WestSide Baby is currently recruiting new Board members to start in January 2022
Are you dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in your community and do you want to bring your lived experience, community connections, skills, and expertise to a nonprofit working toward social change? We encourage you to apply for a Board of Directors position, to start in January 2022!
Interview with WestSide Baby’s Board of Director’s Vice-Chair, Erin Hulme
WSB Staff: What are you and other Board members hoping to learn from new Board members?
Erin: We are seeking new Board members with lived experience of the mission of WestSide Baby. As an organization authentically looking to meet community needs, we want our Board members to be able to speak to this need and engage with the true concept of diaper need, not just the theoretical.
We also want individuals with unique and different viewpoints on philanthropy and giving.
WSB Staff: WestSide Baby’s values are: humanity, intentional action, and resilience. Which one of those values most speaks to you and your role in the WSB community?
Erin: Humanity – it is our job as Board members to always remember the people we are ultimately serving, and their humanity. For me, it is imperative that the children and families we serve feel empowered, and are not “othered”. As a Board member, and as a member of the WestSide Baby community, I see the individual child or parent as the full human they are.
WSB Staff: What is something someone might be surprised to learn about being on the Board?
Erin: I would say the most surprising thing about being on the WestSide Baby Board is while the mission is so tangible, I get most excited about getting to advocate for the less-tangible things, like the policy work WestSide Baby is doing. WestSide Baby has reimagined what it means to “show up” as a supporter, and it was a small, but impactful thing to talk with my legislator about the bills WestSide Baby was supporting during the legislative session. Of course, I also always look forward to unloading a truck or bus full of diaper donations as well!
WSB Staff: Anything else you would want a potential Board member to know?
Erin: Just that being an ambassador and advocate for WestSide Baby is the main requirement for getting connected and getting into this work. There are no major prerequisites, and we value a variety of backgrounds and experiences in our Board members.
Are you dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in your community and do you want to bring your lived experience, community connections, skills, and expertise to a nonprofit working toward social change? We encourage you to apply for a Board of Directors position, to start in January 2022! Board service is a fantastic way to learn about the operations & impact of nonprofits while contributing your skills and experience.
As part of the WestSide Baby Board, you will fulfill a unique governance role for the organization. Our Board: ensures our work centers the needs and perspectives of the communities we serve, ensures our financial resources are stewarded in support of addressing unmet basic needs both immediately and systemically, and serves as ambassadors to advance our vision of ending children’s basic needs gaps.
In order to fulfill this role, we are specifically seeking applicants with professional expertise in financial management, strategic planning, social work/social services, advocacy for social/racial/economic justice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. As an organization seeking to address a community need, we highly value the lived experience, perspective, and wisdom of the communities we serve as a crucial part of our Board governance.
We serve all of western King County, up to Shoreline, all of Seattle, and South King County, and seek Board members from these geographic communities.
Join the WestSide Baby Board of Directors or a Board Committee and help ensure children have their basic needs met.