Volunteering makes people happier, the community healthier, the world brighter. Our staffers love getting out there and devoting time to great causes. With our collective volunteer hours, we have great stories to share, shout outs to give, and amazing organizations to highlight.

This tale of inspiring voluntarism comes from Karen Chappell, a Brown Paper Tickets design professional who spoke at a career event for The Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment (ACE), a vibrant SeaTac-based learning community that empowers students to become active citizens.

At the fair, 20 professionals shared sage advice and job expertise with 11- and 12^th-grade high school students, who will be navigating their own career paths in just a few short years.

Chappell taught the basics of branding and design, gave out goodies, and relayed the tools necessary for successful visual marketing. “It was a wonderful experience and I’m hoping to do an in-depth workshop,” she relayed. “They were a great class.”

Brown Paper Tickets allows every employee to use an extra 40 paid hours per year to give back to the community via nonprofit volunteering. Our Paid Time On benefit earned the company a finalist honor for a 2014 GeekWire Perk of the Year Award.