The Victor

I still remember the day back in high school when a group of friends and I sat in the back seat of an old Mazda Protege, crammed shoulder to shoulder, with a trunk full of brown paper bags. We were a part of Key Club, a student volunteer program sponsored by our school. Our goal was to drop off these brown paper bags with letters asking families to kindly donate canned goods for the less fortunate. Back then, it was something to do, it was for a good cause, and it was a time to hang out with friends. A week had passed and we drove back to the same neighborhoods, except this time in a larger transport truck. To my surprise, the bags weren’t just full, some homes had two bags to offer! The generosity was amazing and it was exciting to realize how much people can help when you simply ask.

I miss that feeling, but it’s starting to come back again.

A group of 48 people, including myself, gathered as friends and we talked about doing something for a good cause. Sounds familiar right? As I sat in a room with people from LA, SD and SF, I began to realize two things: more of my friends could be doing this right now and that this is an opportunity to innovate on how we approach philanthropy. I’m talking about Philanthro, an all volunteer non-profit with a mission to connect young professionals through philanthropy. It’s a platform that is growing rapidly garnering support from others like you and me nation wide. It is attracting more charities that are efficiently and effectively supporting cancer patients, educational programs and medical research. This retreat demonstrated that this was not a matter of if, but when the rest of us decide to make an impact.

We, Seattle (P*SEA), have joined a family of amazing people with a diverse set of talents to bring our network of friends and peers closer together through volunteerism. It’s so exciting to be a part of this because it’s a vision that I believe we can fulfill. Not just as one instance of helping out in the community, but as a way we continue to live our lives. You’re right to think that Seattle is already a generous population, and even though that may be true, our contributions can go farther than that. As young professionals, we are connected to a large network of ambitious and driven individuals within our city. We even have networks that span other cities across the coast. It’s a chance to give direction and bring clarity where there wasn’t any. It’s a desire to apply our skills to solve problems that affect all of us. It’s P*SEA’s determination to make it real.

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• Why Care? A social mixer supporting Foster Youth by the YMCA and Philanthro