I am proud to work in a place where what I do every day makes an impact on individuals. If you like numbers then I'll share with you that the Mill Creek Branch gave over $435,000 in financial assistance to 927 youth, families and seniors last year. And if you like stories then let me put that number into perspective.

Youth and Government is a service learning leadership program and one of the the only ones I still directly run. Teens meet weekly to discuss bill ideas and learn about the legislative process. In May we get use the capitol building to run a mock legislative session where they debate and pass legislation drafted by themselves and their peers. In addition to the legislative body there is a press corps that produces a daily paper, a lobby corps, an 8th grade chamber and page corps. This year, one of my teens came to me and shared, due to some family hardships, that she could not pay. Without even needing to check I told her we would take care of it. And we did. This teen will run for Youth Governor this year and will hopefully fulfill her goal of leaving her mark on the program. More importantly though, this program will leave its mark on her. After 5 years of participating she will be a better speaker, critical thinker and engaged citizen. In some parts she already is. Last week she ran her first meeting for our delegation and drafted a plan for our teens to collect supplies for homeless teens in Snohomish County.

So when you click that "donate" button, you can be sure that what you are giving is so much more than dollars. Because what the Y does is So Much More.