‘It’s the Super Bowl of Volunteering’: Connecting Cause to MLK Week
The MLK Lunch & Learn Event is Today! Join us on January 23, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. to discuss how volunteers can embody Dr. King’s legacy by keeping community at the core. Led by Breauna Dorelus from Connecting The Cause, learn what it means to collaborate with the communities that we support. Join us online through our events page!
In Seattle on Monday morning, locals woke to stunning skies.
A crisp, clear blue that accentuated the snow glinting off Rainier, the Cascades, and the Olympics. It was one of those radiant winter mornings when, although the chilled air may bite, the sunshine sits heavily enough on any exposed skin to override winter woes.
Locals also woke to two major historical moments crammed into the same calendar day.
Monday marked the 25th national anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day—the biggest annual day of service in the United States—and Inauguration Day, the swearing-in of Donald J. Trump as the nation’s 47th president. There was much to do in our respective Washingtons.
Members of Seattle’s MLK Jr. Coalition spent the past year preparing for Monday, and plans included more than the march.

Across Garfield High School’s historic campus, people could attend free resume workshops, talk with employers at the opportunity fair, participate in youth-led programming, and join the ‘Rise Against Project 2025’ rally. Each year, United Way of King County partners with the coalition to help organize the volunteers needed to execute such a large event.
Alexis Silva, United Way of King County’s community and volunteer engagement manager, oversaw more than 200 volunteers.
“High schoolers, twenty-somethings, mothers with small children—all walks of life were represented, and that was the beautiful part,” Silva said. “They even had fro-yo and face-painting to entertain kids while parents talked to employers.”
Silva celebrated the event’s growth, but she also issued a word of warning to volunteers.
“MLK Jr. Day of Service has become the Super Bowl of days of service, but we need to think critically about the language we use around it,” Silva said. “Day of service–that’s one day. One day in the height of ‘new year, new me’ energy when people feel a push to serve.
“But there’s often no conversation about how to take that one day of service further,” Silva continued. “(United Way) encourages volunteers to continuously come back and expand their framework about how they show up. We invite volunteers to come to the table, center their voice in the conversation, and create lasting change through more than one day of contribution.”

Breauna Dorelus felt similarly.
Dorelus noticed people doing incredible volunteer work but often forgetting to remember the ‘why’ behind volunteerism; so she launched Connecting The Cause, a consultancy dedicated to changing that.
Dorelus will host a Lunch & Learn with United Way of King County on Thursday, January 23, 2025 to talk about her work and how to keep community at the core of volunteerism. Join the conversation on our events page.
United Way’s Emerging Leaders 365, a group of young professionals committed to making King County a stronger community, joined the volunteer effort to help pass out signs to rallies.
“This is my second year volunteering with United Way for MLK Day of Service and I am continuously impressed by how many opportunities there is to engage in this day,” said volunteer Michael Schwenke. “It was an inspiring day of seeing people from all walks of life coming together to build community and uplift one another. “
Around 1 p.m. on Monday, the parade left Garfield High. People chanted, calling for the dismantling of systems, resistance to Project 2025, and peaceful unity. The procession wound down 23rd Avenue and East Union Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. It ended outside of the Northwest African American Museum.
As the parade marched, Trump pardoned all January 6th defendants. As the rally called for unity among all types of people, Trump ordered the dismantling of government diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the next 60 days.
And in the midst of such national duality, it is vital to remember why we show up.
“There’s always going to be people you’re not aligned with, so finding those opportunities to come together—for an elevated job fair, for a peaceful march—to help a community flourish is awesome,” Silva said.

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