Submitted by Jenna Rykiel, ACC

When Jenna Rykiel started her coaching business, one of the key elements that she felt strongly about was the ability for clients to give the gift of coaching to those who may not be familiar with or who cannot afford coaching. Within her business model, for every hour of paid coaching, she provides one hour of pro bono coaching. Clients can choose to gift the free hour to someone they know who would benefit from coaching or they can donate an hour to one of the organizations Jenna partners with.

Most of the donated/pro bono coaching hours have been with an organization called Warren Village, which provides housing and resources to single parents with low income. All of the clients through that organization have been women, many of whom are concurrently doing therapy work for previous trauma. Warren Village residents have access to sign up for coaching at any time and generally receive 3-4 coaching sessions.

So far in 2021, Jenna was able to donate 33 hours of pro bono coaching to eight different residents at Warren Village while maintaining a waitlist of additional people who are interested. The coaching sessions have opened space for clients to find success in a wide range of goals from learning to trust oneself more to creating a business plan to open a nonprofit like Warren Village. One client successfully passed the NCLEX exam after attending accountability meetings.

“The coach listened to me with kindness and curiosity. My time with her led me to understand myself more deeply and to realize that, sometimes, the way I talk to myself is not self-serving. She also helped me to see how my expectations can influence my experiences. I would definitely recommend Jenna for personal coaching.”

—Ashley, coachee