 |
  | |
Portraits By Richard Seven
BEAN / Young, smart and socially aware, they're pros at volunteering
What is BEAN? It stands for Business & Engineering Activists Network, but it's outgrown the name since Howard Wu started it five years ago. Essentially, it is a gathering of young professionals. And a social club. And a networking vision. And a service organization. And an online community. Members may swill drinks at a Belltown lounge one night and play softball as the Beanballers another. They may join events to raise money, helping causes from cancer research to Ugandan children. In fact, it seems to be whatever its roughly 1,750 members want to make it. Whenever they want to make it. About 80 percent of them are between 21 and 35. There are no dues, no formal meetings, breakfasts or requirements. People come to what they want, when they can. The club's Web site, www.beanonline.org, is a major information source. Sign up and sign in, and the site transforms. It virtually begs for your photo and nudges you to connect with other members. It is chocked with dates, events and news. It alerts to constant opportunities to help or meet people. Wu's idea was to draw together young people with business acumen, leadership aspirations and awareness of social responsibilities, but who wanted wider, less restrictive opportunities than traditional service clubs provide. Central to BEAN is friendship. "We started thinking how great it was in college when you met huge volumes of people all the time. It didn't seem like networking but it was, changing classes with the quarters, the parties and all that. "We try to re-create that casual atmosphere and meet the needs of young professionals. There are a lot of professional groups in Seattle, but they seem to be all about networking, not making friends. We try to dial it back and help the community, too." And surprise, Seattle: Wu, a 28-year-old Taiwan native and manager for Amazon, says we are not always the easiest city to get to know. "If you're with a friend in L.A. and he runs into a bunch of his friends who talk about going skiing that weekend, it won't be long before they say to you, 'Hey, you should come along.' In Seattle, they say, 'We'll show you the pictures when we get back.' "Seattle is a polite city. It's very easy to meet people in Seattle, but very hard to take that next step."
|
|
PREV
Back to top