Seattle Tech Volunteer Group Organizes in Bellevue

Bellevue tech professionals could find a volunteer connection with local nonprofits, as a Seattle group explores branching out to the Eastside.

Seattle Net Tuesday, a tech volunteer group modeled on similar efforts in San Francisco, is launching a Bellevue edition in the hopes of helping community-minded technology professionals pay it forward by volunteering their time and skills to help nonprofits.

Sean DeButts, current organizer of Seattle Net Tuesday, has scheduled a tech mixer in Bellevue from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 25 at the , 550 106th Ave. NE, to build a database of east side tech volunteers by skills and local nonprofits by technology needs. He also is seeking volunteers to help run Bellevue Net Tuesday, which he plans to launch here as an offshoot of Seattle Net Tuesday. Interested participants can RSVP for the free event here.

DeButts has himself been part of Seattle Net Tuesday for several years and has done volunteer work for Puget Sound Blood Center, where he also works part-time as that organization’s social media coordinator.

DeButts says that though Seattle Net Ten has held periodic events on the Eastside, he would like to provide opportunities for the tech-rich area to volunteer, especially in case the planned toll on state Route 520 makes appealing for Eastside talent to attend events in downtown Bellevue.

"People here are volunteer-oriented," said DeButts. "But I think it’s a resource we could have more of here."

He hopes to attract participants from small and large corporations such as Microsoft, which sponsors a volunteer month every October and whose employees show altruism in other ways.

“They’re one of the biggest donors of blood in the area,” he says.

DeButts says he’s considering creating a nonprofit LLC for Bellevue Net Tuesday, but he’s looking for more people to help with the leadership of the group.

Seattle Net Ten was started about two years ago by Sameer Siruguri and Sarah Schacht, who have both become more involved in other activities, leaving DeButts in charge of that group, which has 217 members.

One of the organizations assisted by Seattle Net Ten is CoolMoms, a nonprofit dedicated to climate change. CoolMoms needed a website overhaul to improve the communication between the CoolMoms groups and the online calendar that helps the group expand their reach nationally.

Skills that nonprofits need include social media expertise, website design, software training, graphic design, mobile marketing and database management, to name a few.

Nonprofit organizations won't be the only ones that benefit. The group aims to benefit tech professionals, as well, including scheduling speakers and educational events along with the mixers.

For DeButts, the biggest reason to get involved is simple: “just to do good."