December Volunteer of the Month: Lily Pinkston, Highlands Youth (HY) Advisory Board

Congratulations to Wisteria Park resident Lily Pinkston for being selected as December’s Volunteer of the Month! Lily is an essential asset to the HY Board and the community. She has already collected more than 35 volunteer hours this school year alone. Thanks for all you do, Lily!

She had the following to say:

HY Board volunteers with artist Tori Shao at the staircase unveiling in September 2023.

I have lived in Issaquah Highlands my whole life. When I was younger, I loved all the parks close by and being close to my friends. Now, one of my favorite things about living here is having a Starbucks close by. Well, Starbucks and all the community events.

I really enjoy the Global Grub & Groove events, Open Mic Nights and the Village Markets. I also think it’s really cool that we always have different art in Blakely Hall, and I’ve been able to meet a lot of the artists.

My family is pretty involved in the community. My mom works at Highlands Council and is very active in the community. My dad is a software engineer, and volunteers at a lot of community events. My brother, who is in 10^th grade, serves on the Highlands Youth Advisory Board (HY Board) with me, which gives us even more opportunities to be involved with what’s going on.

I’ve been volunteering in Issaquah Highlands for as long as I can remember. My mom tells me before I started preschool, we used to volunteer to hang flyers for Highlands Day at businesses, and I’d carry the tape. When I was in elementary school, I helped with shredding in the Highlands Council office and prepared Connections mailings.

Now, as a member of the HY Board, I get to help plan events and activities and it’s fun to work with other teens as well as younger kids at our events. I also continue to help with the events that aren’t planned by the HY Board, too – I set up tables and chairs and help with art projects, decorating, cleaning up, etc. One time at the Welcoming Week event for the City of Issaquah, I even had to stand at the end of a line for balloon animals to tell people it was closed. That was my least favorite job.

A couple of my favorite events to volunteer at include Treats & Tails (where we set up trick-or-treating stations for kids) and Parents Night Out (where we entertain kids for a night after their parents drop them off).

If I were going to give someone advice about volunteering in Issaquah Highlands, I’d say just go for it! It’s fun to get involved, and it’s usually pretty easy. It’s a great way to get to know other people and get good life experiences.

The last thing I’ll add…as much as I love living in Issaquah Highlands, I’d love it more if Taylor Swift was here. I’m trying to talk my mom into hiring her for an upcoming Global Grub & Groove. Email her if you agree.