At the start of our 40th Anniversary last year, we decided focusing on giving back to the communities we serve would be an excellent way to celebrate four decades of success together as a firm. RH2 launched the Year of Giving initiative with the intention of developing and building our involvement in charitable and non-profit organizations across Washington and Oregon throughout the year.

Tony Pardi, the president of RH2, was very happy with how enthusiastic employees were about making a commitment to giving back. “I’ve always known that our staff are uniquely committed to serving our clients through the challenging projects we complete each year,” he said. “Our Year of Giving provided me with more insight on how that commitment to improving our communities extends well beyond our respective professional areas of expertise. So many of our staff were happy to get their hands dirty and work hard as a team in ways that we normally don’t get the opportunity to do.”

All eight of our offices participated in volunteer work for various organizations, which ranged from constructing the new Sagebrush Trail on Badger Mountain in Richland and removing invasive English Ivy in Trayvon Creek State Natural Area in Portland, to harvesting vegetables at the Food Bank Farm at Chinook Farms in Snohomish, WA for community meals and counting pedestrians and bicyclists at various intersections in the City of Bellingham for the National Documentation Project. In total, our staff spent more than 350 hours volunteering with more than 15 different non-profits during 2018—an excellent start to what we plan to turn into a long-standing tradition here at RH2. Looking ahead, we are excited to volunteer with more organizations and involve even more team members to better our communities in 2019!

Here’s a look at what some of our staff had to say on their volunteering experience this past year:

Ryan Deem (Bothell Office)

"The RH2 volunteering events were an excellent experience for me as I was starting off – they provided an opportunity to connect with coworkers and make a direct, positive impact in our community. I particularly enjoyed gleaning with FareStart, which consisted of harvesting all kinds of veggies that would otherwise have gone to waste. Our harvest was then shipped to Seattle to provide meals and job training to homeless and impoverished individuals. Also I just want to say, I had some of the best snap peas of my life!"

Andy Dunn (Bothell Office)

"RH2 staff worked as part of a team to harvest vegetables from a non-profit farm in the beautiful Snoqualmie Valley. After a few hours of work, our team had harvested 675 pounds of beans, cabbage, and tomatoes. This farm fresh produce was provided to a food bank and culinary training program. It felt great to get out of the office, get our hands in the soil, and contribute in the field to this great charity."

Jacki Quinn (Bellingham Office)

"Nearly every Bellingham team member volunteered to track pedestrians and bicyclists at some of the busiest intersections in the City of Bellingham. It was fun to get out of the office and connect with coworkers and community members while collecting pedestrian and bicyclist count data."

Kesang Sherpa (Portland Office)

"It was a lot of fun picking invasive English Ivy from the Tyron Creek State Natural Area. I enjoyed being out in the forest and the rain – we even got to enjoy a rare Oregon thunderstorm!"

Dave Matz (Tacoma Office)

"The Tacoma office met at Point Defiance Park for a morning of trash pick-up along the water front and 5-mile drive. We gathered over 6 garbage bags of garbage, Eli even found a $10 bill. It was nice to get away from the office and work together. Many of the visitors thanked us for the effort. Even the rain held off for the time in the park."

Kelsey Pietzsch (Bothell Office)

"I assisted in removing ivy at the Chism Beach Park in Bellevue, as well as helped spread gravel and clear blackberry bushes at the PAWs in Lynnwood. I enjoyed learning about the exotic animals the PAWs shelter rescues and helping maintain the local parks and wildlife."