As we here at United Way wrap up the final details of this year’s Day of Caring, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the many connections that can spring from a single day spent out in the community.   We checked in with a couple of first time Day of Caring participants from last year and thought we’d share their stories here.

Abril and Sebastian both found their Day of Caring volunteer projects the youth development nonprofit, the Service Board.

Sebastian says “For Day of Caring, my decision for which organization to choose was simple – out of five options presented to my team, only one of them was in Seattle, but I had no idea what the organization did. I still remember how overjoyed I felt as I walked through the door seeing an organization that combines my passion for snowboarding and social justice.”

Not only was Sebastian motivated to begin volunteering as a snowboard instructor for the Service Board, but he has leveraged his employer’s matching program so that both his monetary donations and volunteer hours become cash donations to the organization.

Abril selected a Day of Caring project with the Service Board after feeling inspired by what she’d read about their mission to provide outdoor experiences to underserved youth and their commitment to equity. Her interest further piqued after the project, she took a look at what other volunteer opportunities the Service Board had posted on the United Way website and learned more about their need for social media support.

As a business student with a concentration in marketing and a diversity minor, Abril knew this was the project for her! She says “Helping them grow their social media presence has been my pleasure and I’m looking forward to seeing what other life-changing things we make happen!

A big shout-out to the Service Board, the other 240+ organizations that hosted a Day of Caring projects this year and the 10,500+ volunteers that went out county-wide. We hope this is just the beginning of many new connections and relationships!