Shanel Konzelman is a Client Relationship Manager and oversees our annual, all-firm volunteer program: Mainspring Cares. Shanel is responsible for identifying opportunities and then managing and coordinating the many moving parts for each volunteer event.
Our latest volunteer event was held on National Public Lands Day and was spent bettering Lake Sammamish State Park in conjunction with a local cleanup event. Teams were divided into various activities including weeding, trash pickup and trail improvements for the more adventurous.
For this blog post, we spoke with Shanel about the impact Mainspring Cares has on our community and our team.
Q: Tell us why you chose this specific volunteer event
SK: It’s important to us that we show our support in the communities in which we operate and that also means partnering with organizations that are making a positive impact. We like to give back and find different ways to volunteer whether it’s an outdoor project, helping children, or crisis centers; we are always interested in helping others. The Lake Sammamish beautification project was the perfect event for us to volunteer since so many of us enjoy the park with our families. It also checked all the boxes that we needed to comply with COVID restrictions/guidelines: local, outdoors, and family friendly.
Q: What was it like seeing everyone and their families after so much time out of the office and apart?
SK: It was wonderful to see so many people come out and even bring their family members to volunteer. We have done a good job of trying to stay connected via Zoom, but there is nothing like face to face… well, mask to mask. We all helped that day. There was a job for everyone to do, from the Mainspring kids weeding & picking up trash to the volunteers who stomped down reeds to blaze a new bike trail.
Q: What was the highlight of the day for you?
SK: Seeing everyone come together after being apart for so long was a highlight, but another highlight was from behind the scenes and what makes me proud of this group; each time I send a request to see who wants to help with a volunteer event there are so many gracious Mainspring employees who answer the call to serve others. There has never been a time where we couldn’t get enough volunteers to help.
Q: What are you planning for Mainspring Cares next?
SK: We will continue to search for local opportunities near our office locations around the Puget Sound because it is important that we serve our communities. These events are not only a way for us to bond as a team, but by giving back we see the impact it has on the partners we serve. Stay tuned as we have something in the works for later this year that will give back to an organization that means a lot to us.
