Below is a gorgeous group of giving girls. This past weekend was beautiful outside and here in Seattle, we wait for those sunny, winter days. But this crew went inside and for their precious time off, helped pack thousands of pounds of peas for those hungry around WA state at NW Harvest. It is not the most popular of our cluster events, but it is a favorite for those who feel its true meaning and impact on the community this global village shares together for one or two years. 
The au pairs gathered at the Gates Foundation this month to bear witness to all the good works being done around the world and learn about US American philanthropy. The Gates Foundation made our international community feel right at home amongst those who cherish the idea of helping and understanding one another better on this planet we all share.
Our au pair community is strong and mighty and we always have a meal. We are lucky that way and learned about the thousands of hungry in our state of WA, helping NW Harvest make a difference in a few lives by working in the warehouse on a Saturday. These strong ladies from 10 countries packed up 5,800 pounds of corn that would equate to 4,461 meals around our state. APIA was thrilled to be a part of something bigger than any one of us that day. Thanks, North West Harvest!
Au Pairs from over 12 different countries spent a good portion of their hard-earned Saturday off to help the hungry of WA state. This past November, our cluster of au pairs helped to collect over $14,000 for NW Harvest at a Seahawks game and this past weekend another group of au pairs helped to pack over 13,000 pounds of apples that will be distributed to centers around the state to assist hungry families. Apples were purchased or donated from farms in Eastern WA and our group made, labeled, filled and closed up boxes of these apples that will then go out in refrigerated trucks around the Greater Seattle and Tacoma areas helping those who need help. (WA is the 15th hungriest state in the US.) These au pairs pictured below should be very proud of this hard work and the time and energy donated to something larger than any one of us!
A small, but dedicated group of APIA au pairs got up early on a Saturday to show their support of the March of Dimes and help celebrate 75 years of this amazing organization. With the streets of downtown closed, we walked and talked thinking about the reasons why. The money we raised, with the help of our generous host families and their employers, supports March of Dimes programs in our WA communities that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it will fund research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. We were quite proud to march for this mission!
An amazing group of women from all corners of the globe joined Nature Consortium in the Duwamish Green Belt yesterday. After planting over 200 trees and bushes in the forest that runs from West Seattle to Burien, the au pairs and others then protected our newly planted friends by mulching over 1000 square feet of forest. All this accompanied by some clarinet music, making the scene feel a bit out of a movie… It surely was not a Saturday spent lounging about, but we felt good to know that all this hard work would yield a more healthy forest for years to come. Nice to affect our carbon foot prints…just a little bit.
Kim Marie (Germany), Martyna (Poland) and Ashley (Korea)
Baby trees set to replace the 100 year old dying ones in the forest.
Phan from Thailand gives back at Luther's Table in Renton.
With our Global Awareness program, our au pairs are getting into the schools to share their cultures! And through volunteer work in association with our UCLA partnership – American Studies Class – they share of themselves and get to know our American perspective on volunteering in the community.
