[vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook type=”button_count”][vc_column_text]Guest blogger Anne Disabato recently moved to Seattle from Chicago in order to spend more time outdoors (and work for Microsoft).  Anne also volunteers with United Way on the Emerging Leaders Marketing Committee. Read on to get the inside story around volunteering with the Emerging Leaders and how it changes lives.

If I were to ask Seattleites in their 20s and 30s how they spend weekend mornings, I bet a lot of them would mention brunch.  This weekend ritual has become a fixture to many of us. We enjoy brunch in order to relax, catch up with friends, and eat a great meal.

It’s easy to forget that not all young people had a roof over their head the night before. Let alone a guaranteed meal when they got up the next morning.

At YouthCare, homeless youth can enjoy the simple pleasure of brunch on Saturday morning.

Last weekend, 10 of United Way’s Emerging Leaders volunteered to cook and serve brunch at YouthCare’s Orion Center to 40 of 1400 young people that access it yearly.  After a quick intro to YouthCare’s mission (build confidence and self-sufficiency for homeless youth), the staff let us volunteers loose in the kitchen to cook brunch. With only a half hour until brunch-time, the team divided up each job and worked together to get a delicious meal ready for some hungry kids.

From 11-1, young people filed in to eat brunch.  I’ll admit, I was nervous about how the food would turn out, but people came back for seconds!  The United Way EL team also worked together flawlessly—cleaning and restocking dishes, serving the food, and cooking more eggs as needed. It was great to connect with people in this teamwork atmosphere.

Some of us took a tour of the Center after our shift where we learned about programs that YouthCare offers, like:

• Providing emergency shelter
• GED classes
• Employment training programs like the Barista Training and Education Program

The meal program is an important way YouthCare can bring people in, help them in the moment, and connect them with other services.

YouthCare is a great example of the many agencies that United Way supports through funding, volunteerism, and advocacy.  Eating a good meal in a warm place on a Saturday morning is one of simple pleasures that every person deserves to enjoy. For the homeless youth that visit YouthCare, it can literally change their life.

I’m looking forward to bringing about more change with the Emerging Leaders.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]