Leadership Skagit partners with Oasis Teen Shelter for backyard makeover

Thanks to a partnership with Leadership Skagit’s Team Rising Tide, the backyard at our Oasis Teen Shelter is getting a makeover. 

The Rising Tide team, composed of leaders from around Skagit County participating in the Class of 2022 program, will be planting arborvitae in Oasis’s backyard to help improve safety, security, and privacy for youth who come to Oasis. Additionally, they have secured donations of a firepit, a railing, and a storage shed for the space that will transform the outdoor area at Oasis into a safer and more inclusive environment. 

“Far too often, we meet youth who are at risk of immediate harm in our community,” Oasis Director Ariell Wright shares. “Oasis works to serve these youth by providing them with the space they deserve – a space to feel comfortable and content. It is truly a privilege to partner with Leadership Skagit in their generous efforts to offer our youth a phenomenal outdoor space!” 

BYK Construction, Sound Cedar Lumber, Quantum Construction, Craft Stove, and Kaptein’s Ace Hardware are all pitching in to help make the project a reality. BYK Construction will contribute the bulk of the labor and materials, including planting the arborvitae, widening the cement walkways, building a retaining wall for the firepit area, and installing several gates; Sound Cedar will help build a railing; Quantum Construction will help build the storage shed; Craft Stoves is donating the firepit; and Kaptein Ace Hardware is donating shrubs and garden tools. Renovations of the yard space are set to begin later this spring with a completion date of mid-May the goal. 

“All young people deserve a fun summer break, and this backyard glow-up will provide that for the Oasis youth,” Oasis Coordinator Dani Hodge says. “We are already looking forward to cozy nights around the firepit, lawn games, and cookouts.” 

Team Rising Tide is one of five teams in Leadership Skagit’s Class of 2022. Their team purpose is “to strengthen our community and our future leaders by making sustainable, positive change and increasing equity for all in Skagit County with a focus on empowering youth.” In renovating Oasis’s backyard, they hope to provide a sense of place, pride, and connection for teens who use the space. 

“It has been such an amazing and meaningful experience to be a part of Leadership Skagit and work with Oasis Teen Shelter and the Skagit Valley Family YMCA to overhaul their backyard space,” Andrea Harrison, one of the members of Team Rising Tide, says. “There is no better feeling than being united as a team and bringing leaders together to make a lasting impact in our community!” 

“Oasis couldn’t survive without support from our community,” Hodge adds. “We are so grateful to Leadership Skagit and their community partners for their hard work and dedication. It’s clear everyone involved wants to do something special for the youth, and it’s wonderful to see!” 

If you have questions about the project or Leadership Skagit, please contact Marina Martinez at [email protected]. 

Team Rising Tide: 

• Mary Staley (Marketing with Mary) (Team Advisor) 
• Chistopher Grudger-Raines (Mount Vernon First Methodist Church) 
• Craig Chambers (United Way of Skagit County) 
• Keith Love (Port of Skagit) 
• Marina Martinez (Skagit County District Court Probation) 
• Bridget Ibarra (Skagit County Treasurer’s Office) 
• Andrea Harrison (Brigid Collins Family Support Center)