MLK Day of Service in Seattle

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (third Monday in January) is one of the biggest single days of volunteering in the Puget Sound region. United Way of King County anchors the official calendar, but dozens of parks groups, food banks and habitat teams run work parties the same morning.

The projects below are one-day-friendly: show up, work a shift, no long-term commitment.

46 organizations match this guide — updated August 2026.

City Fruit

Prune, net and harvest surplus urban fruit from public orchards and backyard trees for delivery to 30+ local food banks.

Environment & OutdoorsFood SecuritySeattle

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

City of Bellevue Volunteers

Steward parks and the Botanical Garden, coach youth sports, perform with Bellevue Youth Theatre, and serve on civic boards.

Environment & OutdoorsArts, Culture & MuseumsBellevue

12+Groups welcomeFlexible schedule

City of Kirkland Volunteers

Restore natural areas with Green Kirkland, help at senior lunches and special events, and serve on boards and commissions.

Environment & OutdoorsHuman ServicesKirkland

12+Groups welcomeFlexible schedule

City of Redmond Volunteers

Join park stewardship, special events, senior programs, teen services and community-court roles across the city.

Environment & OutdoorsHuman ServicesRedmond

12+Groups welcomeFlexible schedule

City of Renton Volunteers

Support parks beautification, farmers market, River Days, youth sports, senior programs, storm-drain marking, and emergency management.

Human ServicesEnvironment & OutdoorsRenton

12+Groups welcomeFlexible schedule

City of SeaTac Volunteer Program

Assist at special events, park restorations, recycling events, the police front desk, and advisory committees.

Human ServicesEnvironment & OutdoorsSeaTac

12+Groups welcomeFlexible schedule

College Success Foundation

Serve as scholarship application readers each spring and support events for low-income, first-generation scholars.

Youth & EducationBellevue

18+One-time friendly

Duwamish Alive Coalition

Join twice-yearly multi-site river cleanups, kayak debris removals, and salmon habitat restoration from Auburn to Seattle.

Environment & OutdoorsTukwila

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Duwamish River Community Coalition

Restore riverbank habitat, remove litter and invasives, and support community science and events along the Duwamish Superfund site in South Park and Georgetown.

Environment & OutdoorsSeattle

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

EarthCorps

Join work parties removing invasive plants, planting natives, and restoring shorelines, streams and parks throughout the Salish Sea region.

Environment & OutdoorsSeattle

10+Groups welcomeOne-time friendly

Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance

Build and maintain sustainable mountain-bike trails at Duthie Hill, Tiger Mountain, Colonnade and chapter work parties statewide.

Environment & OutdoorsRegion-wide / Multiple cities

12+Groups welcomeOne-time friendly

Federal Way Community Gardens Foundation

Tend organic community gardens whose harvest goes to neighbors in need while learning gardening skills.

Environment & OutdoorsFood SecurityFederal Way

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Forterra / Green City Partnerships

Restore forested neighborhood parks through 14 regional Green City partnerships logging 115,000+ volunteer hours annually.

Environment & OutdoorsRegion-wide / Multiple cities

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery

Lead hatchery tours, deliver salmon education, and support operations and community events.

Environment & OutdoorsIssaquah

All agesGroups welcomeFlexible schedule

Green Everett Partnership

Restore Everett's forested parks through invasive removal and native planting events.

Environment & OutdoorsEverett / Mukilteo

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Green Issaquah Partnership

Forest Stewards and helpers lead restoration of Issaquah's forested parks and open spaces.

Environment & OutdoorsIssaquah

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Green Kirkland Partnership

Remove invasives and plant natives to restore Kirkland's forested parks at year-round work parties.

Environment & OutdoorsKirkland

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Green Redmond Partnership

Join forest-restoration work parties caring for Redmond's urban parks and natural areas.

Environment & OutdoorsRedmond

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Green SeaTac Partnership

Restore urban forest in SeaTac parks through tree planting, weeding and mulching events like Green SeaTac Day.

Environment & OutdoorsSeaTac

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Green Seattle Partnership

Remove invasives and plant native trees in Seattle's forested parklands; trained Forest Stewards adopt and lead individual sites.

Environment & OutdoorsSeattle

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Green Tukwila Partnership

Join restoration work parties removing invasives, planting natives and mulching across Tukwila's parks and urban forests.

Environment & OutdoorsTukwila

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Henry Art Gallery

Occasionally assist during events and exhibition openings at the UW's contemporary art museum.

Arts, Culture & MuseumsSeattle

18+One-time friendly

InterIm CDA / Danny Woo Community Garden

Weed, compost and maintain the Chinatown-ID's largest green space alongside elder immigrant gardeners, or support the WILD youth leadership program.

Culture & HeritageEnvironment & OutdoorsHousing & HomelessnessSeattle

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Issaquah Alps Trails Club

Lead guided hikes, advocate for public lands, and run trail-building and habitat-restoration events on Tiger, Squak, Cougar and Rattlesnake Mountains.

Environment & OutdoorsIssaquah

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Kent Parks Outdoor Conservation Events

Participate in habitat restoration and conservation work parties in Kent parks and open spaces.

Environment & OutdoorsKent

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

King Conservation District

Pot, weed and water native plants at the Native Plant Nursery and join stream and wetland restoration events countywide.

Environment & OutdoorsRenton

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Kirkland Nourishing Network

Coordinate school-break food boxes and grocery cards for food-insecure Lake Washington School District families.

Food SecurityKirkland

12+Groups welcomeOne-time friendly

Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI)

Build tiny houses, landscape and paint tiny-house village sites, and assemble meals and supply donations for villagers.

Housing & HomelessnessSeattle

14+Groups welcomeOne-time friendly

Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group

Revegetate Sammamish River banks with native trees and shrubs to cool water for Chinook salmon and steelhead.

Environment & OutdoorsWoodinville

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust

Trail maintenance and construction, forest restoration, native plant nursery work and Trailhead Ambassador duty across the I-90 Greenway.

Environment & OutdoorsRegion-wide / Multiple cities

10+Groups welcomeFlexible schedule

Nepal Seattle Society

Help unite people of Nepali origin in Washington through cultural events, community programs and the Nepali Community Center project.

Refugees & ImmigrantsSeattle

12+Groups welcomeOne-time friendly

Orca Conservancy

Support Be Whale Wise boater education, salmon habitat restoration, oil-spill response prep and outreach.

Environment & OutdoorsSeattle

18+Flexible schedule

Orca Network

Report whale sightings as citizen scientists, staff the Langley Whale Center, and help with marine-mammal stranding response and education.

Environment & OutdoorsWhidbey Island

18+Flexible schedule

Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center

Restore habitat, tend the Kids' Farm garden and glean field produce weekly for Hopelink and other hunger-relief partners.

Environment & OutdoorsFood SecurityDuvall / Carnation

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Puget Soundkeeper Alliance

Clean beaches, paddle waterways collecting debris, and monitor pollution across Puget Sound.

Environment & OutdoorsSeattle

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Seattle Aquarium

Interpret exhibits for guests, join Youth Ocean Advocates, and serve as Beach Naturalists and salmon-journey naturalists.

Arts, Culture & MuseumsEnvironment & OutdoorsSeattle

16+Background checkRegular commitment

Seattle ReCreative

Sort donated art and craft supplies, stock the reuse store, and divert usable materials from the landfill.

Environment & OutdoorsArts, Culture & MuseumsSeattle

14+Groups welcomeFlexible schedule

SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve

Restoration assistants, boardwalk stewards, nature-walk leads and event helpers protect a 5,000-year-old peat bog.

Environment & OutdoorsRenton

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Sierra Club Washington State Chapter

Activists serve on issue committees (wildlife, public lands, climate), organize outings and run grassroots campaigns statewide.

Environment & OutdoorsSeattle

18+Groups welcomeRegular commitment

Sound Salmon Solutions (Stilly-Snohomish Fisheries Task Force)

Assist weekend riparian plantings, vegetation and water-quality monitoring, nursery care and school programs in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds.

Environment & OutdoorsEverett / Mukilteo

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Sustainable Renton

Glean, sort and distribute rescued food, tend Greens-for-Good gardens, and host free community meals.

Food SecurityEnvironment & OutdoorsRenton

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Tilth Alliance

Weed, plant and harvest produce for food banks at Rainier Beach Urban Farm, Good Shepherd Center, Bradner Gardens and McAuliffe Park.

Environment & OutdoorsFood SecuritySeattle

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Washington Trails Association

Join day and backcountry work parties building and maintaining hiking trails statewide — no experience needed.

Environment & OutdoorsRegion-wide / Multiple cities

10+Groups welcomeOne-time friendly

Whale Scout

Plant native trees and pull invasives at Helpin' Out salmon-habitat restoration events benefiting endangered orcas' food supply.

Environment & OutdoorsBothell

All agesGroups welcomeOne-time friendly

Woodland Park Zoo

Zoo ambassadors engage guests and facilitate experiences, with later roles in docent education and horticulture.

Arts, Culture & MuseumsEnvironment & OutdoorsSeattle

18+Background checkRegular commitment

Zero Waste Washington

Contribute research, policy analysis, FAQ writing and event support advancing waste-prevention legislation.

Environment & OutdoorsSeattle

16+Flexible schedule

Making it work

United Way opens its official MLK Day project registry in December — browse it alongside the list below
January work parties happen rain or shine; boots and layers matter more than gloves
Schools often release students to participate — teens count these hours for service requirements

These 46 listings are part of a larger directory of 187 organizations across the Puget Sound region.

Browse the full directory →