Emerging Leaders Second Saturday volunteer projects are a chance to give back, meet other young professionals and gain a better understanding of community issues. These projects rotate monthly to different non-profits and locations so members have greater exposure to our nonprofit partners. Emerging Leaders meet new people, learn about how the work of the nonprofit fits into the bigger picture of solving tough issues and leave with the satisfaction of helping the community.

Take a look at what we were up to in June! If this sound like a good fit for you, join us and #leadunited!

Marra Farm

Guest blogger Anne Disabato works for Microsoft and volunteers on the Emerging Leaders’ Marketing Committee.

When I arrived at Marra Farm early on June 11, I was not surprised to see half of the Emerging Leaders volunteers already on site, eager to get started. There is something so satisfying about spending a weekend morning getting dirty in a garden. Our task for the day would be to help maintain the Giving Garden by weeding, stringing tomato plants, and building garden beds.

Marra Farm’s Scott Behmer explained the importance of the Giving Garden: Solid Ground’s Lettuce Link program runs the Giving Garden to promote food security, foster community involvement and model ecological urban agriculture. The farm donates 15,000 pounds of produce to local food banks yearly. Solid Works also works to strength the community by providing education on healthy eating and nutrition. In addition to the work being done at Marra Farm, Solid Ground advocates for equal housing, ending homelessness, and social justice – fighting both the symptoms and causes of inequality.

With that in mind, we were excited get started. The three hours passed by quickly, but we were surprised by the progress we made, especially in weeding the potato plants! Before heading home for the day, Scott reminded us of the number of people in King County that lack food security. Organization like United Way and Solid Ground are essential in solving big problems our community faces to create a place where all people have an equitable opportunity to thrive.

Treehouse Wearhouse

Guest Blogger Reshen Amin works at Amazon and has been on our Emerging Leaders’ Volunteering Committee since 2014.

On June 11, nearly a dozen United Way Emerging Leaders volunteered to support another amazing organization – Treehouse Wearhouse. Treehouse is an organization that works to cultivate neighborhood relationships along with produce that feeds those in need, which aligns perfectly with United Way’s mission to meet people’s basic needs (like clothing and other essentials), improve community stability, and giving kids an equal chance. Kids in need often struggle at school because it’s hard for them to fit in – and the Wearhouse gives them a jump start in tackling that challenge. Our volunteers gathered to help sort, organize, and tag donations in support of this program. We plowed through barrel after barrel of generous donations helping to meet Treehouse’s mission, all while sharing a few laughs and feeling really great about how we decided to spend our day giving back. The work we did in the store will help it serve thousands of Seattle kids and youth in need. If you’re looking for another great cause to drop off new or very lightly used donations, check out Treehouse! We can’t wait to get another group of Emerging Leaders back to Treehouse to give these folks another helping hand.