A Real Estate Group that Gives Back: How Ensemble helps their team realize community values

We hung out with members of the real estate team at Ensemble — dedicated volunteers who show up month after month as part of their corporate giving program. Read how volunteering together has strengthened their connection and activated their company values in a meaningful way. 

Showing Up Together

We got to sit down with Cait, Christopher, and Melissa from Ensemble — Seattle’s first cooperative real estate brokerage — to talk about why they volunteer their time and how giving back together has become part of who they are as a company.

It all began when a colleague shared a post about Backpack Brigade’s Educational Luncheon with guest speaker Dr. Ben Danielson. Colleagues Cait and Melissa decided to attend, not knowing much about Backpack Brigade but curious about advocacy in the community. After learning that 1 in 5 school children in Greater Seattle are food insecure, and that Backpack Brigade works with local communities to provide weekend hunger bags to local students in need, they came back to their team with a simple message: there is a need in the community and Backpack Brigade is addressing it on a consistent, weekly basis. 

From there, it grew naturally. After the Luncheon was our Winter Gala, a night to ensure we maintain stability in our program while “dashing” for dessert. Then a decision to do something more consistent.

“We give financially to different causes throughout the year,” Melissa explains. “But finding something we could all do together—hands-on—felt really meaningful.”

What began as a one-time experience turned into a shared practice for a core group at Ensemble. They show up regularly now—packing bags, working side by side, making it a fun way to activate their values as a team. Every hour they spend packing helps ensure children facing food insecurity have reliable meals and support when they need it most. 

What Keeps them Coming Back

Ask any of them why they volunteer, and they all come back with the same core idea: perspective.

“For me, it’s a little selfish,” Christopher says, smiling. “It brings me joy. It gets me out of my own head.” It’s something he learned early on, watching his mom give her time to others throughout her life as a nurse. That example stuck—and now, volunteering serves as a reset for him. 

“It reminds me how lucky I am,” he says. “And it helps me focus on something bigger than myself.”

For Cait, the impact hit immediately.

“I’ve never had to wonder where my next meal is coming from,” she says. “Realizing that there are kids who do—it’s heartbreaking.” That awareness doesn’t end with her volunteer shift in the warehouse. “It really puts everything into perspective,” she adds. “And it reminds you that even small actions can matter.”

A Different Lens on the Same City

In their day-to-day work, the team navigates conversations about housing, access, and affordability. “It’s easy in our industry to get focused on wealth,” Christopher says. “Transactions, numbers, all of that.”

Volunteering interrupts that.

“It reminds you that everyone has a story you don’t see,” he continues. “You don’t know what someone’s dealing with outside of your interaction with them.”

For Melissa, the realization was more direct. “In a place like King County, with so much wealth, learning how many kids are food insecure was shocking,” she says. “It’s hard to reconcile.”

That tension, between abundance and need, is part of what keeps them engaged.

The Work Itself

The act of packing bags is simple. Repetitive. Physical. And that’s part of the appeal.

Melissa gleefully declared that packing "definitely taps into my love of organization—checking things off, staying on track.“ 

“There’s something really satisfying about it,” Cait says. “You’re checking things off, working together—it lets your brain rest.” 

For Christopher, it’s a welcome shift from the mental pace of daily work.

“We spend so much time talking and problem-solving,” he says. “This is different. It’s grounding.”

But beyond the process, there’s an awareness of the impact of the work.

“You’re packing something a hungry kid is going to open,” Cait says. “That matters.”

Seeing the Impact

Sometimes, the impact shows up in ways they don’t expect.

After Christopher started volunteering, he mentioned it to a neighbor—a retired teacher who had spent decades in local schools.

“She immediately knew Backpack Brigade,” he says. “She told me how much those bags meant to her students.” She described how kids reacted when they received them. How it changed their weekends. Even how they returned to school on Mondays.

“It was really validating,” Christopher says. “To hear what it actually means on the other side.”

Built into the Culture

At Ensemble, volunteering isn’t separate from their work—it’s part of it.

Melissa shares, “When someone brings a cause they’re passionate about, the whole group rallies around it.” They show up.

“That’s how this started,” Melissa says. “We just shared it with each other—and everyone wanted to be part of it.”

That collective buy-in is a part of what makes Ensemble such a unique company. “We’re a member-led, not-for-profit brokerage, so giving back is part of who we are,” Christopher says. “It’s not just about writing checks—it’s about showing up consistently.” 

Ready to make an impact outside the office? Learn how corporate groups give back here.