By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
As part of their commitment to providing underserved communities with necessary resources, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (ULMS) will host its 2nd Annual Summer Resource Festival this Sat., Aug. 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Foster High School located at 4242 S. 144th St. in Tukwila.
According to Ashley Pugh, ULMS Communications Director, “the primary focus of this event is to provide those we serve with a one stop shop opportunity to access important community resources.”
“We wanted to provide an opportunity for the community to access different resources in one place and all in one day,” says Pugh. “There are a lot of organizations and community resources out there for people to access and use and sometimes it is difficult for people to know where they are, or how to access them, or who to connect with in order to take advantage of them, and so we wanted to create a one stop shop event.”
Onsite service providers will conduct general health screenings, provide voter registration assistance, free hot meals and distribute school supplies to middle and high school students. In addition, the event will also feature a business pop-up to showcase the good and services of local, Black-owned businesses.
Founded as an organization to help underserved communities participate in all phases of American Life, ULMS works diligently to maintain its purpose. The annual events hosted by the organization continue to impact and enhance the lives of those in need and continue to provide education, homeownership opportunities, employment training, legal resources, and more to help build a vibrant, productive and economically viable Black community.
“I think the Summer Resource Festival is an essential need for the community right now,” says Pugh. “The culture shock that COVID impacted on our community is somewhat over, the damage the pandemic caused in our community is still very much prevalent and so I think that we (The Urban League) continue to see the challenges that families are facing everyday trying to navigate the economic impacts of the pandemic but also the unforeseen circumstances due to the pandemic, like inflation, unemployment, and things like that, people just getting by with bare minimums.”
“I am hoping that events like Summer Resource Festival and other opportunities provided by ULMS can help to alleviate some of the stress that people are facing and make it easier to find the support that they need and to also for people to be seen, heard and valued in a community space,” added Pugh.
