Good news happens. This week’s episode features a conversation about a workforce development partnership for youth and young adults in South Seattle.

United Way-supported grantees Reclaiming our Greatness and Glover EmpowerMentoring are teaming up to launch the GEM to Greatness Collaborative. The partnership will equip youth and young adults with the knowledge, skills, relationships, and support needed to build healthy and financially secure lives.

We’ll chat with Reclaiming Our Greatness founder and director Marshaun Barber and Glover EmpowerMentoring founder and director Kendrick Glover about their partnership and each organization’s current work current work to support and empower communities in South Seattle.

And we will spotlight our new giving program, United Circle, and our upcoming Conversations for Change virtual event, From Crisis to Community.

Kendrick Glover 0:00
So we’re looking to serve youth and young adults starting at age 13 up to 21, and that age group is one of our most important because those are the young people who are going to pour back into what we call our retirement system. Just when you think about who we are, and as we start to age, people before us had to work, and now we are having to work. So we want to make sure that we’re passing down the importance of building up your community and also giving back. And how you do that is by making sure people have living wage jobs, by making sure people have the resources they need in terms of managing those resources.

Joe Burris 0:43
This is Hourglass, the podcast for United Way of King County in Seattle. Coming up, a conversation about a workforce development partnership for youth and young adults in South Seattle. United Way-supported grantees Reclaiming Our Greatness and Glover Empowerment Mentoring are teaming up to launch the GEM to Greatness Collaborative. The partnership will equip youth and young adults with the knowledge, skills, relationships, and support needed to build healthy and financially secure lives. We will chat with Reclaiming Our Greatness Founder and Director Marshaun Barber, and Glover Empower Mentoring Founder and Director Kendrick Glover, about their partnership and each organization’s current work to support and empower communities in South Seattle. And we will spotlight our new giving program, United Circle, and our upcoming Conversations for Change virtual event, “From crisis to community.” I’m your host, Joe Burris. Thanks for tuning in.

Joe Burris 1:51
Reclaiming Our Greatness, or RVC, is a Seattle-based nonprofit empowering BIPOC families and youth in King County through housing stability, education support, and community building programs. Glover Empower Mentoring, or GEM, is a community-based nonprofit in Kent that offers mentoring and case management services to youth and young adults throughout King and Pierce counties. It works with state and local governments and other various community-based organizations. Now, these two organizations do exceptional work on their own, but what if they teamed up for more impact, particularly around creating additional job training opportunities for youth in South King County? That is the impetus behind the two groups’ new partnership, the GEM to Greatness Collaborative. The partnership will equip youth and young adults with the knowledge, skills, relationships, and support needed to build healthy and financially secure lives. Reclaiming Our Greatness founder and director Marshaun Barber and Glover Empower Mentoring founder and director Kendrick Glover say the partnership’s work is slated to be offered in early 2027, and it follows conversations with South King County residents about the area’s greatest needs for young people. The two organizations focus primarily on communities of color, which have often not benefited from the windfall experienced by the region’s technology sector; to say their efforts are sorely needed is an understatement. According to the Washington State Employment Security Department, the August 2026 unemployment rate was 4.7% in King County, 4.7% in Washington State, and 4.3% nationally. But when broken down demographically, King County’s unemployment disparities are glaring. The county’s unemployment rate among those ages 16 to 19 is 16.4%. The rates for African Americans and Indigenous residents are 7.7% and 6.9%, respectively, higher than any other racial demographic. For those living below the poverty level, it’s 26.3%, and for those without high school diplomas, it’s 7.4%. Many of those disparities are felt in South King County, which, according to the Seattle Times, is so diverse that it has no single racial majority. According to the Workforce Development Council of Seattle South King County, 16 of the 17 zip codes in South King County have per capita incomes below King County’s self-sufficiency standard of $37,448, many residents in these communities have already benefited from Reclaiming Our Greatness and Glover Empower Mentoring’s resources, services, and support. The partnership will provide young people with a leg up on succeeding in the workforce—but not only skills to secure and maintain employment, but with knowledge many folks take for granted, like budgeting, balancing checking accounts, and paying taxes. For United Way of King County, such partnerships are one of the reasons we launched the Black Community Building Collective in 2020. Both Glover and Empower Mentoring and Reclaiming Our Greatness are members of the Collective, a group of nonprofits that use United Way funding to share best practices and implement strategies to bring power to King County’s Black community. Hourglass recently sat down with Marshaun and Kendrick to discuss the GEM to Greatness Collaborative and each organization’s current work to support and empower communities in South Seattle, we began with Marshaun, who spoke about the origins of the GEM to Greatness Collaborative.

Marshaun Barber 5:55
For Reclaiming Our Greatness, you know, we sit in housing and stability. And one of the things we’re always talking about with our families and the young people we serve is financial literacy. And what we’re finding is that’s really the foundation of moving more toward stability and being able to thrive, along with, you know, workforce development and preparing people to being able to take on living wage jobs. And so as we started receiving feedback regarding that, we were thinking about who could we partner with and come together with to have access to young people and create a pathway towards the ability to be successful in both arenas, and so when thinking about that, instantly Dr. Glover’s organization came to my mind, Glover Empower Mentoring, because of their deep, rich history in the community, working with young people, and always being ahead of the curve. And whether they were offering them social emotional curriculum, whether they were offering them access to just different experiences and being able to think just beyond where they were right then and there, and so Kendrick and I started talking and started thinking about what we could do. And so that’s how we started developing this initial pilot launch that will be happening in the beginning of 2027.

Joe Burris 7:37
So talk about who this is going to serve and how it’s going to serve them.

Kendrick Glover 7:42
So we’re looking to serve youth and young adults starting at the age of 13 up to the age of 21, and that age group is one of our most important because those are the young people who are going to pour back into our what we call retirement system. When you think about who we are, and as we start to age, you know the people before us had to work, and now we are having to work. So we want to make sure that we’re passing down the importance of building up your community and also giving back. And how you do that is we do that by making sure people have living wage jobs. We do that by making sure people have the resources they need in terms of managing those resources that are financial, giving those people opportunities to go after that so-called American Dream of being a homeowner, owning their own car, you know, and supporting their families. And I think this is the only and best way to do that.

Joe Burris 8:43
What kind of resources are you looking to offer?

Marshaun Barber 8:47
We’re looking to offer, you know, knowledge about what financial literacy means in regards to, you know, banking, saving, dealing with a financial crisis, an emergency, and the importance of just understanding how credit works, what it means to open up a bank account, and what it means to have a budget and take a look at what’s coming in and out of the household. Along with what it really means to be able to show up and be prepared to work with an employer, and the, you know, characteristics that you have to embody day-in and day-out to be able to participate in the workforce.

Kendrick Glover 9:34
And sometimes the things that we, you know, do on a daily basis with our finances, I think we take for granted. You know, simple things like writing a check. Our young people don’t know how to do those type of things. They don’t know what an overdraft fee means, you know. They see they get a… Right now, we got a lot of kids with those, uh, what is it—those cash app cards, right? And I’m like, that’s not a bank. That’s not anything that you can build towards. Like, it’s not a savings account. That’s money where, you know, you go on DoorDash and, you know, you use it for those type of, you know, quick things. But like Marshaun is saying, you know, getting down to the nitty gritty of ‘what is the interest rate?’ You know, things like that. Because we can teach our young people this stuff early on in life. They’re going to be set up for a great start. It’s going to give them what they call a best start.Okay. Yep. And so, when you start having these conversations with them now, and you just mentioned the the cash app,

Joe Burris 10:28
Okay. And so, when you start having these conversations with them now—and you just mentioned the Cash App—when you start having these conversations, what are you coming away with? It sounds like what they’re telling you sort of necessitated the need for this, but, you know, what is it that they don’t know, and how… What do they think they need?

Kendrick Glover 10:46
Well, it it comes from the daily conversations that we have in our group settings with these young people. You know, when we talk about taxes, right? Like when they go to the mall, you’re going to buy a pair of shoes, right? You’re not going to just buy them for that $99.99. You’re going to have to pay taxes on it. So, do you know what taxes are? Do you know how much taxes it costs? Like, why do we have taxes? You know, having those conversations now are going to put them ahead later on down the line. So, we just simply surveyed the field. You know, we ask these kids questions on a daily basis, and then we take those questions and then we create curriculum around them.

Joe Burris 11:21
And how soon is will this be available? And when you say the 13 to 21, is that mostly South King County, or will it be available beyond there?

Marshaun Barber 11:33
The initial pilot will take place in South King County because Kendrick and I believe that’s where the highest need is, and that’s the largest gap. We haven’t really seen any type of programming—what we’re working on putting together—being offered, and so that’s where we’re going to focus on first.

Joe Burris 11:50
Okay. And can you talk about the work that you’re currently doing right now and how that serves the communities in South King County?

Kendrick Glover 12:00
I think the major thing that’s happening here is the whole light rail process, right? And when I say that, I’m talking about transportation because now we’re seeing a lot of new developments happening, new subdivisions, new apartment complexes are coming on the rise, and they’re all starting to be built around those light rail stations, which is a great thing. But you got to also think of the overcrowding that happens when it comes to South King County, and like we were talking about earlier, the work that we do with these young people is intentional. We go into the schools, we go into their communities, we go into their homes, and we talk to them about you know things like this. But we also know we got to meet them where they’re at. So just understanding, you know, who we are, who they are, and not overplaying our hand, if that makes sense. So, yeah, that’s what we do here at Glover Empower Mentor.

Marshaun Barber 12:50
And I would say for Reclaiming Our Greatness right now, I mean, in housing instability, housing affordability is the main issue for families right now. Most of our families are concentrated in South King County because 85% of the families who do receive rental assistance from us are African American. And so what we’re seeing with that, is the average household who’s coming to us has close to $5,000 at least, starting in past due rent. And so families are really struggling right now, and that’s what we’ve primarily been focusing on. But we have to, you know, our goal is to always think about the future and creating opportunity. And so that’s why this partnership is really important, and that’s why Kendrick and I have come together because he has a pulse on what young people are truly facing, and he understands that they are our future. And I think that is why he has, throughout his career, invested so much in them.

Joe Burris 14:00
Okay. In addition to those programs, can you just talk about other programs that each of you are offering at your organizations?

Kendrick Glover 14:08
I mean, like right now, since school started back, we have a gymnasium here at our facility, and we’re going to be opening up our late night program.

Kendrick Glover 14:17
Okay.

Kendrick Glover 14:17
So that’s on Fridays and Saturdays where young people, you know, normally would be stuck in the house playing a video game now come out and play basketball. They can get the boxing bags. They can work out. You know, they can get that that physical interaction that they so desperately need. You know, and stay healthy in a way. You know, you’re exercising. You’re getting your heart rate up. You open the blood flow. Your mind starts to, you know, go in different directions, you know, and it’s just it alleviates a lot of stress that they deal with on a daily basis. So that’s that’s one of our major programs that we’re we’re embarking on right now,

Marshaun Barber 14:53
And at Reclaiming Our Greatness. In addition to the rental assistance and case management. We also are working with survivors of domestic violence, offering domestic violence protection order assistance in filling those out, and then legal consult that follows those, such as child support, simple dissolution, access to consult regarding parenting plans, and then we also have a couple of smaller contracts where we’re working to offer trauma counseling to those survivors as well.

Joe Burris 15:28
So I want you to look toward through December 31 of this year. Any events that you’d like to talk about, promote, draw attention to? This is the last question.

Kendrick Glover 15:42
Yeah, I think for for us here at Glover Empower Mentoring, coming off the summer, we had a great summer, and now we’re going into fall and winter, and we know there’s a dire need for our young people. You know, coats, socks, shoes, warm blankets, things like that. So Thanksgiving time is coming up, and we’re going to be doing our Thanksgiving event, which is in partnership with Richard Sherman and the Blanket Coverage Foundation, i.e. blankets. So we’re going to be giving away about 300 coats that we’re partnering with The Lemon Grove Seattle with shoes, blankets, scarves, gloves. And we are also going to be giving away gift cards from Safeway. They’re going to be worth $100; They’re going to be valued at $100 each. I think we’re going to have about 100 to 150 of those that we’re going to be blessing families with as well, so they can have a nice Thanksgiving dinner of their choosing.

Joe Burris 16:37
Okay.

Kendrick Glover 16:38
And then in December, we have our winter wonderland, where we give away toys. And I also dress up as Santa Claus! So that’s gonna be cool. Last year we gave about $12,000 away in in toys, bikes, computers, laptops, clothes, shoes. Our number one item was those scooters, the little push scooters that the kids like right now, so we went out to Walmart, and they donated a couple of those. We had about 200 of those here as well. So I mean, for us here at Glover Empower Mentoring, it’s all about giving back. It’s all about trying to close that gap, that financial gap, and seeing smiles on these kids’ faces. Because it means a lot when a family could, you know, wake up in the morning and not have to worry about the simple things, you know, clothes and shoes. You know, we take advantage of that stuff. There are a lot of families that are in need, and I think the way our partnership works with Marshaun is we’re in the schools a lot, so we see these families that are in need, but that’s not our niche. So when we see a family who may have some issues in their home life. We can then, you know, do a warm handoff to Reclaiming Our Greatness.

Joe Burris 17:45
Awesome.

Marshaun Barber 17:47
And for us, you know, we will be processing that rental assistance in partnership with King County and United Way Keep King County Housed. And we understand around the holidays we see an uptick in need as it’s colder out, and as families go into the holiday season and are trying to balance, you know, maintaining their bills, but also having a little bit of peace of a holiday for their families and children.

Joe Burris 18:18
Marshaun and Kendrick, thank you so much today for your time on Hourglass. Really appreciate it.

Kendrick Glover 18:24
Thank you.

Marshaun Barber 18:25
Thank you.

Joe Burris 18:26
For more information about Reclaiming Our Greatness, log on to reclaimingourgreatness.org. For more information about Glover Empower Mentoring, log on to gemwa.org. That’s gemwa.org. For more information about United Way of King County’s Black Community Building Collective, log on to uwkc.org, click on What We Do, click on Equity Fund, and click on Black Community Building Collective.

Joe Burris 19:01
We’re inviting you to join United Circle, our monthly giving program. United Circle is a community of monthly supporters that help create a stronger King County all year long. Your recurring gift provides reliable support for our work, including expanding access to housing, food, educational opportunity, and financial stability for our neighbors. For more information, log on to uwkc.org/united-circle.

Joe Burris 19:37
Washington is the second-largest food-producing state in the nation. Still, we struggle with an alarming rate of food insecurity, particularly amid higher grocery prices and increased restrictions on SNAP benefits. Join United Way of King County on October 7th for a virtual event that will convene an online panel of innovators, activists, and mobilizers who will address our current state of hunger, provide a preview for 2027, and illustrate how our community is coming together across sectors to rise to the challenge. “From Crisis to Community: United to Address Hunger in Washington,” will offer chances for new and community-grounded ideas to make tangible impact. For more information, log on to uwkc.org/events.

Joe Burris 20:35
At United Way of King County, we are working side by side with communities to build an equitable future for everyone, Hourglass United Way is a podcast that highlights how we and our partners spend time making a difference in our communities. Our work is made possible by generous donations from people like you. Please send all comments and suggestions about our podcast to Hourglass@uwkc.org. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn via @UnitedWayKC. And to learn more about our work or to support United Way, log on to uwkc.org. I’m your host, Joe Burris. Thanks for listening. Until next time.