That is a wrap on the Eastside Leadership Initiative's first event, Believe! With 15 nonprofit tables and over 180 attendees, our inaugural event went very well. We got very lucky with the warm weather and a lot of sun, which added to the bright views of the Bellevue Botanical Garden.
Attendee enjoying food and drink in the vibrant Bellevue Botanical Garden
There was fun music, yard games, drinks, great food, and a vibrant social atmosphere. Participants were given some brief instructions upon arriving to the registration table. They would first get their custom name tag and handed a Believe Passport. This passport detailed the Eastside Leadership Initiative, the nomination process for the Bellevue Chamber's Community Spotlight Award (to be announced at our Annual Gala on Friday June 14th), and highlighted the mission of each of the attending nonprofits and their current needs. If folks wanted to be entered into a raffle, they would get 10 sign offs from attending nonprofits following a conversation or engagement!
Attendees were engaged with the nonprofit communities through their interactive table mediums, which came to be the likes of question Jenga, spin wheels, sensory exercises, 3D printed maps, quiz questions, and giveaways of their own sort.
Nonprofit tables engaging community members
The venue provided an opportunity for attendees to make the rounds with the nonprofits and get a refreshment or a bite out in the sun. While they were outside, there were individuals playing yard games and taking photos for the memories. We also were able to hear from several community leaders on their unique perspectives in a short mid-event program. They highlighted their involvement on several nonprofit boards, what it meant to them, how to maximize participation in the community, and how to best serve other nonprofits with "time, talent, and treasure".
Left to Right: Gavin Haines, Beth Osborne, Janice Zahn, Keri Pravitz
In attendance we had 15 nonprofit partners:
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue
- Imagine Housing
- Bridge of Promise
- Pride Across the Bridge
- Bellevue LifeSpring
- Eastside Community Development Fund
- Bellevue Botanical Garden Society
- Kindering
- Rainier Athletes
- Leadership Eastside
- Plymouth Housing
- The Sophia Way
- King County Sexual Assault Resource Center
- KidsQuest Children's Museum.
To those who attended, thank you for coming and making this such a fun and social atmosphere. Seeing new faces and new connections being made was incredible. Another huge thank you to our sponsors for helping to make this happen Amazon, Symetra, HUB International, and Falco Sult & Company, P.S..
So what is next for the Eastside Leadership Initiative? Our Board Training Lunch! Coming up on June 26th, 2024 we are hosting a Board Training Lunch in partnership with the Corporate Giving Network (CGN) from 11:30pm-1:30pm at the Bellevue Chamber Office. Please be sure to register and get involved in our community!