Hats off to SERV’s Young Professionals Group (YPG) for a successful first fundraiser for SERV.

The YPG, a newly formed group of philanthropic-minded individuals from companies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, held their first official event benefiting SERV, a Beef & Beer on Feb. 3 at the Steam Pub in Southampton, Pa.

Members brought in an amazing crowd of people to the event who were full of energy, excitement and support for SERV’s mission.  In addition, they solicited sponsorships and numerous gift baskets from area businesses and corporations.

Guests who came out to support the YPG enjoyed a buffet of roast beef au jus, penne vodka, beer, wine and an assortment of desserts. They also had the opportunity to bid on auction items such as a boat ride in Barnegat Bay, a hand-crafted stained-glass window, an HP ProBook 450 laptop, and more.

At the end of the day, the YPG hit their fundraising goal of $5,000 for SERV Behavioral Health System. Proceeds from the event will benefit programs for SERV consumers recovering from severe mental illness and/or coping with intellectual developmental disabilities.

Many thanks to Steam Pub for hosting the event, as well as sponsors Rapps Pharmacy in Plainfield and Philadelphia Insurance Companies in Ewing. We also are grateful to the more than 30 area businesses from Mercer County and Bucks County, Pa., that donated gift baskets.

Members of the YPG include: Chairman David Kushner, vice president for investments at Raymond James in Newtown, Pa., Patrick Brogan and Robert Watts, Philadelphia Insurance Companies; Eric Goldman and Kevin Mehta, Mercadien Group; Adam Kofsky, Academy Mortgage; John McDermott, Raymond James; Kendall McPoyle, Rice Cohen Training; Hitesh Patel, Rapps Pharmacy; Rachel Rothman, Berkshire Hathaway; Timothy Smith, Top Quality Services; and Justin Stedman, Equity Payment.

To view photos from the event, visit the SERV Foundation Facebook page here