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This week’s episode features a candid and poignant discussion about youth gun violence in our area.

 We sat down with two young men from the United Way-supported 4-C Coalition and Seattle Cares mentoring movement, as well as the director of Seattle Cares, to discuss an issue affecting far too many of our young people and their families.

We’ll also discuss our Free Summer Meals program for school-age children and a local volunteer opportunity.

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This week's episode discusses federal legislation that will cut SNAP benefits to recipients across Washington state and nationwide. 

We sat down with Sara Seelmeyer, United Way’s Director for Ending Hunger, and Connor Walsh, United Way Associate Director for Public and Private Partnerships. Both recently attended a United Way Worldwide Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., to speak with members of Congress about the potential impact of those cuts.

We’ll also discuss our free summer meals program for school-age children and a local volunteer opportunity.

I’m your host, Joe Burris. Thanks for tuning in.

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Good news happens. This week’s episode features a conversation with Jayanna Volle of CHOOSE 180, a United Way-supported, Burien-based organization that has impacted the local juvenile justice system by transforming how our region responds to young people. 

For more than a dozen years, CHOOSE 180 has worked with the courts, schools, and communities to empower youth in King County with choices that can help change their lives. In this episode, we will chat with Jayanna about the organization’s recent expansion into Pierce County, where it hopes to make a similar impact.

We’ll also discuss our free summer meals program for school-age children and a local volunteer opportunity.

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Good news happens. This week’s episode features a conversation with Kent resident Yusuf Bashir, who is making an impact in his community while working two jobs. One, as the founder of the United Way-supported nonprofit Falis Community Services, and the other as a bus driver for King County Metro.

We’ll also discuss our Free Summer Meals program for school-age youth and a local volunteer opportunity.

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Good news happens. This week’s episode features a conversation about addressing youth homelessness. 

We chat with Tricia Raikes, co-founder of the Seattle-based Raikes Foundation, which not only responds to youth and young adult homelessness but also works to prevent it from happening in the first place. 

Tricia Raikes and United Way of King County partnership manager Danie Radic will discuss how our organizations are partnering to ensure every young person has a safe and stable place to call home.

We’ll also discuss our free summer meals program for school-age children and a local volunteer opportunity.

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Good news happens. This episode features poetry, prose, and perspective from Maven Gardner, a 2016 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate, whose writings have shed light on what it means to grow up in foster care and then experience homelessness as an adult in our region.

Maven read some of their poetry during a 2022 United Way Advancing Racial Equity Series event, and they gained some stability during homelessness via Seattle’s youth shelters, many of which were funded by United Way’s work to address homelessness.

United Way recently caught up with Maven, who now lives in Los Angeles and is active in Southern California’s creative circles. They spoke with Hourglass about relocating from the only place they’ve called home and continuing to use poetry to explore issues of race, class, gender identity, foster care, and houselessness.

We will also spotlight United Way’s Free Summer Meals program for school-age youth and discuss a local volunteer opportunity. 

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Good news happens. This week’s episode features a conversation with Michele Storms, the executive director of the ACLU of Washington.

Since 1935, the ACLU of Washington has served as one of our state’s most formidable civil rights and civil liberties organizations. Much of its work aligns with United Way of King County’s efforts to address issues such as housing insecurity and education disparities.

 In this episode, we will chat with Michelle about the ACLU’s work in those and other areas, the organization’s origins, and the things that give her hope amid the nation’s turbulent political climate.

We will also discuss United Way’s Free Summer Meals program for school-aged children and a local volunteer opportunity.

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Good news happens. In this episode, we’re talking baseball with Bookie Gates of Baseball Beyond Borders, a Kent-based organization that provides baseball and softball access for communities of color. 

United Way of King County is proud to support Baseball Beyond Borders and its efforts to help student-athletes of color connect their passion on the field with their academic futures off the field.

We’ll also discuss our Free Summer Meals program for school-age youth and a local volunteer opportunity. 

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This week's episode is a conversation with Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown.

 Hourglass met with the attorney general on Friday, just moments after the US Supreme Court ruled against an injunction that prohibited the White House from limiting birthright citizenship in the U.S. 

 Earlier this year, Brown led a lawsuit challenging the White House executive order to limit birthright citizenship, and he’s been one of the nation’s attorneys general who have used the courts to preserve the rights of immigrants amid federal mass deportation efforts.

 We chatted with Brown about the Supreme Court's decision, our nation’s anti-immigration climate, and other issues that are pillars of United Way’s work.

 We will also discuss our free summer meals program for school-age children and a local volunteer opportunity.

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Good news happens. This episode is about ParentChild+, a national organization with local affiliates that works with parents, toddlers, communities, and caregivers to support children’s early learning.

We’ll chat about ParentChild+ with United Way Community Impact Manager Whitney Nakamura and Elisa Jimenez of El Centro De La Raza, a United Way-supported, Seattle-based organization that serves as a voice and hub for King County’s Latino community.

We will also discuss our Summer Meals Program for school-aged children and a local volunteer opportunity.

Thanks for tuning in!