UpDayton To Grow Impact in 2016

UpDayton, an initiative launched in 2007 to make Dayton a magnet for young and creative talent, held their 2016 Launch Event on January 26th at the Schuster Center, following the Dayton Development Coalition’s Annual Meeting. UpDayton leaders detailed the ways that young professionals, college campuses, businesses and community organizations can join the movement to create change in the city.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley stressed the city’s commitment to strong partnership and challenged young people to get involved, “We need your help recreating the downtown space that is our authentic urban core.” UpDayton works closely with the city and county governments, as well as other area organizations and non-profits to accomplish their mission of talent attraction and retention.

The growing support from community partners and sponsors has also allowed UpDayton to experiment with new ideas and formats as well as further develop its Discover Dayton program. The program is an effort to engage local employers and college campuses by providing perception-changing experiences of the Dayton region for students and young professionals.

“In 2015 we encountered hundreds of young Daytonians excited and ready to make their mark on

Dayton’s transformation. They sense a new era beginning in Dayton and know it needs their energy and ideas,” said AJ Ferguson, the organization’s director. UpDayton wants incoming volunteers to discover a variety of opportunities in both what UpDayton organizes and what others are doing to make a difference in Dayton. Ferguson adds, “UpDayton fuels a movement far bigger than itself. If Dayton wants to attract the next generation of talent, then the people and approaches of the next generation have to
permeate everything our community is doing.”

Dayton Development Coalition leaders invited UpDayton to partner in their annual meeting for two reasons: to drive interest among young professionals in the bigger picture of the region’s economy and to encourage businesses and community organizations to support and engage with UpDayton. Specifically, UpDayton invites more employers to participate in its Discover Dayton program. UpDayton also announced plans to hold a Talent Symposium in late summer. This event would bring employers and
community leaders together to discuss the region’s talent needs.

UpDayton also announced the date of the 2016 UpDayton Summit and a change to the event format. This annual event brings young creatives together to share their needs and concerns for the region, and to vote on ideas to make the Miami Valley a better place to live, work and play. Winning ideas receive $1000 seed money from UpDayton and a team of interested volunteers. Along with the move to an evening event, the Summit format is changing to better reflect the needs of the community and will feature a “Shark-Tank/TED Talk” format with project pitches. The goal is to have project ideas be further refined than at past summits to allow them to have a stronger start and more impact in the community. The 2016 UpDayton Summit will take place the evening of Thursday, April 28th.