Yurie Seubert loves working with children, and luckily for her, she gets to do just that as an Adventure Assistant Volunteer for Beach Cities Health District’s (BCHD) AdventurePlex.

Native to Tokyo, Yurie worked as a physical education teacher until 2013 when she decided to move to Portland, Oregon to learn English. There, she met her husband and moved to Redondo Beach last November to be with him.

Unable to work right away due to her visa, Yurie began to look for ways to spend her time. “I thought volunteering would be a good opportunity to meet new people and to get used to the culture,” explained Yurie. Her search for volunteer opportunities led her to BCHD—from there, her love of working with children led her to AdventurePlex.

As an Adventure Assistant, Yurie helps supervise children, organize the facility and cleanup toys. A favorite memory she often shares is summer camp, a time when she was able to play and connect with the children.

Yurie enjoys her time as a volunteer and thinks BCHD’s program is good for all people. She adds, “everyone there is so friendly and kind!”

Her supervisor Brenda Reyes explains, “Yurie is constantly being pulled in many directions at AdventurePlex and does each role with enthusiasm. She always goes beyond what is asked of her and continuously demonstrates compassion in everything she does. She loves working with the kids and you see this when she interacts with them.”

When Yurie isn’t volunteering with children, she enjoys watching movies and going for walks. Her word of advice to others thinking about volunteering is “helping people to be healthy makes you think about your health too. It will be fun and you’ll enjoy volunteering!”

Written with thanks to Christina Parisi