United Way of King County's Emerging Leaders 365 is bringing its next gathering to Bellevue Square on Dec. 8. The young professionals group is marking a decade that has invested approximately $3.3 million back into the community.

The Happy Hour and Hellos event starts at 6 p.m. at the Icon Lounge at Nordstrom in Bellevue Square, according to United Way of King County. Photographers will be on hand for free professional headshots, and recruiters will be available to discuss job opportunities, the organization said. Event details, including registration information, are available at uwkc.org/events.

Over 10 years, members who each give $1 a day, or $365 a year, have collectively invested approximately $3.3 million, logged nearly 22,000 volunteer hours with more than 40 Seattle-area nonprofits, helped support 42,000 households facing the threat of eviction and donated more than 2,000 warm winter items through clothing drives, according to United Way of King County's podcast recap of the anniversary.

The group held a 10th anniversary celebration in October at Tutta Bella Pizzeria in Seattle.

Taylor Roberson, United Way of King County associate director of marketing, said on the organization's Hourglass podcast that participation has surged since the post-COVID period. She described the Tutta Bella event as "buzzing," with a 240-person capacity space that "feels full."

"10 years in, and they fed enough kids to fill the football stadium 12 times over," Roberson said.

Grant Little, an Emerging Leaders member who works at Amazon, said on the podcast that he joined after meeting United Way marketing strategist Kayla Dunn at a wedding. Little relocated to Seattle from Birmingham, Alabama.

"I feel like I was longing for that connection to the city, so I wasn't just kind of like a passerby, but really involved in all the work that's going on there …" Little said.

Dunn, who leads the Emerging Leaders program internally, said on the podcast that the committee expanded to 18 members for the anniversary year, matching the size of United Way of King County's board of directors. Committee members work at employers including Amazon, SpaceX, Urban League and El Centro, she said.

MK Knuth, an Emerging Leaders member who works at Sensiba, said on the podcast that she grew up seeing United Way's presence in her hometown of St. Louis and sought a similar connection after moving to Seattle.