Mariner High student a Day of Service veteran

At 17, Kim Tran is an experienced volunteer. She got her start several years ago by pitching in on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Now a Mariner High School senior, Tran was a ninth-grader when she joined other teens cleaning an Everett home as part of the MLK Day of Service. The annual event is organized by several nonprofits in Snohomish County, including United Way.

“People really do appreciate teens doing some of the chores they aren’t able to do,” Tran said Monday. “The projects I have done have mostly been cleaning houses for elders who have medical issues. Teens have cleaned kitchens, washed dishes, vacuumed or cleaned bathrooms.”

This year’s King holiday, Jan. 20, will be her fourth one helping with what United Way calls “a day on, not a day off.” About 300 high school students are expected to join in the one-day effort, said Sara Haner, a communications manager for the local United Way.

Dennis Smith, president and CEO of United Way of Snohomish County, said the civil rights leader’s teachings pair perfectly with volunteerism, with the day’s emphasis on compassion and community. “This national day of service provides a way to put those ideals into action,” Smith said in a statement.

Around the country, the day of service is an answer to this often-quoted King query: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

Service projects in Snohomish County that day will include working on a home-construction project for low-income families, leading exercises for adults with disabilities, and housecleaning. Last year, high school kids even took glue sticks in hand to help people make Valentine cards at Full Life Care, an adult day health care facility in Everett.

The sign-up deadline for this year’s day of service is Jan. 13. Volunteer slots for specific projects fill quickly. School clubs, Scout troops and friends wanting to work together are encouraged to register as groups. Teens may also sign up individually.

The YMCA of Snohomish County, Catholic Community Services and Senior Corps’ Retired &Senior Volunteer Program are United Way’s partners in the day of service.

Tran is now part of an advisory board aimed at helping make the day a success. “Because of that first MLK Day freshman year, I’ve ventured on to different volunteer experiences. It opened a lot of doors,” she said.

For Tran, there’s something better than sleeping late on a day off from school.

“When one client saw how clean her house was — just seeing her smile — she really did appreciate it,” Tran said.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

How to help

Teens ages 14 to 19 are welcome to volunteer Jan. 20 for the MLK Day of Service, sponsored by United Way of Snohomish County. Sign-up deadline is Jan. 13. Register online at www.uwsc.org/mlkday.php. Information: 425-374-5526 or email youthunited@uwsc.org

This article has been edited since it was first posted online to more accurately reflect sponsorship of the MLK Day of Service.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.