Honoring MLK, youth reach out to community
by Karie Anderson

Bleachers in the Mt. Tahoma High School gym were filled with 362 Pierce County youth, yet they were not cheering for basketball. All had gathered to honor the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. by volunteering their time to the community.

“It sounded like fun and it is a good way to get out of the house on a Saturday morning,” said Charity Tiblow, a junior at Mt. Tahoma High School.

Tiblow and her friends were among many other local children volunteering their time to 34 different area service projects for various non-profit organizations. Tiblow and her team were participating in assembling domestic violence information to be distributed to the public.

“The projects vary greatly from painting and yard work to food packaging and toy refurbishing,” said Tamara Elston, president of Community Builders at UWT and community service chair for the Business Student Ambassadors.

Representing UWT, the Black Student Union, Community Builders @ UWT, Business Student Ambassadors and the HOPE Network provided 30 volunteer mentors for the United Way Youth Day of Caring event Jan. 18. Volunteers from UW Seattle and Bothell joined the group. Over 100 adults served as mentors to supervise the youth at the various project sites.

“This is the largest youth day of caring ever,” said Ryan Mello, Youth United coordinator for United Way of Pierce County. “We have a huge turnout and we love it.”

Before the kickoff program Mello reminded the mentors that they were there to supervise and to let the kids take the lead at their project site.

“What you are doing today is great. Your dedicated and getting out in the community,” said Rick Allen, president of United Way of Pierce County, at the beginning of the kickoff program.

According to Allen, Pierce County is beginning a new program that will allow high school students to earn a varsity letter for outstanding community service. Students who volunteer 145 or more hours of service during an academic year would receive a school letter, the same as those earned by athletes and musicians.

“We are the first county in the United States to do this,” said Allen.

The Reality Check Dance Troop, Kristin “The Island Girl” from KISS 106.1 FM and Seattle Storm all-star Sue Bird all participated in the kickoff event to get everyone fired up for the day.

“Not only is this a great opportunity for UWT students to collaborate together, but it also helps us establish a presence in the community,” said Elston. “Tacoma-Pierce County has been so supportive of UWT, we feel it is important to make a contribution back to the community. It says a lot about how far we’ve come that students from the various disciplines and organizations are willing to work together in such a positive manner.”

According to Elston many of the UW volunteers at the event are graduates of the same middle schools and high schools participating in the day of service.

“Just because we are a commuter campus doesn’t mean we don’t have a sense of community,” Elston said. “Hopefully, we can provide an opportunity for the youth to explore some of the advantages available to them through higher education.”

This is the second major project Community Builders at UWT coordinated. Their fall project was the first Student Organization Collaboration Consortium (SOCC) that brought prominent business leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors to campus to talk about the importance of community involvement to our personal and professional growth.

“After the Youth Day of Caring, CB@UWT, along with several other student organizations, will be participating in ‘The House That Students Built’ sponsored by Habitat For Humanity,” Elston said. “Thus far The HOPE Network, Civitas and the Business Student Ambassadors have all expressed intentions to collaborate on this project.”

After the Youth Day of Caring wrapped up UWT volunteers celebrated at The Harmon where they offered to extend weekday happy hour prices for the group. Some volunteers received prizes donated by local businesses.

The annual volunteer event is sponsored by Youth United, a United Way of Pierce County program that connects children with their community through volunteer efforts. Contributing to Youth United is the Youth Leadership Council. The young members develop goals for Youth United, organize and implement service projects and participate in other volunteer projects.

For more information about Youth United or any other United Way of Pierce County Youth program call (253) 272-4263.