that at the end of the year, they’ll be setting “audacious goals” for how they can support Beyond Housing’s work going forward.
Krehmeyer pointed out that the $50 membership donation is a commitment toward an organization that benefits people across the entire St. Louis region through the Once and for All initiative. There are other opportunities to give as well, including social fundraisers like a recent trivia night and a soccer outing to see the STL City2 team at the downtown stadium. The next in-person volunteer opportunity is with Holiday Friends in early December.
To see more examples of the Young Friends in action, follow the group on LinkedIn.
