Connect with someone with a conscience

MOLLY GILMORE; For The Olympian | • Published November 02, 2009

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Singles can mix, mingle and make a difference Saturday at Speed Dating for the Socially Conscious.

“We know that there are a lot of single people out there who are really interested in social causes, and we want to bring them together to meet each other,” said Sara Ballard, executive director of the Volunteer Center of Lewis, Mason and Thurston Counties, which is hosting the event with the dating service Table for Two.

Singles are welcome to attend and do community service whether or not they want to try speed dating, which matches couples for short conversations. After the conversations, participants mark whether they want to be in contact with each of their mini-dates again later; if the interest goes both ways, a couple will get contact information for one another.

The plan is to group participants by age and to have people for everyone to meet, said Wendy Dillon, owner of Table for Two. All sexual orientations are welcome.

“We’re really hoping that people will register in advance, because it makes planning so much easier,” she said.

The event also will include appetizers, a no-host bar, and, of course, the community service component. Those attending will make holiday stockings for foster children who’ll be receiving gifts through Capital Kids Connection.

There also will be a giving tree; singles can select someone to help who is a client of Capital Kids, United Communities AIDS Network (UCAN), or the Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counties.

Part of the proceeds from the event will go to UCAN and the Crisis Clinic, too.

The idea, Ballard said, is to find new volunteers, new friends — and just maybe a new romantic connection.

“We want to connect people to volunteer opportunities,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know where to find those. And it’s fun. And you might meet somebody who has the same core values you do.”