Everyday Greatness Sather Gowdy

In our new feature, we recognize people who are making their communities better places to live.

- Linda Lawrence Hunt

who he is Sather Gowdy is a law student at Gonzaga University, a lifelong resident of Spokane, Washington, and the man behind Heal Spokane, a movement and nonprofit focused on improving his community. “Heal Spokane is dedicated to serving our city through acts of kindness,” he says. “I’m just a regular guy who is passionate about helping others and serving my neighbors.”

what he does “Heal Spokane is all about grassroots acts of service that support our most vulnerable populations,” Sather says. Over the past year, he has spent more than 500 hours doing everything from cleaning up trash and mending fences to buying food for food banks and building relationships with neighbors.

why he does it In October 2017, Sather felt as if his world were falling apart. He went through a bad break- up. He totaled his car. Then two close friends passed away within weeks of each other. Sather withdrew, avoiding going out.

Everything changed one day as Sather was returning home from class.

“I was ready to lock myself inside,” he says. “Then an elderly woman yelled from across the street, ‘Could you help me?’ She was tiny, grayhaired and standing by her car—the trunk was open and full of groceries. I helped her get them inside.”