Alex Contreras (left) and Tony Perez clean bleachers Saturday morning at the Marysville Boys & Girls Club.

Alex Contreras (left) and Tony Perez clean bleachers Saturday morning at the Marysville Boys & Girls Club.

Comcast employees spruce up Marysville Boys & Girls Club

MARYSVILLE — When it rained, water seeped inside under the kitchen door. Someone had burned a couch in the alleyway on the building’s north side, leaving a charred patch of paint on the cinder-block wall. Pencils, paper, scissors, paints and other art and school supplies were in cardboard boxes and plastic bins, stacked in a corner of the computer lab.

Hundreds of kids have walked through the Marysville Boys &Girls Club since it opened in 2009 on Beach Avenue, but the 1950s-era gym is showing its age. The club’s skeleton staff did not have time or resources to tackle the list of maintenance jobs and improvement projects.

Dozens of volunteers in bright green T-shirts turned out this weekend to lend a hand. The project was part of Comcast Cares Day, a company-wide day of service that the telecommunications and media giant claims is the biggest single-day corporate volunteer effort in the country. Last year, more than 100,000 Comcast workers, family members and others volunteered, according to the company.

In Snohomish County, volunteers also cleaned up and improved a stretch of the Whitehorse Trail damaged in 2014’s deadly Oso mudslide.

In the Boys &Girls Club parking lot, Mike Graham, a Comcast maintenance technician, stretched out measuring tape along a two-by-four piece of lumber for custom-built shelves for the club’s computer lab. A nail gun popped as another volunteer ‘hammered’ a couple boards together.

Graham double checked his measurement, marked it with a pencil, put the measuring tape away, and pulled down on the power saw’s handle. The whirring blade buzzed through the wood. A block fell to the asphalt.

Thud.

Sawdust hung in the air.

The club smelled like work — sawdust in the parking lot, mulch outside the building’s front door, and cleaning products and paint inside.

Along the alleyway, near where the couch had burned, Davis Haymond was painting along the building’s trim.

Before they started, the beige paint “was kind of faded” and chipping, he said.

Volunteers already had replaced outside lights to discourage another couch burning.

Saturday usually is when Haymond cleans his own house, but, he said, this work meant a lot more.

The club’s director, Christina Trader, agreed.

“It means the world” to the more than 800 kids who belong to the club, which is open for ages 5 to 18, she said.

The club offers before- and after-school care, summer camps, sports teams and other programs. There is a Lego class, where a couple dozen 6- to 9-year-olds have designed and built machines that can pick up trash.

“The kids get so excited about their machines when they see them work,” Trader said.

She got an outside grant for STEM education to pay for the class.

About 100 girls and boys come by every school day, and about 120 in the summer. Everyone is fed, she said.

The club has 28 volleyball, flag football and basketball teams this spring. It has a similar number in the fall. “When I got here” in 2012, “there were three teams,” Trader said.

The Marysville club has steadily grown since then. It offers kids a safe, supportive place to hang out, do homework, play games and sports, and, well, be kids.

No one is turned away if they can’t cover participation fees, she said. “We always figure something out.”

Trader asked the club’s older kids to pick the paint colors for the teen room and the game room. They selected lime green and navy blue — the Seahawks’ and Sounders’ colors.

In the gym, Renee Doleshel, who’s husband works for Comcast, was sorting through board games and finding missing pieces with her daughter, Emma.

Doleshel said she is happy to give up a sunny, Spring Saturday to help the Boys &Girl Club.

“I’ve been doing Comcast Cares Days for nine years,” she said. “I love that Comcast allows us an opportunity to give back.”

Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

South County Fire plans push-in ceremony for newest fire engine

Anybody who attends will have the opportunity to help push the engine into the station.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

Britney Barber, owner of Everett Improv. Barber performs a shows based on cuttings from The Everett Herald. Photographed in Everett, Washington on May 16, 2022. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
August 9 will be the last comedy show at Everett Improv

Everett improv club closing after six years in business.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas talks to the crowd about the new "Imagine Monroe" city flag and symbol before the ribbon cutting on Monday, July 14, 2025 in Monroe, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Monroe unveils its new $17M City Hall and municipal court

Mayor Geoffrey Thomas showcased the new campus to residents, local and state officials during a celebration Monday.

National Weather Service issues red flag warning for slopes of Cascades

High temperatures, low humidity and winds are combining for critical fire weather conditions, either “imminent or occurring now.”

Photo courtesy of Graphite Arts Center
Amelia DiGiano’s photography is part of the “Seeing Our Planet” exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 9 at the Graphite Arts Center in Edmonds.
A&E Calendar for July 10

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Lynnwood
Lynnwood child, 4, accidentally shoots mother, father arrested

The child retrieved a loaded firearm from his father, who was asleep at the time, South County deputies said.

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.