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THE VUHRD ANNUAL NETWORKING RECEPTION

A Night of Networking & Learning

Each year, the Villanova Graduate HRD Program invites students, alumni, faculty and our local HR community to join us for a night of networking & learning.  To learn more about student events held throughout the year, visit our VUSHRM page here.  To see event information from some of our previous Annual Networking Receptions, click the year: 2016, 2017, 2018.  Click here to return to the main VUHRD event page.

The 2018 Event

2018 Villanova HRD Annual Networking Reception

Keynote Speaker GRADY LEE 

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Wednesday, April 11, 2018 | 6-8:30PM

Location: The Inn at Villanova | 601 County Line Road

The 2018 event featured a night of networking, learning, & giving back as we explored HR's role in Corporate Social Responsibility. Our Keynote Speaker was Grady Lee, CEO of Give2Get and the night concluded with a unique Social Impact Project that every guest participated in benefiting a local non-profit, Dawn's Place.

Keynote Speaker

GRADY LEE

CEO & Co-Founder of Give2Get

Co-Founder & Chair of IMPACT 2030

Grady Lee has spent the past decade creating opportunities and experiences for people to engage with each other and help change the world.  He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Give2Get, a production company that creates social impact programs for events, companies, and brands. This builds on his work as the Co-Founder/COO of RockCorps where he built a global operation that engaged more than 160,000 volunteers in 10 countries through thousands of volunteer events.  In 2015, Grady co-founded and now chairs the executive committee of IMPACT 2030, the only private-sector led initiative with the United Nations aligning human capital investments to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.  He earned his MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and his BA from Princeton University.

Listen to this quick video with Grady to hear how IMPACT 2030 is working across sectors to mobilize employee volunteering to advance the achievement of the Global Goals.

Giving Back

The 2018 event included a social impact project that guests participated in benefiting Dawn's Place.

The Give Back

This year's event included a social impact project benefiting Dawn's Place.  Guests had an opportunity to participate in this Give Back Project in a variety of ways.​

  • $5 of each ticket purchased was donated to Dawn's Place.

  • Each guest was asked to bring one item from the Dawn's Place Wish List to the event, to be collected and donated to Dawn's Place. 

  • During the event, guests participated in a project to make blanket and sheets sets to be donated to Dawn's Place.  

Dawn's Place

Dawn's Place is a residential, 501(c) 3 non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, PA.  For the safety of our residents, our exact location is undisclosed. We are governed by a dedicated board of directors, cared for by professional staff, and assisted by active and committed volunteers. Dawn's Place is unique in that our program helps both foreign born and American women who have been victimized by Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE), commonly known as "sex trafficking" or slavery. Dawn's Place works to improve the lives of women trapped by, or at risk for, CSE by providing housing, trauma recovery services, vocational training and other services. We also raise awareness of CSE via education, prevention, public policy reform and community collaborations. Our residents come to us with various backgrounds often including: incarceration, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, sexual abuse, childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, insufficient medical care, poor nutrition, and separation or estrangement from family and country of origin.Through our residential program, the women can receive the important social enhancement, life skills, therapeutic and educational services necessary for their recovery after escaping a dangerous life of exploitation or slavery. Women are referred to our program by various agencies, including: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, the State Department, Criminal Justice System, and social services agencies. Women may also refer themselves directly.

Best for PHL

This year, VUHRD partnered with Best for PHL to bring awareness of the importance of corporate social responsibility right here in Philadelphia and help local businesses better understand how they can be a champion for Philadelphia citizens and our community.

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The Best for PHL Challenge is a free, confidential program that helps business leaders better understand how their business practices affect workers, our community, and the environment. Companies that take the Best for PHL Challenge get immediate feedback about where they are excelling and where they can improve. Best for PHL then provides support and recognition for businesses that make improvements! Is your company ready to be Best for PHL?  Learn more and take the challenge by visiting their website: http://bestforphl.com/.  

2018 Sponsors

Thank you to our 2018 sponsors!

Event Schedule

5:00-6:30pm

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6:30pm

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6:45-7:15pm

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7:15-7:30pm

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7:30-8:00pm

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8:00-8:05pm

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8:05-8:25pm

8:30pm

| Doors Open!

Registration & Networking

| Welcome by Hosts: Emma Edoga & Conor Kennedy, VUHRD Graduate Assistants

| Keynote Presentation: Grady Lee, CEO of Give2Get

| Introduction of Dawn's Place & the our social impact project for the evening

| Social Impact Project - Making Blankets!

| Introduction to Best for PHL

| Q&A with Grady Lee

| Closing Remarks from our Hosts

Event Video

The above video was created by Graduate Assistant, Emma Edoga to introduce guests to the theme for the evening.

2018 VUHRDANR Pictures

Our hosts, Conor Kennedy & Emma Edoga, VUHRD Graduate Assistants

Keynote Speaker, Grady Lee, CEO of Give2Get

During the event, guests participated in a social impact project benefiting Dawn's Place.  Guests made fleece-tie blankets that were donated with a matching sheets set for the women of Dawn's Place.

Guests left messages of hope, love and support on a frame that will be hung at Dawn's Place.

VUHRD Assistant Professor, Dr. Katina Sawyer shared her experience working with the women of Dawn's Place.  

Cory Donovan from ImpactPHL shared on the Best for PHL Challenge.

Guests had an opportunity during the evening to ask our Keynote Speaker, Grady Lee, questions about CSR and creating social impact.

The VUHRD Faculty, Staff and Volunteers for the 2018 VUHRDANR!

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