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Volunteer of the Month, February 2017: Kimberly Collette

By Kimberly Collette, Central Park

Pictured here: Kimberly Collette, Volunteer of the Month, February 2017, with husband Jon, and children Fae, James and Samuel.

It was a beautiful crisp autumn day when we happened through the Issaquah Highlands. We stopped to let the kids get their wiggles out at what we call ‘the crazy slide park’ up on 30th. My boys played with my husband and my youngest and I sat together on a bench. The leaves looked like they were on fire with red, orange, and gold against the bright blue sky. It was in this visit that my husband and I decided that the Highlands was where we wanted to be.

My family and I came to the Highlands the summer of 2013. We had just celebrated the 3rd birthday of my youngest. Saying goodbye to my kitchen window that I looked out at my three kids playing daily was probably the hardest thing. It’s the little things about a house or a neighborhood that make it home.

The stars eventually aligned and we found a home in the Highlands. We were immediately welcomed by the neighborhood. Kids played in the street and yelled “car!” to initiate the kid’s scramble to the sidewalks for safety. The Highland’s community is what was making our house feel like a home, even being surrounded by our boxed belongings.

I began volunteering writing articles for the culture through cuisine column the summer of 2015. Each piece I write is unique because each person I meet with is unique. I started with friends and neighbors but soon I was meeting with strangers in their homes to talk about the food they love and the culture they are proud of.

Each written article is just a small percentage of what I learn about the person the rest I get to keep with me. Volunteering with the Highlands Connections combines three of my favorite things: food, people and writing. And it has become one of the biggest things that makes me proud to call the Issaquah Highlands my home.