I realized how wrong I was; the 4 women sitting in the basement of the church that made up Faith in Action were doing remarkable work. One eye-opening moment was talking to a senior who depended on Faith in Action to give her rides to radiation appointments – without Faith in Action  she would have had to cancel her cancer treatments, would currently be very sick, and could not have cared for her husband who has Alzheimer’s. By coordinating this senior’s rides the staff at Faith in Action had saved this woman’s life, and possibly her husband’s too!

I found myself inspired by the seniors and the staff, and I loved listening to their stories and talking to them. When one of the seniors I had spoken with called the office to mention that she had loved talking to me and that I was “worth 5 gold stars”, I was so touched! I had no idea that by simply talking to her about her life I had brightened her day so much. This incident made me realize how important you can make someone feel by taking the time to listen to them. I also realized how much a simple compliment from a stranger meant to me, and could mean to others.

I was convinced of the need for organizations like Faith in Action in the community, but I wasn’t sure how much I was contributing to Faith in Action. I knew that theoretically, the PR work I did for Faith in Action as a part of my job would help them, but I didn’t actually think that anyone would read the stories I wrote about Faith in Action. Also, other than writing about Faith in Action, I was updating databases – a task that I thought any person could do competently. However, on my last day of work, my boss told me that after reading a story that I wrote about an inspiring senior, a friend of hers donated money to the Faith in Action! To top it off, in a report that my boss told me that the detailed work I did for their databases was invaluable and that she made the right decision to trust me with the important task! I was so thrilled that I impacted my non-profit and that I raised awareness about the amazing seniors I worked with.

My internship was an insight into the lives of seniors, and how important organizations like Faith in Action are to them – both physically and emotionally. This was my best summer experience, and I hope I get to work more with Faith in Action, its staff, and its clients in the future.

“You’re a good teacher, Emily,” she told me, and gave me a quick hug before grabbing her binder and running outside with her friends to play four-square.  It was a simple gesture, but it meant so much to me that day.  It told me a few things.  First, she knew my name, which was reassuring.  Her simple words of affirmation made me think that maybe I wasn’t completely lost in tutoring.  And lastly, the hug was the perfect thing to lift my spirits.

Throughout the summer I continued to develop relationships with all of those sweet kids, but that experience with Aisha stands out in my mind as one of the most truly rewarding moments of my summer.

With their hard work and sunny outlooks, the kids I worked with perfectly demonstrated how a positive attitude can make an experience enjoyable and worthwhile.

Emily M.

Youth Tutoring Program

A lot of food moved in and out of the warehouse in a single day. It felt great to know that I was contributing to feeding the hungry in the Seattle area.

I had a hard time thinking of my personal story to share with TIPS. I have really enjoyed working with Food Lifeline but there haven’t been many situations that were especially exciting or stressful. The days are all very similar but the work is fun and I love my co-workers. Two weeks ago it was a Thursday (my last day before the weekend) and I had a flight to California scheduled at 4 o’clock. I get off of work at 2 but on this particular day I was experiencing a problem. Of course problems occur on the one day that they absolutely shouldn’t. I went to start my car at 2:10 and I was worried because it had been sitting in the sun all day. My car stalled for 30 seconds and the engine refused to turn on. I continued to try and turn the engine on but after 10 minutes my car still wouldn’t budge. I called my dad and he told me that he would pick me up and take me to the airport. He also asked me to ask my supervisor if I could leave my car in the Food Lifeline parking lot for a few days until a tow truck could pick it up. My dad was 45 minutes away so I made my way back towards the warehouse. When I got into the warehouse all of my co-workers were wondering why I had returned when I had a flight. I explained my situation to them and they were all very concerned. My friend Adam told me “Okay man we have to go look at the car. Me and Steve-O (another co-worker) can have the thing running in no time.” My dad was already on his way so I told them it was alright and I asked them if they thought I could leave my car in the lot for a few days. “Of course!” Adam told me. I like this story because it shows that the guys in the warehouse have taken me in as one of their own. On my first day of work I thought it was going to be a long summer since none of them really talked to me and they all seemed tough and quiet. I stuck with the job and discovered that they are all characters and very different people, but our desire to help the less fortunate brought us together and made us friends.

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

Because I knew beforehand that I would be visiting hospitals in Ghana, I was able to ask Children’s Hospital to provide me with surplus supplies such as blood cuffs, and thermometers, to take to Ghana with me! Without this internship, I wouldn’t have been able to take these supplies with me to Ghana.

After working at Children’s and seeing what a high quality hospital should look like, I was shocked by the conditions that children in Ghanaian hospitals had to endure. In fact, the emergency ward is so small, that often three babies slept on one bed and basic supplies such as thermometers were often amiss. Thanks to TIPS, I’ve been able to compare two entirely different types of settings, and I’m determined to make a difference.

Thank you once again for the experience, and I look forward to seeing you at my site visit on Wednesday!

See you soon,

Joel B.

Evan (2011 TIPS Intern) during the MTS Trek

Day 1 – July 1^st – Ellensburg

The sun was shining as I came into Campsite at Kiwanis State Park in Ellensburg. We had brought along our Guide Dog Jello who seemed to be getting a lot of attention from the other campers. After I had set up my tent with my tent partner Teddy, we – the Youth Crew, played some kickball to help learn each other’s names.  Here I experienced my first bug bite of the trip which made me decide not to sleep outside that night. Later, all the trekkers were rounded up and put on busses where we drove about 20 min East to the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility where Puget Sound Energy hosted a kick off dinner/informational tour with us. The turbines were incredible! We had some great pulled pork and baked beans made by an awesome local barbeque as well. Some interesting things I learned about the facility are that…

• They provide about 15% of energy for Puget Sound residents
• A turbine wing weighs 7 tons and there max speed they can spin is 60 mph
• Winds once reached 135 mph at Wild Horse facilities

When we got back we played some ultimate Frisbee which got pretty intense because the moon, stars, and glow-in-the-dark Frisbee were the only things visible.

Day 2 – July 2^nd – Ellensburg to South Cle Elum (26 miles)

Today was the longest day EVER! I’m saying this not in a bad way, but because so much stuff happened. First we left Ellensburg where a ribbon cutting ceremony took place. Jacob Mclellan and his mother helped cut the ribbon because they were the only people that have been present at all Treks; the 1^st, 10^th, and the current 20^th anniversary trek.  Jacob actually attended the inaugural Trek while still being carried by his mother.

As the ribbon was cut, we made our way on bike down old railroad grade on the John Wayne Trail. I was feeling pretty good until I made it just past the Thorp Fruit stand where my bike broke. Somehow my de-railer on the bike had bent – probably because it was a 20 year old bike that had never faced 35 mph headwinds on gravel trails before. Anyways, because my bike had broken, Gaylord, one of the cowboys who tagged along on the Trek picked me up in his horse drawn double-decker carriage and carried myself and my bike along with five others to the Thorp Mill where we were planning to eat lunch. I was so surprised to find out after getting off the horses that we were traveling 8-9 mph! I was graciously given another bike after lunch and we biked about 10 miles along I90. The views were breathtaking. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the image of the windblown tall grass field next to a winding road where I viewed about 40 biker’s power their way up the incline. Finally we reached another fruit stand where we stopped for a break. I had never been a huge fan of cherries until I had some at this fruit stand. After this break we drove another eight miles or so until we reached our campsite. Here we were hosted by local Cle Elum food vendors, bands, and of course extremely sore butts.

During one of the songs a couple others and I decided to start dancing. The forty-something hippy-looking lead singer noticed us dancing, singled me out, and then proceeded to serenade me with suggestive songs. I passively went along with it and just laughed because it was all so awkwardly funny. She even decided to put the microphone in my face where I helped her sing a song. I was so embarrassed! But after that happened a group of 15-20 joined and we had a great dance party. It was so much fun watching the older folk throw down their dance moves!

Day 3 – July 4^th- South Cle Elum to Crystal Springs (21 miles)

Happy 4^th of July! Today was great because…

1)     It was beautiful weather AGAIN – a perfect 80 degrees with no clouds in the sky

2)     The views were amazing and it was awesome to see the terrain and environment transition from Eastern Washington to Western Washington within a span of 10 miles.

3)     Most importantly, there was no headwind!

As always we started off the day with a bomb breakfast where we can also make our own sandwiches. I have found that putting double of everything inside a bagel is very tasty J Some of the trekkers opted to go on the carriage ride again, and others were able to sign up for mule rides after lunch. Of course, people signed up for those quickly because after yesterday’s brutal day, everyone’s tush hurt! However, today’s ride was a bit easier because I have started to get used to the ache. We ate lunch at Lake Easton State Park. A couple others and I took a dip in the freezing cold lake. It was disturbing seeing the entire gunk from our bodies pollute the waters of the lake. Twelve miles later on hard gravel and we arrived to our campsite at Crystal Springs. Here we were greeted with an Italian spread which consisted of lasagna and Cesar salad and was by far my favorite meal to date.

After dinner, the Youth team went down to check out the Yakima River. Having watched so many survivor-like shows on the Discovery Channel, I decided to try and catch a fish with a bent rusty nail, a fishing line, and a bug. Total fail. But it was fun pretending to be like Bear Grylls.

We came back to be greeted by the Backcountry Horseman who prepared us apple dumplings in their dutch ovens. They were so incredibly nice to have both cooked us food and let us borrow their horses. When trying to find a spot to do our business in the woods, a couple of campers and I found a pond and a stick and hit rocks with the stick; it was like batting practice with rocks.  We joked as we were letting the rocks fly and watching nearby M80’s explode in the distance, “What could be more American than this?” We came back to a bonfire where s’mores were made, songs were sung, and games progressed. The most memorable campfire moment was Greenway employee Seyward soloed Bohemian Rhapsody for a good three minutes after the rest of the singers simply could not hit the notes or remember the lyrics.  As nightfall grew, a group of stargazing fanatics from the Boeing Astronomy Club brought their ultra fancy telescopes and knowledge and shared them with us.

Day 4 – July 5^th – Crystal Springs to Rattlesnake Lake (28 miles)

Today was a really cool day because we went over (more like through) the Cascade Mountains! We once again woke up to the usual morning routine of putting up tent, packing things, lugging things over to breakfast area, eating breakfast, and applying profuse amounts of bug spray/sunscreen. We stopped just before the entrance to the tunnel to hear a quick speech and to give us time to put on our headlamps and jackets because it was about to be a cold, dark, 3 mile journey through the tunnel.  I knew I was getting close to the tunnel when I felt the temperature dramatically change and there was a slight wind. As I rounded the corner to the tunnel, the cold mountain breeze hit me and WOW was it cold! When we entered the tunnel I felt like I was in space. My head light and the lights around me were so faint, it was literally pitch black around me – I couldn’t see my feet peddling and the only light that was truly visible was the little pinhole at the end of the tunnel. Honestly I could probably write another three paragraphs just about the tunnel experience but I won’t do that. There were a few falls but everyone (even the horses) managed to get through the tunnel safely.

We then proceeded with lunch and a 15 mile or so downhill section which was such a good break on my sore legs. The views today were far and away my favorite. I think I stopped on about every bridge (there was about ten) just to soak in beauty of the forests within the Cascades. We got to a campsite at Rattlesnake Lake pretty early so there was quite a bit of time to kill. We enjoyed swimming until someone cut their knee open on a rock, meandering around until the youth team got separated from all the leaders, and eating food in our tents until someone had spotted a bear nearby. It was just one of those afternoons as Jema said. J Today was also the final stargazing day so thank you Boeing Astronomy Club for coming out and showing us the stars – It was awesome!

Day 5 – July 6^th – Rattlesnake Lake to Snoqualmie Point (11 miles)

The first day of the hiking portion of the Trek started today. It was great to see about 60 new trekkers out with us joining for the day hike. As I started the hike, it was weird how slow I felt we were going. After having been on a bike for the last four days, it was tough adjusting to how long it takes to travel a mile! After a two mile or so uphill climb we made it to the top of Rattlesnake Mountain where we chilled on the ledges for a good half hour. The ledges there are so cool – definitely a hike I would do again. Anyways, from there we traveled through the Rattlesnake Mountain Scenic Area on a trail West towards Snoqualmie. The trail was surrounded by a dense forested area which was nice because it was pretty hot out. We stopped and ate lunch on the trail where all of us on the youth team discovered a lookout with a perfect view of Mount Rainier.

We hiked another 6 miles to Snoqualmie Point Park. After unpacking, we headed over to the concert which was held at the natural amphitheater at the park. It was such an amazing venue and the local bands the Issaquah Singers, Dorian Blu, and the Rain Kings did not disappoint. I even got a free CD from radio station “The Mountain” who was there handing out free merchandise. After listening to the music, the youth team walked about a mile over to Echo Lake where there was an awesome rope swing. After a complete fail the first time trying to nail a back flip, I got it the second time and was stoked. It was also funny watching youth team leader Anna do the rope swing – it’s rumored there’s a YouTube video streaming the web of her swing attempt which I fully recommend everyone to watch. Sorry Anna J

After dinner, my future college roommate, Tom, who was visiting Seattle at the time met me at campsite. It was really cool getting to meet him before August 18^th, the day I’ll be at Vassar College in New York for pre-season. He’s spending the whole day with us tomorrow and it should be fun getting to know him better!

Day 6 – July 7^th – Snoqualmie Point to Preston (7 miles)

Today we woke up to a normal Northwest day where it was overcast and a little rainy. I was caught off guard by the weather because I was getting so used to the perfect sunny days so I had to dig through my bag to find the rain poncho and sweatshirt I had stuck in there. We hiked about two miles until we reached the Raging River where we put on our extra pair of shoes and crossed the river. There was luckily a rope we got to hang on to while crossing which saved most of us from falling. After crossing the river, we hiked another couple miles until we reached this never-ending hill which me and a couple others decided to run up. We thought it would be a good work out considering Tom and I should be doing our pre-season fitness during the Trek getting ready for pre-season soccer. Wow that was a bad idea. About three-quarters up we all stopped, out of breathe and we realized that this hill was way harder to run up then we thought.

We arrived to Preston fairly early and campsite was in the perfect location, right next to a soccer field! After playing some soccer and getting tents set up, we headed over to dinner which was held at the Preston Community Center. After dinner, community members taught us Trekkers how to square dance. It was so exciting and fun and definitely was one of the high points of everyone’s trip. The only downfall with square dancing was dancing with a group of people who hadn’t showered in six days; I made sure I held me breathe when entering the human arm tunnel.  When square dancing ended, Tom and I headed over to the soccer fields and asked a competitive older girls’ team if we could play with them, they agreed and we had a great time showing off our skills J While we were playing soccer the rest of the youth team was enjoying their time at the park where a slack line was set up. Another soccer game with the youth team was held after slacking. Today about half of the youth team slept outside on the turf field which in hindsight was not a very good idea because it did rain. Luckily, two other trekkers and I brought out a rain tarp from a tent which kept us dry for the most part.

Day 7 – July 8^th – Preston to Issaquah (11 miles)

Today was a turning point. I finally graduated from brushing my teeth with my finger and bought a toothbrush at the local Quick-E mart. I know it’s gross, but somehow I had forgotten to bring a toothbrush on the Trek. After the store, I hiked with Youth Leaders Jema and Anna all the way to our lunch break.  In order to pass the time Jema, Anna, and a couple other plant enthusiasts taught me the common names of at least thirty native and not native plants and trees. My favorite berry was the Huckleberry which was really tart and sour, and my favorite plant was the lady-finger fern because it had the strangest thin black stock.

Once we made it to lunch, the rest of the hike was downhill which was such a nice relief – or so we thought. Downhill hiking for long distances was almost as tough as uphill hiking for me and many others. We finally made it to Issaquah Middle School around 3pm. I think what propelled us to get there so quickly was the anticipation of a SHOWER at the Issaquah Community Pool. I don’t think I’ve ever taken a shower that felt so good. After cleaning up, all the trekkers were presented with a salmon and rice entrée which was incredible. Not only did we get showers, but salmon too! I felt like royalty. After the feast, we put on our dancing feet and headed outside to listen to the “Fabulous Roof Shakers” in the Concert on the Green. Well we didn’t do much listening – only dancing. Once again, I was somehow apart of the first group of people to go out and make a fool of myself… I mean dance of course. My friend Nina had joined us for the concert and we were rockin out together. At one time I remember it was just us two and two others dancing in front of a good 100 people or so. Nina and I will always remember this man’s face which was filled with utter disapproval and unhappiness watching us dance. So we tried to impress him by showing off our best dance moves, however, nothing would put a smile on his face L

After the concert, I said bye to Nina and we headed off to bed. Once again my cuddle buddies, Mik, Zooey and I all slept outside. As most of the Youth Team will remember the “rain fly incident” where I was “given” Teddy and Jordan’s rain fly for us three to lie on outside the tent. They are so nice.

Day 8 – July 9^th – Issaquah to Bellevue (19 miles)

It rained last night. Teddy and Jordan woke up to a soaking tent because of my convincing argument of why it would not rain. Oops, and for the hundredth time… Sorry Teddy and Jordan!

Today was the most physically straining day of hiking on the Trek so far. It started with hiking from hiking over Squak and Cougar Mountain, then hiking through Bellevue. It started off being a 16 or so mile hike which turned into a 19 mile hike. Plus we did it at altitude over two mountains, so I was actually dead coming into it. Honestly, there wasn’t much to say about the hike. It was wooded and very steep. There weren’t many views and when we reached the final area outside of Bellevue we all said to ourselves, “How did we get all the way here and not notice the vast suburb we were immersed within?” It made me think of how special a place the Greenway is because it provides this oasis of nature, virtually untouched by people right in our own backyard.

We got to Newcastle Beach Park in Bellevue pretty late and were greeted by a welcoming crowd of people who were all clapping and cheering us on. It felt as though we had just completed a marathon. I quickly drank a whole bottle of “Essence of Lemonade” which was by far the best drink offered on the Trek. After an hour of getting things unloading and resting, people attempted to slack line, jumped off the docks, and ate snacks. We then had dinner and watched an awesome slide show of the Trek. As night drew near, we played a game of “Mafia” in the parking lot which was fun.

Day 9 – July 10^th Bellevue to Seattle (10 miles)

Wooh the last day! It was definitely a bittersweet day. Bitter because I knew I would miss all the great people I met, but sweet because I longed to sleep in my bed, I wanted to see my dogs, I missed my Thai food, I needed a shower… etc. We hiked from Newcastle Beach Park along I90 on to Mercer Island were we stopped for a break. Here we reassembled to have the Youth Team up at the front of the pack and some helped hold up the 20^th Anniversary Trek sign. Over the floating bridge we hiked. It was so great to see the flags from the first Trek in 1991 being carried by some of the Youth Team and a couple others commemorating those who have passed and attended the first Trek. I never realized how long the I90 floating bridge was until after crossing it. Its two miles long! After crossing the bridge we all knew we were close. We went through the bike tunnel which was lined with colorful murals and sketches made by different communities within Seattle.

Another two miles and we were crossing over the freeway into downtown Seattle. It was crazy! We had traveled 140 miles in a span of nine days and we were almost there. We made it to the waterfront where we definitely confused a bunch of tourists. We parted a sea of tourists with our group of 200+ on the Boardwalk. Past the ferry docks and Ivars and we had made it to Pier 58! There were news reporters, fans, and most importantly food!

Reading back on these blog entries really makes me appreciate my time on the Trek. I think if you ask any of the Trekkers, the past 9 days will have been the highlight of their summer. I feel so privileged to be working for such a great nonprofit organization devoted toward conserving and enhancing the unique landscape from Seattle to Central Washington encompassing a beautiful 1.5 million acres.

Participating in the Trek helped me learn about the Greenway, experience what the Greenway offers, and most importantly meet amazing like-minded individuals who believe in conserving this beautiful stretch of land in the Pacific Northwest.

First off, like any other naïve individual, I expected to come to a place of professional work not an “SAT” class (not that Power of Hope is not professional-it is very professional). The vocabulary at this office rivals that of the “SAT” vocabulary lists my English teacher made me peruse through on a nightly basis. The vocabulary is as vibrant and as colorful as the rainbow. To clarify, I understand this may sound as if I am saying profanity is the norm at the office- which is far from the truth. But, that the level of intelligence and education that my co-workers have is so high that are able to move beyond colloquial speech, exert a strong vocabulary, and in turn give me a two for one. My two for one is: a. a free “SAT” class to build my vocabulary for that wretched “all important exam” that I must take and b. be spoiled by the laughter that is evoked by a strong vocabulary that, sadly, confirms my English teacher’s saying that having a strong vocabulary allows you to have more fun with language.

Karma. As a strong headed youth who believes I am too good to be hit by the wind of karma.     I was so confident that in my TIPS interview I said, “Heck! It would be a blessing in disguise for me to do organizational office work because; frankly, that is what I avoid and need to develop a passion for. Walking out of my interview, I laughed, thinking I just wormed my way out of that one, and there is no way they will ACTUALLY make me do that kind of work. They did. I will now dub myself the master of survey reports. After over a week works of intensive data entry, stat compiling, survey reporting, and correcting mistakes. I hereby knight: Iman Baghai, master of survey reports. This was by far The.Single.Most.Tedious.Task.I.Have.Ever.Done. To wrap it all up at the end of day I am thankful to TIPS and the Power of Hopes as they have provided me a forum in which I have been able to turn a grudging task into an enjoyable one.

The experiences that I have acquired have been broad and adventurous. I’ve done various things from coffee runs for staff, creating agreements with other organizations, organizing binders, various miscellaneous work, work that must-not-be-recalled, and most importantly learning how to play office stress-ball dodge-ball. These experiences have allowed me to build skills where I had none and strengthen weaker ones. Arguably one of my biggest surprises is related to phone calls. I thought the phone calls would be pretty straight forward, but I would soon learn that people sometimes enjoy chewing my ears to death, while others will cheer my ear, or get straight up ridiculed by our Executive Assistant about my phone etiquette-granted I think I do pretty well (she’s just bossy).

Every day heroes, before my internship I always imagined every day heroes to be firefighters, policemen, ER transports, and the list goes on and on. But, who weren’t on my list was individuals that have dedicated their lives to the Non-Profit Sector.  The individuals in the office I work at do many little good deeds on a daily basis that make them every day heroes. Whether it is giving a lost dog a home for a day or putting out house fires. The list goes on and on about the deeds that my co-workers do, but all I can say is that these every day heroes are great role models (for the most part at least).

The POH effect (pronounced POW) acquires the following definition and description from Wikipedia: The effect Iman has on his peer as he describes his work at Power of Hope. Symptoms of the POH effect including: envy, jealousy, jaw-dropping, and drooling. Many times for a youth of my age the job hunt is exhausting, cut-throat, competitive, and near-impossible to acquire a job without twisting some arms. Many of their occupations include: Cashier at McDonald’s, Baskin Robins, Burger King, and etc. These jobs tend to be once-in-a-lifetime experience as many of the individuals can gabber about the painstaking, monotonous, and tedious task of the fast-food joint job. Please understand I am not trying to take away anything from those careers as they do have very many long-term possibilities and will help anybody acquire essential life skills. However, me being the talkative jab that I am, tend to brag about my awesome job when I’m with the bros and woo the ladies with my stories from my office, my work, and how I get paid to shop. The typical responses include: “SCKREW YOU”, “THAT’S NOT FAIR”, “I’M SOOO JEALOUS”. These are ego-boosting responses but eh what can I say, it’s not my fault my office is pretty boss. Whether you believe it or not the POH effect gets better. The POH effect includes inspiring your peers to become a better person, doing the right thing, working harder because the impact that small, dedicated, and cohesive group can profoundly change the lives of many youth. That is the more important aspect of the POH effect not the salvia that oozes out of my amigos mouth.

All in all this internship has been a once in a lifetime opportunity that has exposed me to many things I other wise wouldn’t have been. I’ve enjoyed every bit of it so far, can’t wait to see what else awaits me, and I am sad to know that I am half-way done.

Deepika (2011 TIPS Intern) at Wallace Swamp Creek Park

Today was one of the best days ever because today we went on a hike at Wallace Swamp Creek Park. At least once a week my supervisor and I decide to go on a little adventure for the kids whether it is going to the library for reading or going to the park for play. At first I was a little hesitant of going on a hike because I never really considered myself much of a “nature person”, but now I can honestly say I love it. The environment of this park was so amazing from the light breeze in the wind to the beautiful atmosphere surrounding us. But what made today so special were not only the great weather and the beautiful environment, but the happiness and joy we had with making a difference within our community.

There was a stream of water at the park that looked as though it could use a bit of cleaning, so the kids and I decided to keep the area clean by picking up any trash that was lying around. We ended up recycling some pretty random and bizarre things like a diet coke bottle, a plate, a laptop piece, glass, and a can full of cat food. I was shocked to see all these dangerous things in the water especially because most of us were walking barefoot through the park and someone could have gotten seriously hurt.

By the end of the day I was soaking wet and some of us ended up falling on our butts in the cold water! Overall it was a great day and I was so proud of the kids for making a difference in the community! I will defiantly visit Wallace Swamp Creek Park again.

If you are the empathic kind of person; imagine what a deer feels when your headlights beam at the poor thing in the middle of the road, well that was me. I walked in with a smile, looked around, and the thoughts that I had went something like this: “Crap my main point of contact so far, Joey, isn’t here. Crap I’m on my own. OK those two are the AmeriCorps people, what the heck is AmeriCorps? Well they look chill, whatever. Uhh the secretary lady, wasn’t she blonde? Her hair changed? Did they get a new one? I don’t know, I better not ask because it would probably be rude. Oh boy, the executive director, who I have yet to meet, is here… big daddy better not hammer me to hard.” My eyes were pierced on him, I felt like he was summing me up as he sat in his chair looking like a devious, up to no good king (granted his domain consists of a 15×15 office room that compares in size with the average American living room; so we’ll cut him some slack)  with his sneer, feet up on the desk, and bellowing voice that interrogated me as such: “YOU, INTERN, YOUR LATE…wait when do you start?” My turn (with a low-toned voice because our martinet king has sucked away confidence I may have had) “10, I start at 10″. The secretary, whose identity I was quite unsure about, kind of put me in positive light saying “Hey! He’s even eleven minutes early!” I would soon learn that would be the ONLY positive thing I would hear from Danielle, the “executive assistant” (swank title for secretary).

They would set me up with some work to do, showed me around the building, gave me some nice office supplies, and the most exciting thing they gave me was a legitimate email address! Then off I went to the work I was assigned, which at the time, was organizing binders-trust me its’s exhilarating stuff.

I would soon learn to adapt to chaotic atmosphere of the office, feel relatively comfortable with the employees, and learn that sarcasm is the language of the office. However, most surprising for me during the first day was that our king, Mark, who resumed in his state of acting as the monarch of the office quite accurately with his body language and demanding tone of voice. A demanding tone of voice that would compare to a child asking his mother (in this case his assistant) for dinner or when he is arriving home. I would soon learn that my first day at work was also TACO TUESDAY. I am more than certain that 95% of the language of the day consisted of the following: “Today is Taco Tuesday, who is getting the tacos?” “When are we getting tacos?” “DANIELLE I’M HUNGRY”. I would soon learn that our dictator was the most silly, sarcastically demanding, who had a heart that made winnie-the-pooh’s look small, and fun dictator an office could have. But,  I did not think this man was a complete jokester, I would soon learn my dream is possible; you can be silliest one in the office, yet the most professional, while simultaneously  producing extremely high quality work, and get business done in the most efficient way possible.

As the day progressed, I was still baffled by this whole taco deal, was it a joke? Was it real? Then there was a call for a staff meeting; something I thought might include going to a different room, getting down to business etc. To my surprise the meeting consisted of making a circle around the center of the room to eat lunch or in this case tacos (imagine the choir nerds creating their song circles at lunch, the scene was quite comparable). The meeting consisted of eating tacos, catching up on people’s weekend, and general work. Greatest meeting ever.

My shift was up, I said my good-byes, left the office, and off I was to the bus stop. All I could think about it was, wow I get to work with some rad people, in a rad environment, doing some rad work, and frankly everything is just rad.

Thanks to all the donors who participated in the Seattle Foundation’s GiveBig at the end of June. We received over $4000 that will be matched, in part, by the Seattle Foundation, and will support our current summer program.

View from Columbia Center, the site for Trevor's first blood drive with Puget Sound Blood Center

Trevor @ Puget Sound Blood Center:

It feels great to have a job! I’m so much more willing to get and go to work than I am to get up for school! I’m a fan of the cause I’m working for and I’m meeting some great people!

Christopher @ Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra:

I must say, having a job is certainly a very unique experience for me.  Though the daily bus commute is, in many ways, the same as taking the school bus every day, the work is certainly a new experience for me.  Besides the privilege I feel to have a job in these hard times, I feel as if I am gaining exposure to what most of life is going to be, with all its commuting and working.

Andrew @ SOAR:

Having a job and all of the responsibilities that come along with it feels a bit intimidating when I step back and think about it, but in the moment, I am loving every second of it. I arrived my first day and discovered that my co-intern, just graduated in June from the UW with two Master’s degrees. She is wonderful and has been like a second mentor to me this past week, but in the first five minutes of my first day, that was intimidating. Nevertheless, I am absolutely enjoying feeling productive and engaged with my summer, getting up early and accomplishing things with my day.

Midheta @ Southwest Boys and Girls Club:

I am really enjoying my job at the Southwest Boys and Girls club, I know it’s only been a week but the kids are wonderful and the staff is so kind, good hearted and inviting!! I love it there, it doesn’t even feel like work. Also there’s a former TIPS intern there: Harry, so it’s helpful to get some feedback from him too. It’s funny because in the pit of my stomach I sometimes feel a little sad to go to work because I know sometime it’s going to end hahaha but I’m enjoying it while it lasts.