Young Professionals Network Presents its Annual Volunteer of the Year Award

More than 200 young professionals and community leaders gathered at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia last month as the Young Professionals Network (YPN) of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce presented its second annual Volunteer of the Year Award.

The award was presented to Ruben Reyes of Lyquix, an information technology consulting firm based in Center City Philadelphia. He is donating the $500 award to D’s Dawgs, a foundation based in Cherry Hill that was created in memory of Danielle Bledy who died at age 13 two years ago from a brain aneurysm. Last year’s winner, Jeff DeCesare, presented the award to Reyes.

"Volunteering is about realizing that no matter how small the effort, short the period of time, or small the advice, you can have a profound, lasting and positive impact on someone else’s life," said Reyes.

The award presentation took place at YPN’s July networking event. Also during the event, Renee Archawski, Executive Director of Greater Philadelphia Cares, announced a new partnership with YPN.

"Greater Philadelphia Cares is delighted to grow our long standing partnership with YPN. We look forward to developing a variety of volunteer opportunities that help YPN members get even more involved in their communities," said Archawski.

Stephanie Gambone, YPN Vice Chair and Director of School Support and Business Partnerships at Philadelphia Youth Network, said YPN members have demonstrated time and again that they are committed to community involvement and volunteerism.

The YPN Volunteer Award is presented annually to a young professional who exemplifies the true spirit of volunteerism through participation in YPN-sponsored volunteer programs.

YPN is a professional development organization that gives young business people the opportunity to build relationships, exchange ideas, and give back to the community. In addition to hosting monthly networking events at some of the region’s premier hot spots, YPN is committed to volunteerism. Last year, YPN’s volunteer activities included working with Greater Philadelphia Cares, McClure Elementary School in North Philadelphia, WorkReady Philadelphia and Variety, The Children’s Charity. YPN members volunteered nearly 400 hours of their time to these organizations.

Reyes is a member of the YPN Volunteer Committee, the Advisory Board of the Professional Mentoring Network of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of Directors of Casa de Venezuela Delaware Valley. He does pro-bono work for D’s Dawgs and Green Village Philadelphia.

Reyes founded Lyquix in 2008 to help businesses plan and manage technology to optimize their operations. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering from the Universidad Simon Bolivar in Venezuela in 2000 and moved to Philadelphia in 2005 while working for Nokia as a Solution Sales Manager.

For more information about YPN or to get involved, visit www.ypnphilly.com.