Category Archives: Social Networking

October 2, 2012 · 1:55 am

Penn Pro bono Alumni Consulting (PennPAC)

Author: Stephanie Yee, C’08

When I became Chair of the Social Impact Committee of the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia, I made it our goal to host at least one service project per month. These monthly volunteer events have become wildly popular, and many of them sell out. We partner with a different non-profit in Philadelphia every month, and we are always looking for new ways to give back to our community. In addition to these one-day volunteer events, Penn alumni in the Philadelphia area can get involved in short-term projects through PennPAC.

Penn alumna, Jackie Einstein Astrof, C’93, founded PennPAC (Penn Pro bono Alumni Consulting) in 2010 as a way to engage Penn alumni together in rewarding, socially impactful work. As Chair of the Social Impact Committee of PennNYC, Jackie understands the importance of regional engagement and community engagement of Penn alumni. Through PennPAC, Penn alumni utilize their intellectual and professional skills to assist non-profits in their communities through short-term projects. In 2011, PennPAC joined forces with the Wharton Club of New York (WCNY), and in fall 2011, PennPAC launched its first projects in New York City.

Jackie reached out to me that fall about launching PennPAC through the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia, and I thought it was a brilliant idea. As External Vice President and Chair of the Social Impact Committee of the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia, I know there are many Penn alumni in the Philadelphia area who are always looking for new ways to give back to our community. With much excitement, I launched PennPAC Philly in spring 2012. Here is a sample of our current and past PennPAC Philly projects:

Spring 2012 Project:
Students Run Philly Style offers running training programs for youth. SRPS connects students with adult mentors who help them imagine and accomplish goals to succeed in life. Volunteers on this project will develop recommendations for SRPS to increase their visibility in the Philadelphia community.

Fall 2012 Project:
12+ is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering students in underserved communities to achieve college access and completion. Volunteers in this project will increase and improve 12+ development through strategy and outreach. Note: 12+ was founded by a Penn alumnus, and the current CEO is a Penn alumna. Talk about a Penn connection!

Even though our Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia volunteers love one-day volunteer events, many of them have expressed interest in longer-term projects. PennPAC is the perfect way for our volunteers to work closely with a non-profit in Philadelphia for 8-10 weeks. Penn alumni can get involved in PennPAC in many ways. The first step is to apply online:

Click here for the PennPAC Philly application.

Click here for the PennPAC NYC application.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about PennPAC Philly. You can email me at philly@pennpac.org. I look forward to growing PennPAC through the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia, and I hope to see PennPAC launched in more cities in the near future!

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Alumni Programming, Penn Clubs, Philadelphia, Social Networking, Stephanie Y., Volunteering

July 5, 2012 · 10:59 am

Time to Pack My Binoculars

Author:  Emilie Kretschmar

Penn Alumni Travel is going on safari, and I invite you all to join us! On Facebook and Twitter, that is…

On July 11, I’ll be heading off on my first Penn Alumni Travel trip as a staff host. Although I’m no stranger to travel, I have never been to Africa, and I must admit that thinking about the trip has consumed most of my thoughts these past few weeks. There is so much more to prepare for when you’re going on safari in Tanzania! You have to get vaccinated against scary-sounding diseases like typhoid, yellow fever, and polio; you have to pick-up special malaria drugs; you have to figure out which clothes to take so as not to upset the wildlife…At the same time, there is also so much to look forward to.

During my stay in Tanzania, I plan to live tweet and post to Facebook on the Penn Alumni Travel social media pages. However, when asked about Wi-Fi and Internet connections, the travel company responded with this:

Phone and Internet access will be available at most of the accommodations, but if you need to stay in touch with family or friends back home, there are other options.

So live tweeting shouldn’t be a problem, right? I’m staying optimistic, and I hope you do too. It may not be “live-tweeting,” but perhaps we’ll get up a daily feed. Go to Facebook and Twitter before July 11 and “like” Penn Alumni Travel. With a little luck, you’ll be able to follow us as we do the following (and more):

Stand on the edge of Olduvai Gorge where Louis and Mary Leakey uncovered one of our earliest ancestors. 

View the Great Migration from the western side of the Serengeti.

Meet local people and learn more about their different cultures during village and school visits.

And if this trip has sparked your interest in Penn Alumni Travel, there is a whole calendar of new trips for 2013. Perhaps you’ll join us for the next Great Migration safari!

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Filed under Alumni Programming, Emilie, Social Networking, Travel

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June 13, 2012 · 1:52 pm

Tweetin’ Sweeten

Author: Liz Pinnie

Many of us spend our days sitting at a desk in front of the computer.  If you’re like me, every once in a while, you need to re-charge your batteries.  To do this, I often look on the Internet to get re-inspired; if you do the same, you know that there is no shortage of inspiration on the web!

One of my favorite things to do is check out the people I follow on Twitter.  There is nothing like 140 characters worth of silly/helpful/interesting to get me revved up and ready to put my nose to the grindstone.  Because of this interest, I recently started tweeting for our Alumni Twitter handle, which has been a fun challenge.  Because I have a weird love for categories, we decided that my Tweets should follow a set of hashtags for the week.

They are as follows:

#MuseumMondays          Highlights of the many fantastic exhibits happening at the museums around Penn’s campus.

#TriviaTuesday                Tidbits of trivia about both Penn and the Alumni office.

#WestPhillyWednesday  News about what’s going on in our amazing and vibrant neighborhood.

#ThrowbackThursday       Archived photos from vintage Penn- there are some awesome shots!

#WeekendRoundup           Our favorites for what’s happening both at Penn and in Philly for the weekend.

So, if you find yourself needing to press the refresh button at work, or are just looking for some interesting information about Penn or Philly, check us out on Twitter @Pennalumni or @yPennalumni!

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Filed under Liz P., Social Networking

May 29, 2012 · 1:55 pm

Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia’s New Facebook Page

Author: Stephanie Yee, C’08

The Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia recently decided to switch from a Facebook group to a page. I remember when Facebook first started Groups. They were only open to members in the same network, and there was no such thing as “liking.” I was a member of groups such as “John Doe’s Fan Club,” “Penn 08,” and “I went to public school….” I have no idea why John Doe had a Facebook group devoted to him, or why we were talking about public school, but it was cool. When I moved to Penn, I created a group for Penn students from Nevada, so I could meet everyone else from my state. I’m pretty sure there were only 15 of us in the group. Our group photo was the Nevada state flag. Oh, and be sure to pronounce Nevada correctly.

Fast forward several years and groups are a thing of the past. Pages are all the rage. Facebook has changed a lot since I joined in 2004, but I do like the new cover photo feature. Who can resist this awesome photo of Ben on the Bench? Like the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia here!

 

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Clubs, GAN, Penn Clubs, Philadelphia, Social Networking, Stephanie Y.

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May 16, 2012 · 2:30 pm

Alumni Weekend in Tweets

Author: Aimee LaBrie

Have you heard of the latest social networking craze, Storify? Actually, I’m not even sure it’s the newest thing…In fact, at the rate social media is developing, it’s likely considered archaic by now. Nevertheless, it’s still a really a cool way to create a “story” around your social networking components such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, web links, Flckr pages and I think it’s one of the few tools out there that allows you to save and store tweets and Facebook status updates about a certain topic. During Alumni Weekend, we asked people to use the hash tag #PennAW. Click this link to see dozens of comments, retweets, and impromptu photos of the weekend captured by dozens of alumni, staff, and friends of Penn. Here’s a sneak peek of a few of the photos you’ll find:

Weekend Banner

Casey, Your Friendly Staff Golf Cart Driver

Balloon Fun at Kid’s Corner

 

Getting Ready for the Parade

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Filed under Aimee L., Alumni Weekend, Social Networking

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