Gratitude for a Community That Lifts Together
Last updated: November 26, 2025, at 3:27 p.m. PT
Originally published: November 26, 2025, at 3:25 p.m. PT
How Our Community Filled Backpacks — and Lives — This Year
As we move through this season of gratitude, we pause to thank the many people who make the YMCA of Greater Seattle a dependable source of support, stability, and connection for our region. Donors, volunteers, community partners, and advocates enable us to walk alongside our neighbors during a time of significant need. Your care makes a meaningful difference every day.
This season, we are focused on a simple idea: when a community fills backpacks, we fill more than bags; we fulfill needs. We fulfill needs for nourishment, belonging, and hope, and the tools people need to thrive. Across the YMCA of Greater Seattle, we see every day how a full backpack can change what’s possible for a child, young adult, family, or community.
Filling Backpacks with Food
Food insecurity continues to rise. Many families are navigating higher costs, limited access to assistance programs, and difficult trade-offs between housing, transportation, and groceries. With your support, the Y has expanded meal and food distribution efforts across the region. At the University Family YMCA, volunteers prepare and deliver hundreds of sack lunches each week. At the Kent YMCA, pop-up food pantries provide groceries and fresh produce for neighbors who need immediate support. Working with the local churches, community members can get hot meals in Shoreline. These meals represent more than calories. They provide stability, relief, and the reassurance that community cares. We are deeply grateful that the community shares our commitment to helping our neighbors at an especially difficult time.
At generous giveaway events involving Seattle Seahawks players at the Matt Griffin YMCA, young people also received free haircuts thanks to the generosity of community partner Covenant Clippers.
Filling Backpacks with Warmth and Essentials
As temperatures drop, more than 200 elementary school students in SeaTac received new winter jackets and shoes through a collaboration between the Y, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Washington, and Seahawks Safety, Julian Love. For many children, these items are the difference between staying inside on cold days and being able to learn, play, and move freely in every season. Earlier in the year, more than 350 students went home with backpacks and school supplies, thanks to Seahawks Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and his foundation. Warm clothing and school essentials don’t just fill a backpack. They boost confidence, comfort, and readiness. These partners model the impact that can be made when we combine efforts. We celebrate their heart and generosity.
At the Northshore YMCA, Seattle Sounders legend Brad Evans and mascot Sammy the Sounder helped welcome young players to the first RAVE mini-pitch at any YMCA location nationwide.
Filling Backpacks with Play and Connection
Earlier in the fall, the Y partnered with the RAVE Foundation, the U.S. Soccer Foundation, and Delta Air Lines to build a new mini soccer pitch at the Northshore YMCA in Shoreline and distribute free soccer balls to local youth. For young people, playing sports can open up new friendships, build belonging, and spark joy. It’s a reminder that play is essential, especially in times of stress and isolation. When we fill backpacks with opportunities to move and connect, we build healthy habits and strengthen the foundations of a healthy childhood. We’re touched when collaboration spreads across multiple industries, and when our local communities benefit from national attention.
Across all of these moments, one theme remains constant: when people fill a backpack, they fill a gap. They help children focus at school. They help young adults take steady steps toward independence. They help families get through the week. They help neighbors feel seen and supported. We are deeply grateful that so many people stand with the Y in filling backpacks.
The challenges facing our region continue to intensify — with food insecurity, housing instability, and rising costs converging at once. But, we at the Y remain committed and encouraged because you continue to show up. We’ve never done our work alone. Because of you, our life-saving work continues.
As we enter the season of thanksgiving and we consider how we give to show thanks, we invite you to help fill every backpack. Every contribution — large or small — provides a tangible tool that helps a neighbor take the next step.
We are thankful for you. Thank you for caring. Thank you for giving. And thank you for standing with the Y to ensure that every child, young person, family, and community has what they need to belong, to grow, and to thrive.
From all of us at the YMCA of Greater Seattle, we wish you a meaningful, restful, and restorative Thanksgiving with family and friends.
In gratitude and community,
Loria Yeadon
President & CEO