Karen Story
Courtesy of KS

My friend Karen Story is a writer and a community activist living in Kirkland. I think she is an amazing and inspiring individual — she is one of those people who is always thinking about ways to give back both locally and globally. I was fortunate enough to meet Karen last year when I first started my blog. We discovered we had a lot in common, not only through our mutual interests in philanthropy, but we are both former Peace Corps Volunteers (she was in Togo, West Africa).

I mentioned her in an earlier post about her upcoming trip to Guatemala.  She recently returned and shared with me a great summary of her adventure.

“Ever since my sister adopted two children from Guatemala I have wanted to go there to learn about my niece and nephew’s birth culture. Knowing that Guatemala is a developing nation recovering from years of brutal civil war, I hoped to contribute in some small way as a volunteer. I chose a one-week malnutrition project, and I also visited two other charities. In between, I spent a few days each in Antigua and Panajachel. It was an amazing experience.”

Read about Karen’s experience here.

Now that Karen is back from her 2 1/2 week trip, she hasn’t slowed down one bit. When I asked her what she has going on, she told me she is writing articles and gardening guides, volunteering at a hospice, organizing the Kirkland summer concerts, and removing invasive plants such as blackberry, ivy, and holly, as a volunteer steward for Cotton Hill Park, one of the urban forests being restored as part of Green Kirkland.

Whew!

Way to go Karen- keep up the good work.