Caring in Action
Baird’s Seattle and Bellevue Associates Give Back
Between May 16-20, 2022, nearly 50 Associates from Baird’s Downtown Seattle and Bellevue offices took time to volunteer in the communities where they live and work as part of the firm’s annual Baird Gives Back Week event.
The New Start Community Garden (aka “The Shark Garden”) raises food for the White Center Food Bank, was just one of the events organized by and for associates in and around Seattle. “All of the Seattle branch’s BGB projects this year focused on food insecurity,” explained Teresa Dahl, a Senior Client Specialist, who helped coordinate the activities. “Taking a break from our day to help with this basic human need was rewarding and incredibly humbling at the same time.”
“This isn’t something we think about just a few days a year,” said John Ramseyer, Pacific Northwest Regional Director for Baird’s Private Wealth Management business, who spent a morning weeding and spreading mulch in the the Shark Garden in Burien. “We have associates who give generously of their time after work or on the weekends. Many of us serve on the boards of local organizations. What makes this week special is that Baird gives us these opportunities, on the firm’s time, to give back together.”
John Ramseyer, Pacific Northwest Regional Director, and Lynn Howard, Seattle Branch Administrative Manager, worked side by side in “The Shark Garden”
At the Food Lifeline warehouse in Georgetown, Associates teamed up to prepare 1,200 pounds of corn on the cob for food pantries in the community. “This was my second year participating at Food Lifeline, and it’s been a blast both times!” said Associate Financial Advisor Katherine Hamel. “I love that this volunteer opportunity allows us to give back to our community while chatting with our colleagues and getting to know each other better.”
Financial Advisor Scott Schoenfeld prepared corn for delivery to local food pantries while working at the Food Lifeline warehouse in Georgetown
“It’s all too easy in our profession to get caught up in the work,” added Financial Advisor Scott Schoenfeld. “Baird Gives Back is for me a welcome reminder of the value of community—where the seemingly small but joyful efforts of many people combine to do something bigger.”
Associates from the Bellevue office visited Camp Korey, which provides fun, safe transformational experiences for children living with life-altering medical conditions, in Mount Vernon. “We had a great time tie-dying pillowcases for the kids who will be visiting Camp Korey this summer,” said Andy Roed, Bellevue Branch Manager. “Not only was it a great way to come-together in the office, but it’s also an even better organization to support.”
For associates who couldn’t attend off-site activities, there were opportunities in the office to make a difference. Throughout the week Downtown Seattle Associates wrote and designed cards with messages of encouragement for FareStart, a Seattle-based organization dedicated to transforming homelessness, hunger and poverty into human potential by investing in people, providing meals and building community. FareStart then tucked these cards into emergency meal kits for local people in need.
There was also a month-long collection in May, at both the Downtown Seattle and Bellevue offices, that achieved 100% associate participation and gathered more than 250lbs of food and supplies for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington and Alaska.
“From our Ronald McDonald House collections in the Spring to our Toys for Tots drives in the fall, we feel blessed by our careers, families and friends and are thankful for the opportunity to give back to the community we live in” said Patrice Rue, Branch Administrative Supervisor in Bellevue.