We here in the Northwest really love to give back to the community. The state of Washington ranks 10th in the nation for volunteering, and the Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue area ranks 4th among the largest metropolitan areas. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, if all those volunteering hours were paid for, people in the Puget Sound area would be donating $2.5 billion worth of our time each year.
So it should be no surprise that there is a home grown organization dedicated to helping the youngest among us become part of that spirit of service. Bellevue-based kidServe Seattle is a local non-profit with the mission to promote volunteerism in children ages 5-12 through social, civic and environmental activities in the local community.
kidServe Seattle works with non-profits across the area to create volunteer opportunities especially for kids. Some recent volunteer activities include putting together lunches for Operation Sack Lunch, sorting food for Food Lifeline, and doing art activities with other kids at Hope Place Women and Children's Center. The activities are designed with kids in mind, making them accessible the elementary and pre-teen set.
kidServe Seattle was created by Rachael Podolsky, a local mom who was looking for a way to help her own kids get involved in the community. She lamented the fact that there were no organizations dedicated to getting younger kids involved in all aspects of service. Eventually she decided to do it herself, and the results have been bigger than she imagined. She has already gotten inquiries about creating branches of kidServe in other cities, and she was featured in a documentary about volunteering in America. But even with all the attention, she is focused on making kidServe Seattle a success first.
In the end, it is all about the kids. “Our goal for young children is to get a great feeling and a sense of what it means to give back,” says Podolsky. “Although some younger children may not be able to totally understand the meaning of giving back, any volunteering opportunity is an open door for parents and caregivers to talk with children about quality of life, differences in our society and why it is our job to try and make the world a better place, be it cleaning up a trail or a beach, serving the homeless, or giving time to a non-profit serving a certain population in our community.”
kidServe Seattle has regular volunteer opportunities available all year-round. For more information about volunteering or working with the organization, visit www.kidserveseattle.org.
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