Rose Burke
On May 29, 2025, The Mountaineers hosted our annual Block Party at The Seattle Program Center, an event celebrating super volunteers, key leaders, key instructors, and donors who have given their time, expertise, and financial support to advance our vision, Adventure with Purpose. The event – now in its third year – is a great way to kick off the summer while honoring some of our most engaged members and the contributions they’ve made to our outdoor community.
After a rainy start to the day, the afternoon cleared and the sun shined brightly on the Seattle Program Center, where over 200 volunteers, donors, and staff gathered for our party. Guests roamed around the building to visit stations that exemplified our mission in action via our Adventure with Purpose strategic priorities: LEAD Innovation in Outdoor Education, ENGAGE a Vibrant Community of Outdoor Enthusiasts, and ADVOCATE on Behalf of our Natural World. Stations such as our Youth Programs table, Gear Library table, Mountaineers Books table, Mountaineers Bookstore, and Kitsap Forest Theater table provided fun activities that offered a window into the mission-focused work of each of our programs.
The evening was a chance for our leaders, advocates, educators, and outdoor enthusiasts from across The Mountaineers to gather together, celebrate our impact, and connect with other like-minded recreationists who care deeply about the outdoor experience. Folks enjoyed a lovely Caribbean-inspired dinner provided by Bongos Cafe and sipped wine and beer from our generous beverage sponsors Tinte Cellars, Athletic Brewing Company, Georgetown Brewing, Ghostfish Brewing, and Seattle Cider. Between the enjoyment of the evening’s refreshments, members played games such as giant Jenga and cornhole, and connected about adventures from the last year.
After dinner was served, CEO, Tom Vogl, took the mic to share gratitude for everyone in attendance. He expressed his appreciation for the volunteer leaders and instructors in the room, saying they are “the heartbeat of this community, and my gratitude for you runs deep!”
In the last year, we benefited from the talent of over 3,500 volunteers providing over 185,000 hours of time to teaching, leading, and stewarding. Volunteers offered over 200 courses, 500 seminars, and led 2,900 trips. Together we offered 1,010 youth activities, from year-round clubs, day camps, and youth partner programs across the Puget Sound.
To the donor community in attendance Tom, expressed deep gratitude for all who chose to support with donations, providing additional resources to elevate and accelerate our ability to fulfill our vision. Thanks to our Peak Society members, Ridgeline members, and everyone who contributed to our 2025 Gala (which raised $600,000!), The Mountaineers was able to offer leadership training for our volunteers, scholarships to keep our programs accessible, education surrounding conservation & advocacy efforts, and special Mountaineers Books publications and author events.
To close the evening, Tom took a moment to offer a toast:
“For the many ways each and every person in this room supports the mission and community of The Mountaineers, I’d like to raise a toast. To lifelong friendships, commitment to education, and learning forward. Tonight we celebrate a culture of philanthropy where we all generously give of our time, treasure, talents, testimonies, and ties. To a future where this community cultivates a culture where everyone can find belonging and are inspired to protect the natural world. Cheers!”
Lead innovation in outdoor education
Many of our Block Party attendees regularly lead activities, serve on committees, or teach courses at The Mountaineers. We are immensely grateful for all the ways people generously give their time and expertise in support of innovative and high-quality outdoor education.
At the LEAD table, everyone had the chance to vote for up to three track topics they'd like to see featured at the FY2026 North and South Sound Leadership Conference. Choices included: Sustainable Impact, Applied Outdoor Leadership, Risk Management, Resilience Strategies, and Tactical Decision-making. We also encouraged attendees to submit speaker proposals for next season’s Leadership Development Series. To keep things fun, we tested attendees' Mountaineers trivia with a round of True/False questions. Did you know our very first official summit was to Mt. Si? It's true!
Engage a vibrant community of outdoor enthusiasts
Mountaineers members posing in our ENGAGE photo booth .
Volunteers are at the front lines of helping people feel belonging outside, and donors invest in equity by funding youth programs, scholarships, and volunteer equity and inclusion training. At the event, we were joined by Ramki Pitchuiyer, incoming Chair of our Equity & Belonging Committee, which specifically works to make The Mountaineers a place where all people can see themselves and be seen.
To illustrate our vibrant community, we invited guests to take group pictures in our ENGAGE Photo Booth. We took dozens of photos that capture the faces and friendships that make The Mountaineers community special.
Advocate on behalf of the natural world
As each of us build a deeper connection to the natural world, we also find our place in protecting and conserving it for future generations. This year the Conservation & Advocacy team has been deeply involved in supporting our federal land managers as they face serious cut backs. At the ADVOCATE table, guests had a chance to sign thank you cards to the staff that are running land management agencies at our three Washington National Parks (Mount Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park) as well as four of our most utilized National Forests: Olympic, which includes Mount Elinor, Lena Lake; Wenatchee River Ranger District and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, which include Leavenworth and the Enchantments; Mount Baker Ranger District, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and last the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District, Gifford-Pinchot National Forest, which includes the Goat Rocks Wilderness).
Block Party Passport Activities
Other tables across the room highlighted The Mountaineers mission work.
Mountaineers Books staff hosted a game of “which cover did we publish,” where guests could see some of the options we considered for recent and upcoming titles.
In our Bookstore, staff asked members to match the opening sentence of a Mountaineers Book with its title and also try and guess an iconic overlook based on a picture.
The Youth Team asked members to share what they enjoyed most about camp growing up and also got a few members on belay climbing up the Goodman C climbing wall.
Our Gear Library was represented as well, showing off gear items and getting members to sign up for gear rentals as part of their summer plans.
Volunteers from Kitsap Forest Theater shared trivia and information about the summer 2025 season, which includes productions of Annie, The Big Fish and A Midsummer's Night Dream.
Support the mission of The Mountaineers
This annual appreciation event celebrates the role and impact of Mountaineers donors, Super Volunteers, Key Leaders, and Key Instructors. Thanks to the dedication of our volunteers, we are able to advance our mission of helping people confidently enjoy the outdoors, find belonging outside, and conserve the natural world for generations to come. Volunteers lead almost every aspect of our programming, from leading trips to writing for Mountaineer magazine to teaching courses to cooking family-style meals at our lodges.
Donors amplify our mission by supporting youth programs, scholarships, leadership development, conservation advocacy, nonprofit outdoor publishing, volunteer support, and more.
It was also meaningful to invite everyone back to the Seattle Program Center once again. The Seattle Program Center has been one of the most-utilized homes for our community. Thank you to those of you who were able to join us, and we hope to see many new and returning faces at our Block Party in 2026!
The Mountaineers® is a 501(c)(3) organization supported through earned revenue and elevated through charitable contributions. Our staff work to support our seven branches (Bellingham, Everett, Foothills, Kitsap, Olympia, Seattle, and Tacoma), three lodges (Baker, Meany, and Stevens), and our Kitsap Forest Theater. Tax ID: 27-3009280. 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.
