Culture

Photo: Courtesy of CFF

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Breathe Easy Bash

July 29, 2017 @ 12:00am |

It’s not often that people can give back to a community and build their career in one fell swoop. But the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s (CFF) Finest program gives professionals in the area the opportunity to do just that.

The 16-week program provides workshops and training sessions for its chosen participants to simultaneously raise money for CFF and experience valuable, career-building opportunities. The program is so impactful to its volunteers that some stayed on afterwards to help the next year’s group of Finest.

That was the case with Korey Paff, a former Finest member and mentor to the current group of Finest professionals. Although Paff had been involved with CFF prior to his work as a Finest, he was still surprised by the camaraderie that the program provokes in career-focused professionals.

“It’s really nice meeting like-minded individuals with different types of backgrounds but with one common goal, which is to raise money for CFF,” Paff said.

And it’s a diverse group. According to Nuria Diallo Padro, current chair of the Finest committee and a Finest honoree herself, says the foundation wants to include professionals from all over the DMV.

“[Finest members] are young professionals who are definitely giving back to the community in some capacity, who are growing in their careers and who can benefit from professional development including learning some fundraising skills, which is how they end up raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation,” Diallo Padro said.

The skills Finest members get to learn run the gamut. Current Finest members have an upcoming LinkedIn class, like the one we all regret not taking in college. One of Paff’s favorite skills that members develop is the elevator speech, a quick pitch about anything from career goals to an introduction.

“So, we had a highly regarded executive come in to work on [our] 60-second close,” Paff said. “He went through what he normally does. An elevator speech can go anywhere from working to meeting somebody for the first time to a high-end business meeting. It was great; we focused our attention on asking people for money, bigger donations and stuff like that. But it [can go] anywhere. That was one of my favorite things that we did last year.”

But Finest members do more than just learn – they create connections by networking with established area professionals as well as younger professionals like themselves.

Networking extends beyond career advancement for the volunteer professionals; members usually have the opportunity to visit a hospital to learn about cystic fibrosis and how it affects the lives of those who have it. And since they aren’t required to have a personal connection to cystic fibrosis before they start the program, some of them are learning about, and interacting, with the community for the first time.

“Personally, I don’t have anybody [with] CF in my family,” Paff said. “And seeing people that do have [cystic fibrosis], we all just rallied together. It [was] kind of awesome.”

To learn more about cystic fibrosis and how you can help, check out the foundation’s website. Below is a list of current Finest participants; click their names to learn more about each member.

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