Ah, April – a month when the weather finally brightens, we are refreshed by spring rain showers, and flowers begin to bloom. 

Every spring, we are reminded that when you plant a seed – and water it, give it plenty of light, and tend to it – it will grow. Y volunteers have shared their talents and gifts to tend to our community in just 2023 alone.  

April has been recognized as Volunteer Appreciation Month for the past 22 years. At the Y, we see how much brighter the world is with you all in it year-round, but especially this month, we’d like to express our deepest gratitude for all you do.  

So far this year, you have given your time to community projects. You’ve cooked meals, coached sports, made engaging community and youth events possible, showed up for and supported our more vulnerable neighbors, and done much more to create communities we all want to live in.  

Your dedication continues to bloom in different ways that support the diverse needs of our communities.  

Working in your local Y community garden together is a wonderful way to connect with your neighbors and make new friends, and that connection doesn’t end there. The fresh produce grown goes on to fill food banks and supply our meal programs. Volunteers then continue the love that was harvested from the gardens to cook those meals which are so vital to vulnerable youth in Y transitional housing, keeping them fed while our Y Social Impact Center provides them with critical social services.  

Y volunteers give back to their communities because they know that when one person grows, we all grow. Our roots entangle us together. And only when we collectively tend to all our communities, do we truly thrive.  

There are so many ways you show up and give your time as Y volunteers that we couldn’t list them all here. Thanks to the dedication of our community, we’re blooming.  

Join us in taking a moment to recognize the people or organizations in your life who have helped you, your communities, or others grow. Recognize their hard work at your local YMCA of Greater Seattle branches and the Y Social Impact Center. Help us share with the world the growth our community has created this year.  

How to participate: 

1. From April 10-30, any time you visit your local YMCA of Greater Seattle branch or YSIC location, pick up a “community bloom” notecard. 

2. Write someone’s name you believe is a reason your community is blooming.  

3. Share with us on social media! Post a photo of your “community bloom” and tag us @YMCASeattle. (Can’t visit a location? Share your “community bloom” with us on social!) 

4. And watch how our community has bloomed. 

Thank you to our volunteers for all that you have done and continue to do.