by Zahni Thuzar, DVI Intern
New Year; better you. If you read our previous post about nailing your New Year’s resolutions Down(town), you learned a bunch of ways to help stick to your plans. Alas, it’s about that time that most of us start jumping ship to join the other 60% ditching their New Year’s resolutions.
Not this time!
The rise of young professional groups here in #DTJax has never been better, and they’re all great opportunities to help you get involved in the community, support the arts and/or gain a new hobby.
To save you some trouble, here’s just a few of the tons of organizations based here in Downtown Jacksonville:
The Contemporaries of MOCA
Young professionals between the ages of 21-40 are encouraged to connect with their artistic side and join The Contemporaries. The main goal of this organization is to encourage the cultural activity in this city and to bring awareness of the Museum to the public. With monthly happy hours occurring every fourth Friday of the month (from 5-8 p.m.), there are plenty of opportunities to socialize and connect with like minds. Every meet-up is held at a different location, which allows you to visit plenty of local venues all while discussing the newest trends in the contemporary lifestyle.
Happy hours are FREE for Contemporaries members and are announced via Facebook and the MOCA website.
To become a member of The Contemporaries cost only $25 to your existing MOCA membership. Not a member? A Single membership [$75] to MOCA and The Contemporaries includes:
-Free admission to the Museum
-Invitations to members-only exhibition preview receptions and special events
-Free subscription to Forma magazine
-Free admission to lectures at MOCA
-10% discount at the Museum Shop
-20% published Facility Rental Rate
-Special events discounts to films and concerts
-Discounted rates for children’s summer art camp and studio MOCA for adults
-Opportunity to join Special Interest Groups
-Two hours complimentary parking in the MOCA designated City garage
A Couples membership [$100] covers two adults and two children under the age of 18.
Check them out on Facebook, or stop by MOCA Jacksonville.
Downtown Rotaract Jax
Let’s be honest: a lot of us have heard of the Rotaract, throughout high school, college, etc., but did you ever truly know what they actually do?
Being one of more than 9,000 Rotaract (“Rotary in Action”) clubs in the WORLD, Downtown Rotaract Jax is an awesome outlet for young professionals between the ages of 22-35 to participate in community service and gain leadership skills in the process, all led by the focus of Rotary International, “Service Above Self.”
Downtown Rotaract Jax, with a yearly club due of a mere $100 – that’s less than $10 a month! – is always welcoming new “Rotaracters,” and applying is easy.
You can download the application here (there’s a $15 application fee), and either email your application to secretary@rotaractjax.org, where you will receive payment instructions, OR print out the application, and turn it in with payment at the next meeting.
Downtown Rotaract Jax meets the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6 p.m. Meetings are temporarily being held at Downtown Vision, Inc.’s office, 214 Hogan St., Suite 120. **OH, HEY! THAT’S US!!**
You can also contact them at rotaractjax@gmail.com, and be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram!
The Elements of MOSH
If you’re more left-brained, MOSH also has a young professional group, The Elements, for those ages 21-40. Together, the organization works to support the Museum and its aspiration to spark the desire to learn in the future generations of our region. Members sponsor various events that, paired with the already present creative atmosphere of MOSH, help to promote social, educational and volunteer opportunities.
Members of The Elements receive:
-Four annual guest passes
– Invitations to exclusive The Elements events
– Unlimited admission to MOSH for 12 months
– Half-price admission to the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium
– 20% off MOSH camps
– 20% off purchases in The MOSH Store and Birthday party packages
– 20% off programs (MOSH After Dark, LEGO, Bella Luna, Camp-Ins and more)
– Invitations to exclusive exhibit openings
– Register for select events before the General Public
– Free admission to more than 200 science centers
(All of the above information is as stated on the MOSH website.)
You can also find The Elements of MOSH on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
ImpactJax
A part of the JAX Chamber, 21-40 year olds can join more than 600 members in creating and maintaining an empowered and bright community of young professionals. The group holds monthly events that present the opportunity for networking, learning, advocating, and growing as a professional. You can find these events and register for them through this word right here. Event notifications can also be received through ImpactJax’s weekly “Happs” newsletter; which you can subscribe to by e-mailing ImpactJax@myjaxchamber.com.
There are three core involvement areas that ImpactJax presents for its members: Service and Giving, Social & Professional Development and Public Policy. Members of the group gain benefits such as free or discounted admission at events, connections to leaders of the community and its business and politics, and a means to discover Jacksonville’s newest places to be.
By joining this organization, you will be helping to promote #DTJax and show off how great this city is. ImpactJax is helping to revitalize Downtown, as well as providing opportunities for those young professionals who wish to start/grow their businesses downtown and offering “backstage” tours and social get-togethers at special events around the city.
Check them out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
JCCI Forward of the Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.
JCCI Forward is a young professional group that believes in establishing a better community in order to construct a better future. They help with JCCI’s misson to teach groups of people about their respective communities, come up with ways to solve the issues and problems and thus go forth with physically acting to positively change and fix such issues.
One way in which JCCI acts to inform the public is by publishing the research that they conduct about Northeast Florida. JAX2025 is the hard copy of a collection of more than 16,000 visions that the community wishes to achieve in 2025. Together, members have brainstormed over 60 different game plans, 10 Targets to reach and track how they’re doing and an overall collective image for the future of this city.
Anyone can submit a question and work with the organization to search for the answer. If a more hands on approach is what you’re looking for, you can join JAX2025 as Partner in Progress. By becoming a partner, you can pair your organization with theirs and help with constructing these new improvements. You can also attend any of their events, where many attend to learn and get involved.
JCCI Forward also aims to help young professionals with working toward their career goals and offering great opportunities for developing both professional and civic leadership skills. Through all aspects of the organization, there is a lot of personal growth that can be found.
You can also check them out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and also JCCI on LinkedIn. Stop by their office at 100 Festival Park Ave., email them at mail@jcci.org, or call them at 904-396-3052 if you have any questions.
Rising Tides of the St. Johns Riverkeeper
Rising Tides is perfect for the young professional age 21-44 who is both interested in helping the community and the environment. By joining the organization you would be helping to support both the St. Johns Riverkeeper and the St. Johns River. There are plenty of opportunities to get physical and involved, with the many river trips and volunteer projects, that you can find on the Rising Tides’ calendar.
*Get the family involved!* The Riverkeepers will be holding Waterfest on Feb. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MOSH, where you and the family can engage in exciting activities while learning about the marine world and how to help in conserving it. The best part? It’s free, and there will be boat tours (cue The Lonely Island music) – at a first-come, first-served basis.
Despite technically separating us, the St. Johns River ties together the different sections of Downtown Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Landing is just one venue in #DTJax that relies on the river for the beautiful aesthetic and mascot for #RiverCity. It’s a staple for Jacksonville and the Rising Tides want to help maintain the well-being of this waterway.
Becoming a member is easy. It is $45 for an individual and $65 for couples, but these prices include a membership in the St. John’s Riverkeeper. Who doesn’t want to be sure that our river stays clean and happy? The Rising Tides cost is $15, so an individual Riverkeeper membership would be $30 and for couples it would be $50. When selecting the membership level (go to “Other”), enter the membership level total and then add $15. If you’re already a member then you can just enter $15 in the OTHER box and add “Rising Tides” into the comment box.
Help keep our waters clean and healthy, as well as its tributaries and wetlands!
You can contact the Rising Tides at Shannon@StJohnsRiverkeeper.org and on Facebook.
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All over Jacksonville, you can find many ways get involved in your community and stick to your resolutions (if being social and proactive happens to be on your list, that is) and #DTJax is a great place to start. Hey, at least you can say we helped!