The Leadership Institute of South Puget Sound recently reached out to help the Auburn Food Bank.

The class divided into teams and went to work, joining volunteers from the food bank to remove the worn carpet at the food bank and assisting Newcastle Flooring in putting in a new one.

Newcastle Flooring donated supplies and provided labor for the institute's community service project. Lowe's also donated tools to the effort.

"It came out great. It gave it a great facelift," said Casey Steiner, a Boeing employee and institute member.

Along with Steiner, other institute team members involved in the project included Kathy Schneider (Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce); Chauntelle Kristek (Kent Parks, Recreation and Community Services); Jamie Sidell (Auburn Police Department); and Tracy Johnson (Valley Cities Counseling & Consultation).

The institute approached Debbie Christian, the food bank's executive director, last fall about doing the possibility of doing a project to help her center.

In addition, the institute established an online donation tool on the food bank Web site at www.skcfc.org/donatetoauburn/.

Donors now have the opportunity to give online through a one-time donation or recurring donations deducted monthly, quarterly or annually.

The class would like to thank those who made the food bank project possible, especially Newcastle Flooring and Lowe's.

The Leadership Institute of South Puget Sound is a structured, tuition-based adult leadership development program, organized to prepare adults for future civic and business leadership positions. Leadership Institute is administered by the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Kent, Greater Renton and the Southwest King County Chambers of Commerce.

To learn more, visit www.auburnareawa.org/.

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