Company Profile
the Service Board
Company Overview
the Service Board mentors teens to conquer personal and cultural challenges through public service and outdoor adventure.
tSB fosters the need for strong and connected communities by instilling in high school-age youth a deep sense of life purpose, an ethic of public service and a conviction in their abilities to shape the future. Operating in traditionally under-served and institutionally neglected neighborhoods that lack sufficient community programs and safe public spaces, tSB reaches the most vulnerable youth.
Core principles:
- tSB believes fun, discovery and adventure are valuable and productive teaching tools.
- tSB seeks to harness and encourage the individual talents, strengths and abilities of all those involved with tSB – youth, mentors, staff and parents.
- tSB wants all participants to find their own distinctive voice and actively develops opportunities for speaking up — and listening.
- tSB reveres and nurtures the gifts of others and values treating all people with respect, dignity and compassion regardless of station or adversity in their lives.
- Breaking bread together and eating well are fundamental to tSB, and to a lifetime of health.
- tSB fervently believes in and supports the ability of youth to tackle challenging situations, to solve problems and to create a strong community built on social justice.
Company History
In 1994, a young snowboarder named Jay Bateman was killed in a tragic, drug-related murder. Community members saw this event as a call to action: no longer could we sit by while kids grew up absorbing messages of consumption and competition. A group of local activists decided to create a program where young people could come together to laugh, dream, think, and explore the true meaning of community: The Service Board was born.
Hard work paid off, and in January of 1995 we opened our doors to high-school students from across Seattle. In January of 2005, growing demand for tSB from students, parents, and schools led us to launch a second program based in the neighborhood of White Center, an area that is among the most culturally diverse in the region and has one of the highest per capita populations of young people.
Due to budget constraints in 2011, tSB community made the decision to unite the South End and White Center programs. Although this was a difficult decision to make, we are excited about reconnecting the two communities during our programming while we plan for an expansion of programming in our future.