Kirkland outlines volunteer roles and MLK Day service opportunities; city reports 2,300 volunteers in 2025

Kate Ryan, special projects coordinator for the city of Kirkland, outlined the scope of the city's volunteer program on the Jan. 8 episode of This Week in Kirkland, describing a range of roles from park stewardship with Green Kirkland Partnership to youth sports coaching, senior lunch assistants at the Peter Kirk Community Center and event support.

"So from in 2025, we had over 2,300 volunteers," Ryan said, adding that volunteers "combined, they served over 16,500 hours." She listed role categories including stewardship (park restoration, tree planting, adopt-a-road), recreation leaders and youth sports coaches, pedestrian flag stewards, and the city's bike-safety and community-event volunteer teams.

Ryan encouraged residents to use volunteer service as a way to gain experience and community connections. "You can learn how to plant a tree," she said, and noted some volunteer paths can lead to paid positions such as lifeguarding.

She also highlighted Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 19 and local opportunities for residents: Green Kirkland stewardship events, adopt-a-road sponsor cleanups, and partner-led efforts to support human services providers including Sophia Way, New Bethlehem Family Shelter, the city's safe parking program, and local nursery networks. Ryan noted a Bloodworks Northwest drive at Holy Family on Jan. 19 and pointed listeners to kirklandwa.gov/volunteer and United Way of King County listings for sign-ups and details.

The program's emphasis, Ryan said, is both civic impact and personal connection: volunteers help run community events such as Lunar New Year and Fourth of July programming and help maintain parks and neighborhood assets. The city will include links and sign-up information in the episode show notes.

Next steps: residents interested in volunteering can visit the city's volunteer page for role descriptions and registration information.