March 3, 2025 • 29 mins
Doug Baldwin talks to Jessamyn about his inspiration to start his community center, how it helps the community in which he lives and how we can all help each other.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Jessman McIntyre, your host of Seattle Boys, your
Community Boys, presented by iHeartRadio Seattle.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
And joining me now is Doug Baldwin.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Obviously we all know him from his Seahawks days, but
what you might not have known is how much am
I going under the radar in everything else that he's
doing and continues to do for our community here in
Washington State. Doug, first of all, I just want to
say thank you so much for your time, and I
want to know how your day is going.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Jess.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
I am here picking up my oldest daughter from school,
waiting on her to get out of school. So I'm
having a good time and the other two they're not
making too much of a fuss while we wait. So
the day of going well so far.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
We got lucky today and the weather has been cooperating
as well, So it sounds like you've had a blessed
day so far.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
And how old are your kids?
Speaker 4 (00:46):
They are crazy to say this. They are five, four
and two years old now wow? And driving me crazy?
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Hey yeah, Well, before you know it, they'll be driving
and so enjoy the craziness now.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Right than that, You didn't have to say that to me, Oh, gosh.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
I didn't. Sorry, Dad, Yeah, that that was not the
good thing to put into your mind right now.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
But enjoy the craziness well last in those ages again,
Doug Baldwin, don't even here on Seattle Voice.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Doug.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
The reason I wanted to talk to you is because one,
I know you're a good person, and you have always
been since I've known you through your Seahawks days and
are times working media to athlete. But I know you
do a ton for the community, and I wanted to
start with your community center and everything that has been
going on with it. I even have a colleague here
(01:34):
who works there, and I wanted to hear from your
perspective from start to finish. What started your inspiration to
build it.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Well, just when I grew up in Pensacola, Florida, there
was a Salvation Army that I grew up in that
was and at the back end of that Salvation Army
was a community center, and that was my second home
as a young child, and I recognize the on me,
the impact that it had on me. And when I
arrived in this region in twenty eleven renting Cascade Benson
(02:05):
Hill area specifically, I recognized that there wasn't much. There
wasn't much in that area. I used to freak with
this place called Mama Sterioky that was in the old
Cascade shopping village area and go there all the time
and see these kids hanging out, and they weren't necessarily
doing anything. You know, they didn't have the money to eat,
so they were just hanging out. But I asked Mama
(02:25):
Tweet one tom, I said, well, these kids doing here?
And she said, you know, they're just hanging out. They
got nothing to do. They don't bother her. They do
their homework to spot for them after school, and so
I just, you know, it was on my heart. It
would be double if they had a community center like
the one that I had growing up. So long story short,
somehow got connected to the then mayor of Renton, Dennis Law.
(02:47):
They had already done an analysis of that area. That
specific area of Renting was annexed to the city, I
believe in two thousand and eight, and they had already
been known that there was under investment in that area,
and so they had did an analysis and recognized that
there were three things that they needed. One was a
community gathering space, another one was a recreational community recreational space,
and another one was a community health clinic. And so
(03:09):
I was like, just give me all three of those,
We'll design it into one building and we'll make it
work for the community. And so that's what we did,
and that was I believe around nine years ago. Yeah,
and we just opened up our doors eighteen months ago,
and so we are thriving. And what I will say
(03:30):
is is that that community has really welcomed the center
into that community and they're utilizing it. Right now, we
have close to twelve thousand monthly unique members that enjoy
that facility. And the beautiful thing the thing that I'm
most proud about that we're still working on in the
back end, but I would say probably a year away
(03:50):
from sustainability, that the facility is entirely free. So folks
who come in who want to be a member, it's
free for their for them membership. Because of our unique
model and the way that we set things up, we've
also been able to make sure that the programming in
that space is either free or low cost. So we've
(04:11):
been able to provide services and opportunities for the community
with very low barriers. And I'm just very grateful and
very blessed to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well, it sounds like you're providing blessings to other people
as well who didn't have access to something like that
in the past. Doug Bulbwin joining us here on Seattle Voice. Doug,
I want to drill down a little bit into that
model that you built, because I've talked to a lot
of people on this show who try to do that
exact same thing. Whatever they're providing, they try to do
it free or low cost. How did you build your model?
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Yeah, you know, I did a lot of studying prior
to us even developing the concept and the designs of
the place, And what I've recognize is that and what
I am actively pursuing is expanding our social enterprise empire,
if you will. And I don't know, I don't even
know if I like that phrase, but you can.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yeah, the way that we're thinking about is that.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
We're just we're building an ecosystem of social enterprises that
work together, partner together, and obviously create additional revenue together
that then can all be poured back into the community.
And so that's what we've been doing for the past well,
I've been doing for the past six seven years. We
formalize it in our social impact enterprise Involt eighty nine
back in two thousand and nineteen. But all of the
(05:31):
revenue that we generate from our business operations are pouring
back into the community and specifically to the community center
to make it sustainable. And you know, knock on wood,
I like to think that we're we're doing some tremendous
work with our other projects, but the main goal was
to generate enough revenue to sustain the community Center. And
I would I probably shouldn't say this because something's going
(05:52):
to break, but we're on track to be to do
that by the by the end of this year.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
I'll be a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Conservative and say in eighteen months, but we're on track
and it's a beautiful thing. And so if we get
that done, then this facility will be free and available
to the community and perpetuity for free. So that's the
that's the goal right now.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
That's really interesting that you talk about an ecosystem where
it can perpetually survive and I haven't heard that many
A lot of people that I talked to their programs
come from federal funding. And it sounds like you've created
a system where it can be self funding all within itself.
Did you learn that or did you just go for
it and say this is what I want to do.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Well. I recognized early on that I'm a creator and
I'm a builder, and I really needed something to to
pour my energy into once I left the game, And again,
I knew I wanted to be creative. I knew I
wanted to build stuff. I knew I wanted to work
with teams. So businesses felt like the natural trends transition
(07:00):
for me, and so that's what I did, and in
that process, recognizing that there's an abundance of opportunity to
support social entrepreneurship and develop social enterprises that are doing
good things in the community, but also generating funds to
sustain other efforts. And so that was one of the
research that I did prior to us getting into this
line of work. And it just felt natural for me,
(07:21):
felt natural for the folks that were on my team,
and so that's what we've been pursuing. And sorry, I
won't to go back to your previous questions. And you
ask me about the models are the model and how
we keep our our costs low? Well in any business,
and I know. You know this, in any business, your
biggest expenses, your biggest expense or line on it is
(07:42):
going to be your people, right, it's human resources. And
so in order for us to keep that number low,
I wanted to make sure that we had the right people,
but we weren't overstaffing for things that we could possibly
find efficiency. And one of the ways that we did
that is instead of us reproducing a lot of the
programming that community members period organizations have been doing in
the community for decades, instead of replicating that wheel, why
(08:04):
don't we just bring those partners into the facility, give
them space to do more of their work, keep the
rent low or free so that they are encouraged to
pass on those savings of the participants, and so then
the cost is very low or free for the participants.
And so that's what we've been able to do, and
we work with over fifty different community partners and that
(08:24):
list is growing. The only thing that holding us back
is space. You know, I love Don't get me wrong.
I love the community Center as it's designed, and it's
a beautiful space, but it could serve more people if
it was bigger. You know, just just the nature of
the game but yeah, because we've been able to do
that and model our our practice that way, we don't
(08:46):
have as high a number when it comes to staffing.
But we're also able to provide a diversity of programming
for the community because we work with so many different partners.
So that model has been successful to this point, so
we continue to do it.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
That's absolutely beautiful to hear, and I love how involved
you are and how much time that you have spent
learning about how to do it the proper way to
make it sustainable. Doug bulbwhin here joining Jessamon McIntyre on
Seattle Voice. Now, you named the big three things that
you said, give me them all. I'll take them all,
but I'd like to know a little bit more about
(09:21):
what the community center offers and what part of each
one of those three offers to people who are utilizing it.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Yeah, so our facility is open to all ages. That's
number one. And I thought it was important that we
offered us to all ages because the initial aim was
to make sure that we were serving our young folks,
that we were surrounding them with the resources and services
that were necessary for them to have, you know, a healthy,
healthy childhood and also thrive in ways that was important
(09:52):
for them to thrive, and so in order to do that,
we wanted to make sure that we had all ages
of folks there to interact with them. And so just
actually celebrated our second annual Senior Luncheon, which we bring
all of our a lot of our seniors into and
just show appreciation and gratitude for them and for pouring
(10:14):
into our community center and our young folks. But the
Community Center serves all ages, and so we have intergenerational
time in the morning while the teenagers and some of
our younger folks are in school, you have the toddlers
and the senior programming side by side, so you get
that interaction. And then after school hours we have teen times,
so we transform the place to serve our teams, and
(10:34):
then shortly after that we go back to intergenerational time.
And it's all focused and geared towards bringing community together
to serve community. And it doesn't necessarily have to be
a direct service or a direct program, but I think
you know the sestiment. Then you bring people together and
they're aligned in the mission, vision and values of what
you're trying to achieve, it can happen and that's what's
(10:57):
happening in our facility. On top of the fact that
we partnered with Health Point, they have the clinic there
and they serve all ages as well for general health,
behavioral health, and mental health, for all agents, all agents.
And so this is the only facility that we know
of in the state of Washington, and that we know
(11:17):
of in the country actually thus far that has a
medical facility, a recreational facility, a community gathering space that
serves all agents. And so we're really proud of that.
And you know, I want to continue to innovate and
do great things for our community, and this is a
prime example of that.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Is and that's amazing. I've never heard of anything.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
That's why I wanted to ask you the specifics about
it because you mentioned health, community and recreation all in
one area, and I wanted to ask you too because
you're specifically in Breton.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Is that correct?
Speaker 1 (11:50):
I am correct, Yes, So how many people from that
specific community and how I guess I want to know
how far your reach is.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Yeah, So I don't have the numbers in front of.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
Me, but what I would tell you sorry about no, no, no,
You're good about eighty five to ninety or sorry, eighty
five to ninety percent of the people who in the
facility are from renting in that region. However, because of
the three facility and because we offer such a wide
variety of services, we've got people coming from all over
the state, you know, and uh, not everybody's members.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
And not everybody from around.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
The state from regularly, but we have.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
A wide demographic. People from Seattle, from Circle and Redman,
from a Huila and Auburn. You know, it's all over
and uh, it's a beautiful thing because you get people
who are coming from different parts of the region, but
all understand the premise and the essence of what we're
trying to build, and they're part of our community's beautiful client.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yes, community doesn't have to be relegated to just one
geographical area, which is why you're you're absolutely building something
beautiful in you know, a time where I think people
actually want more community right now, and I know that
healthcare is a very big concern for people right now
as well.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
So the fact that you have that is pretty amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I won't ask you the numbers or anything, but you
said all ages are available to come there for that healthcare.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Have you seen a large influx specifically for.
Speaker 4 (13:17):
That we have and more specifically, I can give you
an example of how we're trying to innovate. So you know,
typically when you come to a health clinic, if you
want to be seen by behavioral health specialists within that system,
you have to be first seamed by the primary position
or practitioner yep. And so that's been typical of how
(13:39):
some of our partners have worked in this space. And
so in order for us to lower those barriers and
these access to some of the folks who don't necessarily
need to see the primary care physician but just want
to go into behavioral help, they will be able to
change that actual policy with Health Point and once we
(14:00):
did that, we then have seen an influx in young
folks using that service. And so it's one way of
us of just being innovative and being thoughtful and listening
to our members and understanding what their needs are and
then being able to answer it. So that's one way.
That's one example of how we're able to do that.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Absolutely wonderful and Doug Bobwin joining me right here. Jessamin
McIntyre Seattle Voice, how do you work with the care
providers I'm wondering if that's on a volunteer basis or
if you have partnerships.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Yeah, so it's a great partnership with health Doing. Health
One has been doing some in this work in the
community for decades, decades, and they were one of the
first partners that we spoke to when the design of
this place was in formulation, and they just seem like
the right partner.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
So they have a whole.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Space clinic within the community center. You know, I wish
I could give you a visual right now, but what
I was saying, one day we'll do it. But if
you walk into the clinic, you don't recognize how large
of the space it is from the inside. But when
you walk in, you'll notice that on the right side
(15:12):
of this long hallway there's there's behavioral health staffing rooms,
so rooms where folks can get their behavioral health support
and sessions. We have dental chairs at the end of
that hallway, two dental chairs, so we obviously serve folks
who need dental services. Then on the other side of
this pretty massive hallway, we have five exam rooms and
(15:35):
then a six room that can be used kind of
a flex space for if you need more dental chairs
or another private room. And so health Point has been
able to fill that with all the technology and resources
and so that they need to serve the community. And
so it's been a beautiful partnership in that way. So
folks who come to the community center, who are there
for all of the other recreational community services also now
(15:56):
have a health clinic on site that they can go to.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Think about it this way.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
I think about it from the perspective of my kids, right,
like take my kids and to get shots.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
And they hate that.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Rights, every kid does, yes, But.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
If your kid is going to a community center on
a regular basis, that's their community center. They're there with
people who know them or into them, or show them
love every day. It's not as intimidating and as frightening.
And then go to your community center and then get
your communization show right.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Right, there's a comfort level.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Right, It's a subtle nuance that makes a big difference
for our families. And we're starting to recognize that and
lean into that. And so that's obviously something I wanted
to harm on because we're actually seeing the numbers increase
because I think it's just a safer, healthier, more friendly,
inviting place for folks to come and get what they need.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Yes, and I completely agree with that. And also you're
building a new foundation. I mean, I know so many
people my age that are intimidated by going to the doctor.
But if you build that trust from a young age
and you're doing it in a community center, it's I
feel like people don't grasp how important that can be
for people to take care of their health by regularly
going to physicians, dentists, et cetera.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
Yeah, but it's not and I would say your general
health encompasses all of that, but it also encompasses your
psychological well being. Yes, And so going to a place
where you feel safe, you feel seen, you know that
the people there genuinely care about your well being. That
also does something to you. And you can't really understand
it unless you're in it. And you know, the simplest
(17:39):
way that I could describe it as the culture that
we had back during the Super Bowl runs is that
you had guys on the team who just genuinely cared
about each other, you know, didn't care about individual accolades,
didn't care about how much money they would make it
or how many TV shows they were on. And none
of that stuff, just caring about the guy next to
you because you know you care about that person. When
(18:00):
you're in that environment, it opens up your capacity for
so many things.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
It creates, it does, it creates.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
It creates a space for you to be in best American. Okay, So,
and I think that's what we're building. Well, let me
say this. I know that's what we're building at the
Community Center. And listen, I can't take all the credit
for it. You've had a tremendous amount of partners and
individuals who have stepped up to help us bring us
to life. And then the team that's there on a
day to day basis that's creating that culture. It's incredible people.
(18:30):
It's incredible to watch, it's incredible to be a part of.
And I just want to be clear about that that
it's it is a team effort. I know you know that,
but I do. We have an amazing team. We really do. Well.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
If there's anything I know about you, it's your an
amazing teammate and a wonderful person. But I just I
wanted to ask, kind of going back and everything, did
you feel like you had that at home or you know,
when you were talking about the community center. You know
that your inspiration to do this out here. Do you
feel like you took that concept and built upon it
(19:02):
or was there more that you wanted from it?
Speaker 4 (19:06):
No, I would say we definitely built upon it. I mean, look,
the truth of the matter is is that it is
a state of the art facility because it's it's brands
making new Yeah, but it doesn't it doesn't matter unless
the people within those four walls make it the space
that is safe and inclusive for everybody who walks through
those doors. And that's what we've been able to accomplish
(19:28):
with the team and with the culture that we built,
and so that's why it's specially Yes, he's great, but
at the end of the day, it's the people that
really make it go. And so I appreciate you saying
that I am. I definitely feel like I am a
positive contributor to the team. But it is a team
after that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yes, And I mean Doug Bowe here, Jessamine McIntyre Seattle Voice.
I was wondering if you had that concept in mind
before you even got to the NFL, Like, let's say
Seahawks doesn't happen.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Would this be what you were doing?
Speaker 4 (20:01):
That's a great question. I have no idea.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Well, you weren't given much time to think because you
went straight from one thing to the next, to the
next to the next, So I understand.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
No, I mean it was Again, I'm a creative person
and I'm a builder. So when I'm giving a canvas,
if you will to create something, and especially when it
comes to serving youth, serving family, serving community, which is
what I'm extremely passionate about, it just makes a ton
of sense. And so it's something I've enjoyed. So regardless
(20:32):
if I was playing in the NFL or not, I'd
probably be in this realm one way or the other
in service to the community. But yeah, I don't know,
that's a good question. Maybe it just looks look maybe
it would look different and be in a different form,
but I absolutely believe that I would be in this
arena to some degree.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Yeah, well, dog, not a lot of people are forwarded
the opportunity to play in the NFL, and not a
lot of people do what you are doing right now,
So it's pretty amazing and you should be very proud
of yourself.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
And I know you don't like to hear that.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
You probably don't because it's all a team effort, but
you were the start of all of this that is
going on. And I do have to ask you this
question because it's my favorite part of the show. And
I'm going to tell you a little short story if
you don't mind.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I do this on every show.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Okay, So there's It was a poem, poem, short story
whatever my mom used to read me when I was younger,
and there was a little girl who is on the
beach and there's a ton of starfish watched up, like
hundreds of them, and she's chucking them back into the
sea one at a time, and an older gentleman comes
up and says, what are you doing. It doesn't matter,
(21:38):
You're never gonna save them all, and she chucks one
back into the sea in front of him and says,
it matters to that one.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
And then another.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Iteration of that story, which I liked, which I found
later in life, was that the genomen actually joined her
and started helping her. And I was wondering if you
had a starfish story that you've seen throughout your time
with the Community Center, and uh an.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
So there's there's there's a ton of these stories. So yeah,
so real quick. So one story, I was, I was
at an event and we were talking about the community Center.
We were raising money for a specific program within the
community center. So I was telling the origin story again.
You know, I was a mama teriote and I saw
the kids up there and this this one lady walked
(22:26):
up to me after the event and she she was
this ball and crying and she told me that her
daughter was one of those kids now and now she is,
you know, her daughter is going through a hard time
and is struggling with addiction, and you know, but the
(22:48):
mom was telling me that she wished that she that
her daughter had a place like this growing up. But
now it comes full circle because her grandson, so her
daughter's son, four year old son now attend the community center.
The grandparents take their grandsons of the community Center, and
so you know, it's I wouldn't say it's a starfish moment,
(23:10):
but I think it's a starfish moment, and the grand
scheme of things that you never know the impact that
you have on somebody's mind. And you know, our team
is actually about my Vault eighty nine team, the Social
Impact Inpact team, we're about to go through what we
call a belief session. It's trying to pull out kind
of our underlying motives in the essence of the company
(23:32):
and be able to find language to accurately describe what
we're doing. And I did it myself recently and one
of the things that came out of that was I
believe that every interaction matters, no matter how simple or
how mundane. And they've seen every interaction matters, and you
never know the impact that you can have on somebody's life.
And I think just that example is one major example
(23:55):
of how you can create generational impacts by these life
and not even know it. You know that that lady,
she didn't have to come up to me and say
that to me. And I know that that She's not
the only case. We have tons of stories similar to that.
And also, you know, just just a natural, I guess
(24:16):
way of things. And when you're in this work is
that you have folks, and especially your young folks, who
become the facility and they have a certain mindset of
how they believe a community center experience is going to be.
And we have to educate them, and we have to
actually kind of steward their behavior in a different way,
and you know, in a very I don't want to
say gentle, it's a firm way, but it's also in
(24:39):
a loving way, caring wayful way in which we're saying, hey, look,
this is this facility was dope for you. And so
in order for this facility to maintain, uh, the experience
that you have, you also have to take care of it.
And so you have to have ownership over it and
you have to have responsibility over it. And so teaching
our young folks that is also changing their behavior in school, mindset,
(25:00):
in life in general, and to your to your point,
and we don't know the impact that that's going to
have on their lives long term. We know that it's
going to be positive because we're pouring into them. We'll
also say that we don't know if it's going.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
To be positive.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
We hope it's going to be. However, what I believe
is that because we are aiming for the right target,
wherever we land, it's going to be better than if
we weren't on this journey. And so I do believe
we're making great Strikegy you sorry, last last labor the
point that there's a quote I can't remember the guy's
(25:34):
name right now, and I'm probably gonna put you the quote.
But the guys said, you know, I may not. I
may not as one person. I may not change the world,
but I may be able to change the world for
one person.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Yes, it's just like the starfish story.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
It's exactly that, exactly like the starfish story, and that
that is something that I can believe in. Suggest you know,
it's about me, and my faith is everything because it's
everything I do is built off of my faith and
my faith and I don't want to offend anybody. My
faith is simply I believe in love, and as a
specific definition of love that I go by, which says
love is patient, kind, does not demand its own way,
(26:14):
it's not bragg it's not both, does not keep a
record of wrongs. I believe if we.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
All operated from that.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
That mode of operation, that we would have no problems.
In the book, I agree we don't. My faith also
tells me that this world is not our home and
that it will eventually come to an end.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
And I'm not going to save this world.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
But even knowing that, I recognize just the oxygen that
I breathe, the interaction that I get to have a
community members with my wife, with my kids, with my
friends and my family. I cherish those and I recognize
it as a blessing. So if me breathing oxygen is
a blessing, is a gift, and I have to I
have to recognize that, and I have to steward that
(26:53):
gift and the best way that's beneficial for the folks
around me and the community and the environment around me.
And so no, I may not say the work, but
I may I may not change the world, but I
may say it or change it for one person. That's
abessence of everything that we're doing as an organization. That's business.
So that's right.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
You're trying magnificently.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
I have tried a lot of my life, Doug bubb
when here with jessin the McIntyre on Seattle Voice. Doug,
it is amazing because I am similarly minded. I have
to take a breath sometimes and notice that an interaction
can really change even someone's day.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Being kind is so important to me, and I have
gotten better and better at it.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
I'm a nice person, you know me. I'm a nice person,
but I.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Also realize that a moment that might be bad for
me I don't want to pass that on to someone else,
And it sounds like you only pass on love, and
that you meditate or whatever you do to remunerate on
that feeling is amazing. And instant gratification doesn't always happen
when you're changing something for someone, Just like the story
(27:59):
that you you're not going to see the effects right away,
but those butterfly effects could be way beyond our time.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
And it's beautiful that you do that. So thank you very.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Much, of course, and I appreciate you saying that. I
do want to clarify one thing though, Okay, I do appreciate.
I do appreciate the positive words. But I guess you
know this as well as I do. None of us
are perfect. No, I have a flawed human being, just
like everybody else, trying to figure it out every day,
fail at it every day. But you know, I got
something to live for it. I know what I know
(28:29):
what my purpose is on this planet, so I try.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
You know, I could just write every day.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
I had a a person I just met recently, and
he I can tell he's going to become a very
important figure of my life. An incredible man who told
me that his models to tell him, if you ever
see somebody that doesn't have a smile on their face,
give them one of yours.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Hm hmm, that's beautiful.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
So I want I want to live by that motto.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
I think that's the right.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Model to live by. So I agree me without a smile,
without a smile.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Oh, I will give you all the smiles because you
have brought a lot to those who I have been
trying to do the same for and for those out there.
This is not something that everybody knows, but Doug has
helped me out with a bunch of charity situations and
has made a lot of people smile through lou keeping
the Pomas Society make a wish. You have done a
(29:23):
ton to help me help others, and I can't appreciate
you more for that because that was a big deal
to me and obviously way more to those people. And
I appreciate you as a person and appreciate you spending
this time with me today. That was Doug Baldwin, formerly
of the Seattle Seahawks, but obviously a huge contributor to
(29:46):
our community. You've been listening to Seattle Voice presented by
iHeart Radio Seattle. I'm Jessaman McIntyre and for show ideas
or to find out how your voice can be heard,
email Seattle Voice at iHeartMedia dot com
This is Jessman McIntyre, your host of Seattle Boys, your
Community Boys, presented by iHeartRadio Seattle.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
And joining me now is Doug Baldwin.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Obviously we all know him from his Seahawks days, but
what you might not have known is how much am
I going under the radar in everything else that he's
doing and continues to do for our community here in
Washington State. Doug, first of all, I just want to
say thank you so much for your time, and I
want to know how your day is going.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Jess.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
I am here picking up my oldest daughter from school,
waiting on her to get out of school. So I'm
having a good time and the other two they're not
making too much of a fuss while we wait. So
the day of going well so far.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
We got lucky today and the weather has been cooperating
as well, So it sounds like you've had a blessed
day so far.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
And how old are your kids?
Speaker 4 (00:46):
They are crazy to say this. They are five, four
and two years old now wow? And driving me crazy?
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Hey yeah, Well, before you know it, they'll be driving
and so enjoy the craziness now.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Right than that, You didn't have to say that to me, Oh, gosh.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
I didn't. Sorry, Dad, Yeah, that that was not the
good thing to put into your mind right now.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
But enjoy the craziness well last in those ages again,
Doug Baldwin, don't even here on Seattle Voice.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Doug.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
The reason I wanted to talk to you is because one,
I know you're a good person, and you have always
been since I've known you through your Seahawks days and
are times working media to athlete. But I know you
do a ton for the community, and I wanted to
start with your community center and everything that has been
going on with it. I even have a colleague here
(01:34):
who works there, and I wanted to hear from your
perspective from start to finish. What started your inspiration to
build it.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Well, just when I grew up in Pensacola, Florida, there
was a Salvation Army that I grew up in that
was and at the back end of that Salvation Army
was a community center, and that was my second home
as a young child, and I recognize the on me,
the impact that it had on me. And when I
arrived in this region in twenty eleven renting Cascade Benson
(02:05):
Hill area specifically, I recognized that there wasn't much. There
wasn't much in that area. I used to freak with
this place called Mama Sterioky that was in the old
Cascade shopping village area and go there all the time
and see these kids hanging out, and they weren't necessarily
doing anything. You know, they didn't have the money to eat,
so they were just hanging out. But I asked Mama
(02:25):
Tweet one tom, I said, well, these kids doing here?
And she said, you know, they're just hanging out. They
got nothing to do. They don't bother her. They do
their homework to spot for them after school, and so
I just, you know, it was on my heart. It
would be double if they had a community center like
the one that I had growing up. So long story short,
somehow got connected to the then mayor of Renton, Dennis Law.
(02:47):
They had already done an analysis of that area. That
specific area of Renting was annexed to the city, I
believe in two thousand and eight, and they had already
been known that there was under investment in that area,
and so they had did an analysis and recognized that
there were three things that they needed. One was a
community gathering space, another one was a recreational community recreational space,
and another one was a community health clinic. And so
(03:09):
I was like, just give me all three of those,
We'll design it into one building and we'll make it
work for the community. And so that's what we did,
and that was I believe around nine years ago. Yeah,
and we just opened up our doors eighteen months ago,
and so we are thriving. And what I will say
(03:30):
is is that that community has really welcomed the center
into that community and they're utilizing it. Right now, we
have close to twelve thousand monthly unique members that enjoy
that facility. And the beautiful thing the thing that I'm
most proud about that we're still working on in the
back end, but I would say probably a year away
(03:50):
from sustainability, that the facility is entirely free. So folks
who come in who want to be a member, it's
free for their for them membership. Because of our unique
model and the way that we set things up, we've
also been able to make sure that the programming in
that space is either free or low cost. So we've
(04:11):
been able to provide services and opportunities for the community
with very low barriers. And I'm just very grateful and
very blessed to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well, it sounds like you're providing blessings to other people
as well who didn't have access to something like that
in the past. Doug Bulbwin joining us here on Seattle Voice. Doug,
I want to drill down a little bit into that
model that you built, because I've talked to a lot
of people on this show who try to do that
exact same thing. Whatever they're providing, they try to do
it free or low cost. How did you build your model?
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Yeah, you know, I did a lot of studying prior
to us even developing the concept and the designs of
the place, And what I've recognize is that and what
I am actively pursuing is expanding our social enterprise empire,
if you will. And I don't know, I don't even
know if I like that phrase, but you can.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yeah, the way that we're thinking about is that.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
We're just we're building an ecosystem of social enterprises that
work together, partner together, and obviously create additional revenue together
that then can all be poured back into the community.
And so that's what we've been doing for the past well,
I've been doing for the past six seven years. We
formalize it in our social impact enterprise Involt eighty nine
back in two thousand and nineteen. But all of the
(05:31):
revenue that we generate from our business operations are pouring
back into the community and specifically to the community center
to make it sustainable. And you know, knock on wood,
I like to think that we're we're doing some tremendous
work with our other projects, but the main goal was
to generate enough revenue to sustain the community Center. And
I would I probably shouldn't say this because something's going
(05:52):
to break, but we're on track to be to do
that by the by the end of this year.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
I'll be a little bit more.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Conservative and say in eighteen months, but we're on track
and it's a beautiful thing. And so if we get
that done, then this facility will be free and available
to the community and perpetuity for free. So that's the
that's the goal right now.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
That's really interesting that you talk about an ecosystem where
it can perpetually survive and I haven't heard that many
A lot of people that I talked to their programs
come from federal funding. And it sounds like you've created
a system where it can be self funding all within itself.
Did you learn that or did you just go for
it and say this is what I want to do.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Well. I recognized early on that I'm a creator and
I'm a builder, and I really needed something to to
pour my energy into once I left the game, And again,
I knew I wanted to be creative. I knew I
wanted to build stuff. I knew I wanted to work
with teams. So businesses felt like the natural trends transition
(07:00):
for me, and so that's what I did, and in
that process, recognizing that there's an abundance of opportunity to
support social entrepreneurship and develop social enterprises that are doing
good things in the community, but also generating funds to
sustain other efforts. And so that was one of the
research that I did prior to us getting into this
line of work. And it just felt natural for me,
(07:21):
felt natural for the folks that were on my team,
and so that's what we've been pursuing. And sorry, I
won't to go back to your previous questions. And you
ask me about the models are the model and how
we keep our our costs low? Well in any business,
and I know. You know this, in any business, your
biggest expenses, your biggest expense or line on it is
(07:42):
going to be your people, right, it's human resources. And
so in order for us to keep that number low,
I wanted to make sure that we had the right people,
but we weren't overstaffing for things that we could possibly
find efficiency. And one of the ways that we did
that is instead of us reproducing a lot of the
programming that community members period organizations have been doing in
the community for decades, instead of replicating that wheel, why
(08:04):
don't we just bring those partners into the facility, give
them space to do more of their work, keep the
rent low or free so that they are encouraged to
pass on those savings of the participants, and so then
the cost is very low or free for the participants.
And so that's what we've been able to do, and
we work with over fifty different community partners and that
(08:24):
list is growing. The only thing that holding us back
is space. You know, I love Don't get me wrong.
I love the community Center as it's designed, and it's
a beautiful space, but it could serve more people if
it was bigger. You know, just just the nature of
the game but yeah, because we've been able to do
that and model our our practice that way, we don't
(08:46):
have as high a number when it comes to staffing.
But we're also able to provide a diversity of programming
for the community because we work with so many different partners.
So that model has been successful to this point, so
we continue to do it.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
That's absolutely beautiful to hear, and I love how involved
you are and how much time that you have spent
learning about how to do it the proper way to
make it sustainable. Doug bulbwhin here joining Jessamon McIntyre on
Seattle Voice. Now, you named the big three things that
you said, give me them all. I'll take them all,
but I'd like to know a little bit more about
(09:21):
what the community center offers and what part of each
one of those three offers to people who are utilizing it.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Yeah, so our facility is open to all ages. That's
number one. And I thought it was important that we
offered us to all ages because the initial aim was
to make sure that we were serving our young folks,
that we were surrounding them with the resources and services
that were necessary for them to have, you know, a healthy,
healthy childhood and also thrive in ways that was important
(09:52):
for them to thrive, and so in order to do that,
we wanted to make sure that we had all ages
of folks there to interact with them. And so just
actually celebrated our second annual Senior Luncheon, which we bring
all of our a lot of our seniors into and
just show appreciation and gratitude for them and for pouring
(10:14):
into our community center and our young folks. But the
Community Center serves all ages, and so we have intergenerational
time in the morning while the teenagers and some of
our younger folks are in school, you have the toddlers
and the senior programming side by side, so you get
that interaction. And then after school hours we have teen times,
so we transform the place to serve our teams, and
(10:34):
then shortly after that we go back to intergenerational time.
And it's all focused and geared towards bringing community together
to serve community. And it doesn't necessarily have to be
a direct service or a direct program, but I think
you know the sestiment. Then you bring people together and
they're aligned in the mission, vision and values of what
you're trying to achieve, it can happen and that's what's
(10:57):
happening in our facility. On top of the fact that
we partnered with Health Point, they have the clinic there
and they serve all ages as well for general health,
behavioral health, and mental health, for all agents, all agents.
And so this is the only facility that we know
of in the state of Washington, and that we know
(11:17):
of in the country actually thus far that has a
medical facility, a recreational facility, a community gathering space that
serves all agents. And so we're really proud of that.
And you know, I want to continue to innovate and
do great things for our community, and this is a
prime example of that.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Is and that's amazing. I've never heard of anything.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
That's why I wanted to ask you the specifics about
it because you mentioned health, community and recreation all in
one area, and I wanted to ask you too because
you're specifically in Breton.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Is that correct?
Speaker 1 (11:50):
I am correct, Yes, So how many people from that
specific community and how I guess I want to know
how far your reach is.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Yeah, So I don't have the numbers in front of.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
Me, but what I would tell you sorry about no, no, no,
You're good about eighty five to ninety or sorry, eighty
five to ninety percent of the people who in the
facility are from renting in that region. However, because of
the three facility and because we offer such a wide
variety of services, we've got people coming from all over
the state, you know, and uh, not everybody's members.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
And not everybody from around.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
The state from regularly, but we have.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
A wide demographic. People from Seattle, from Circle and Redman,
from a Huila and Auburn. You know, it's all over
and uh, it's a beautiful thing because you get people
who are coming from different parts of the region, but
all understand the premise and the essence of what we're
trying to build, and they're part of our community's beautiful client.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yes, community doesn't have to be relegated to just one
geographical area, which is why you're you're absolutely building something
beautiful in you know, a time where I think people
actually want more community right now, and I know that
healthcare is a very big concern for people right now
as well.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
So the fact that you have that is pretty amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I won't ask you the numbers or anything, but you
said all ages are available to come there for that healthcare.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Have you seen a large influx specifically for.
Speaker 4 (13:17):
That we have and more specifically, I can give you
an example of how we're trying to innovate. So you know,
typically when you come to a health clinic, if you
want to be seen by behavioral health specialists within that system,
you have to be first seamed by the primary position
or practitioner yep. And so that's been typical of how
(13:39):
some of our partners have worked in this space. And
so in order for us to lower those barriers and
these access to some of the folks who don't necessarily
need to see the primary care physician but just want
to go into behavioral help, they will be able to
change that actual policy with Health Point and once we
(14:00):
did that, we then have seen an influx in young
folks using that service. And so it's one way of
us of just being innovative and being thoughtful and listening
to our members and understanding what their needs are and
then being able to answer it. So that's one way.
That's one example of how we're able to do that.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Absolutely wonderful and Doug Bobwin joining me right here. Jessamin
McIntyre Seattle Voice, how do you work with the care
providers I'm wondering if that's on a volunteer basis or
if you have partnerships.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Yeah, so it's a great partnership with health Doing. Health
One has been doing some in this work in the
community for decades, decades, and they were one of the
first partners that we spoke to when the design of
this place was in formulation, and they just seem like
the right partner.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
So they have a whole.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Space clinic within the community center. You know, I wish
I could give you a visual right now, but what
I was saying, one day we'll do it. But if
you walk into the clinic, you don't recognize how large
of the space it is from the inside. But when
you walk in, you'll notice that on the right side
(15:12):
of this long hallway there's there's behavioral health staffing rooms,
so rooms where folks can get their behavioral health support
and sessions. We have dental chairs at the end of
that hallway, two dental chairs, so we obviously serve folks
who need dental services. Then on the other side of
this pretty massive hallway, we have five exam rooms and
(15:35):
then a six room that can be used kind of
a flex space for if you need more dental chairs
or another private room. And so health Point has been
able to fill that with all the technology and resources
and so that they need to serve the community. And
so it's been a beautiful partnership in that way. So
folks who come to the community center, who are there
for all of the other recreational community services also now
(15:56):
have a health clinic on site that they can go to.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Think about it this way.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
I think about it from the perspective of my kids, right,
like take my kids and to get shots.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
And they hate that.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Rights, every kid does, yes, But.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
If your kid is going to a community center on
a regular basis, that's their community center. They're there with
people who know them or into them, or show them
love every day. It's not as intimidating and as frightening.
And then go to your community center and then get
your communization show right.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Right, there's a comfort level.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Right, It's a subtle nuance that makes a big difference
for our families. And we're starting to recognize that and
lean into that. And so that's obviously something I wanted
to harm on because we're actually seeing the numbers increase
because I think it's just a safer, healthier, more friendly,
inviting place for folks to come and get what they need.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Yes, and I completely agree with that. And also you're
building a new foundation. I mean, I know so many
people my age that are intimidated by going to the doctor.
But if you build that trust from a young age
and you're doing it in a community center, it's I
feel like people don't grasp how important that can be
for people to take care of their health by regularly
going to physicians, dentists, et cetera.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
Yeah, but it's not and I would say your general
health encompasses all of that, but it also encompasses your
psychological well being. Yes, And so going to a place
where you feel safe, you feel seen, you know that
the people there genuinely care about your well being. That
also does something to you. And you can't really understand
it unless you're in it. And you know, the simplest
(17:39):
way that I could describe it as the culture that
we had back during the Super Bowl runs is that
you had guys on the team who just genuinely cared
about each other, you know, didn't care about individual accolades,
didn't care about how much money they would make it
or how many TV shows they were on. And none
of that stuff, just caring about the guy next to
you because you know you care about that person. When
(18:00):
you're in that environment, it opens up your capacity for
so many things.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
It really is.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
It creates, it does, it creates.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
It creates a space for you to be in best American. Okay, So,
and I think that's what we're building. Well, let me
say this. I know that's what we're building at the
Community Center. And listen, I can't take all the credit
for it. You've had a tremendous amount of partners and
individuals who have stepped up to help us bring us
to life. And then the team that's there on a
day to day basis that's creating that culture. It's incredible people.
(18:30):
It's incredible to watch, it's incredible to be a part of.
And I just want to be clear about that that
it's it is a team effort. I know you know that,
but I do. We have an amazing team. We really do. Well.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
If there's anything I know about you, it's your an
amazing teammate and a wonderful person. But I just I
wanted to ask, kind of going back and everything, did
you feel like you had that at home or you know,
when you were talking about the community center. You know
that your inspiration to do this out here. Do you
feel like you took that concept and built upon it
(19:02):
or was there more that you wanted from it?
Speaker 4 (19:06):
No, I would say we definitely built upon it. I mean, look,
the truth of the matter is is that it is
a state of the art facility because it's it's brands
making new Yeah, but it doesn't it doesn't matter unless
the people within those four walls make it the space
that is safe and inclusive for everybody who walks through
those doors. And that's what we've been able to accomplish
(19:28):
with the team and with the culture that we built,
and so that's why it's specially Yes, he's great, but
at the end of the day, it's the people that
really make it go. And so I appreciate you saying
that I am. I definitely feel like I am a
positive contributor to the team. But it is a team
after that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yes, And I mean Doug Bowe here, Jessamine McIntyre Seattle Voice.
I was wondering if you had that concept in mind
before you even got to the NFL, Like, let's say
Seahawks doesn't happen.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Would this be what you were doing?
Speaker 4 (20:01):
That's a great question. I have no idea.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Well, you weren't given much time to think because you
went straight from one thing to the next, to the
next to the next, So I understand.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
No, I mean it was Again, I'm a creative person
and I'm a builder. So when I'm giving a canvas,
if you will to create something, and especially when it
comes to serving youth, serving family, serving community, which is
what I'm extremely passionate about, it just makes a ton
of sense. And so it's something I've enjoyed. So regardless
(20:32):
if I was playing in the NFL or not, I'd
probably be in this realm one way or the other
in service to the community. But yeah, I don't know,
that's a good question. Maybe it just looks look maybe
it would look different and be in a different form,
but I absolutely believe that I would be in this
arena to some degree.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Yeah, well, dog, not a lot of people are forwarded
the opportunity to play in the NFL, and not a
lot of people do what you are doing right now,
So it's pretty amazing and you should be very proud
of yourself.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
And I know you don't like to hear that.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
You probably don't because it's all a team effort, but
you were the start of all of this that is
going on. And I do have to ask you this
question because it's my favorite part of the show. And
I'm going to tell you a little short story if
you don't mind.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I do this on every show.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Okay, So there's It was a poem, poem, short story
whatever my mom used to read me when I was younger,
and there was a little girl who is on the
beach and there's a ton of starfish watched up, like
hundreds of them, and she's chucking them back into the
sea one at a time, and an older gentleman comes
up and says, what are you doing. It doesn't matter,
(21:38):
You're never gonna save them all, and she chucks one
back into the sea in front of him and says,
it matters to that one.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
And then another.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Iteration of that story, which I liked, which I found
later in life, was that the genomen actually joined her
and started helping her. And I was wondering if you
had a starfish story that you've seen throughout your time
with the Community Center, and uh an.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
So there's there's there's a ton of these stories. So yeah,
so real quick. So one story, I was, I was
at an event and we were talking about the community Center.
We were raising money for a specific program within the
community center. So I was telling the origin story again.
You know, I was a mama teriote and I saw
the kids up there and this this one lady walked
(22:26):
up to me after the event and she she was
this ball and crying and she told me that her
daughter was one of those kids now and now she is,
you know, her daughter is going through a hard time
and is struggling with addiction, and you know, but the
(22:48):
mom was telling me that she wished that she that
her daughter had a place like this growing up. But
now it comes full circle because her grandson, so her
daughter's son, four year old son now attend the community center.
The grandparents take their grandsons of the community Center, and
so you know, it's I wouldn't say it's a starfish moment,
(23:10):
but I think it's a starfish moment, and the grand
scheme of things that you never know the impact that
you have on somebody's mind. And you know, our team
is actually about my Vault eighty nine team, the Social
Impact Inpact team, we're about to go through what we
call a belief session. It's trying to pull out kind
of our underlying motives in the essence of the company
(23:32):
and be able to find language to accurately describe what
we're doing. And I did it myself recently and one
of the things that came out of that was I
believe that every interaction matters, no matter how simple or
how mundane. And they've seen every interaction matters, and you
never know the impact that you can have on somebody's life.
And I think just that example is one major example
(23:55):
of how you can create generational impacts by these life
and not even know it. You know that that lady,
she didn't have to come up to me and say
that to me. And I know that that She's not
the only case. We have tons of stories similar to that.
And also, you know, just just a natural, I guess
(24:16):
way of things. And when you're in this work is
that you have folks, and especially your young folks, who
become the facility and they have a certain mindset of
how they believe a community center experience is going to be.
And we have to educate them, and we have to
actually kind of steward their behavior in a different way,
and you know, in a very I don't want to
say gentle, it's a firm way, but it's also in
(24:39):
a loving way, caring wayful way in which we're saying, hey, look,
this is this facility was dope for you. And so
in order for this facility to maintain, uh, the experience
that you have, you also have to take care of it.
And so you have to have ownership over it and
you have to have responsibility over it. And so teaching
our young folks that is also changing their behavior in school, mindset,
(25:00):
in life in general, and to your to your point,
and we don't know the impact that that's going to
have on their lives long term. We know that it's
going to be positive because we're pouring into them. We'll
also say that we don't know if it's going.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
To be positive.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
We hope it's going to be. However, what I believe
is that because we are aiming for the right target,
wherever we land, it's going to be better than if
we weren't on this journey. And so I do believe
we're making great Strikegy you sorry, last last labor the
point that there's a quote I can't remember the guy's
(25:34):
name right now, and I'm probably gonna put you the quote.
But the guys said, you know, I may not. I
may not as one person. I may not change the world,
but I may be able to change the world for
one person.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Yes, it's just like the starfish story.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
It's exactly that, exactly like the starfish story, and that
that is something that I can believe in. Suggest you know,
it's about me, and my faith is everything because it's
everything I do is built off of my faith and
my faith and I don't want to offend anybody. My
faith is simply I believe in love, and as a
specific definition of love that I go by, which says
love is patient, kind, does not demand its own way,
(26:14):
it's not bragg it's not both, does not keep a
record of wrongs. I believe if we.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
All operated from that.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
That mode of operation, that we would have no problems.
In the book, I agree we don't. My faith also
tells me that this world is not our home and
that it will eventually come to an end.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
And I'm not going to save this world.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
But even knowing that, I recognize just the oxygen that
I breathe, the interaction that I get to have a
community members with my wife, with my kids, with my
friends and my family. I cherish those and I recognize
it as a blessing. So if me breathing oxygen is
a blessing, is a gift, and I have to I
have to recognize that, and I have to steward that
(26:53):
gift and the best way that's beneficial for the folks
around me and the community and the environment around me.
And so no, I may not say the work, but
I may I may not change the world, but I
may say it or change it for one person. That's
abessence of everything that we're doing as an organization. That's business.
So that's right.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
You're trying magnificently.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
I have tried a lot of my life, Doug bubb
when here with jessin the McIntyre on Seattle Voice. Doug,
it is amazing because I am similarly minded. I have
to take a breath sometimes and notice that an interaction
can really change even someone's day.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Right.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Being kind is so important to me, and I have
gotten better and better at it.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
I'm a nice person, you know me. I'm a nice person,
but I.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Also realize that a moment that might be bad for
me I don't want to pass that on to someone else,
And it sounds like you only pass on love, and
that you meditate or whatever you do to remunerate on
that feeling is amazing. And instant gratification doesn't always happen
when you're changing something for someone, Just like the story
(27:59):
that you you're not going to see the effects right away,
but those butterfly effects could be way beyond our time.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
And it's beautiful that you do that. So thank you very.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Much, of course, and I appreciate you saying that. I
do want to clarify one thing though, Okay, I do appreciate.
I do appreciate the positive words. But I guess you
know this as well as I do. None of us
are perfect. No, I have a flawed human being, just
like everybody else, trying to figure it out every day,
fail at it every day. But you know, I got
something to live for it. I know what I know
(28:29):
what my purpose is on this planet, so I try.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
You know, I could just write every day.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
I had a a person I just met recently, and
he I can tell he's going to become a very
important figure of my life. An incredible man who told
me that his models to tell him, if you ever
see somebody that doesn't have a smile on their face,
give them one of yours.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Hm hmm, that's beautiful.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
So I want I want to live by that motto.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
I think that's the right.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Model to live by. So I agree me without a smile,
without a smile.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Oh, I will give you all the smiles because you
have brought a lot to those who I have been
trying to do the same for and for those out there.
This is not something that everybody knows, but Doug has
helped me out with a bunch of charity situations and
has made a lot of people smile through lou keeping
the Pomas Society make a wish. You have done a
(29:23):
ton to help me help others, and I can't appreciate
you more for that because that was a big deal
to me and obviously way more to those people. And
I appreciate you as a person and appreciate you spending
this time with me today. That was Doug Baldwin, formerly
of the Seattle Seahawks, but obviously a huge contributor to
(29:46):
our community. You've been listening to Seattle Voice presented by
iHeart Radio Seattle. I'm Jessaman McIntyre and for show ideas
or to find out how your voice can be heard,
email Seattle Voice at iHeartMedia dot com
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