The Sammamish Sustainability Commission meeting on March 21, 2025, focused on a new initiative to track volunteer hours for its members. This effort aims to enhance accountability and recognition for the time commissioners dedicate to sustainability efforts in the community.

During the meeting, members discussed the importance of logging volunteer hours, which will be crucial for internal reporting and grant applications. "This helps you guys," emphasized a commission member, highlighting that tracking hours demonstrates the commission's active engagement and commitment to sustainability. The initiative is particularly beneficial for students like Brian, who are required to log volunteer hours for school.

Commissioners were instructed to sign up on the Galaxy platform using their Sammamish email addresses to facilitate this tracking. The process was outlined step-by-step, ensuring that all members could easily register and log their hours. "We'll take 2 to 5 minutes at the end of each meeting to log our hours together," one member noted, aiming for a streamlined approach to record-keeping.

In addition to tracking hours for meetings, commissioners can log time spent on events like Earth Day and Farmers Markets, which will contribute to their overall volunteer metrics. This data will not only help in recognizing individual contributions but also in showcasing the commission's collective impact to the community and potential funders.

The meeting concluded with a commitment to revisit the tracking process regularly, ensuring that all members are engaged and informed about their contributions to sustainability initiatives in Sammamish.