As part of King County Juneteenth celebrations, King County Juvenile Detention threw a Fun Fest for youth detained in the facility. For the youth, it was an opportunity to expand their learning during the break between school sessions. For those volunteering, it was opportunity to teach young people different life lessons. Spanning three days, Fun Fest offered three different programs for youth to participate in, picking one that interested them. The most popular was the Football Camp, which taught the youth the importance of teamwork and trust as well as football fundamentals…. Read More

One Tuesday in February, Jeff Switzer went back to school with his two sons as part of a King County program that allows employees to volunteer at local schools. Dressed in a white t-shirt with the WATCH D.O.G.S logo on the front, he picked up his itinerary for the day from school officials and made his way to the cafeteria to help feed students on reduced priced meals. Switzer, a Public Affairs Coordinator for King County Department of Transportation, was using one of his allowed school volunteer sick leave days. The code – School Volunteer Leave, section 14.5 in the… Read More

When Doug Marsano heard that a fourth grade class was reaching out to King County proposing a plan to clean up the Duwamish River, he instantly wanted to be involved. Contacting the teacher and Susan Tallarico, Director of the Brightwater Education Center, they organized a plan. “It was the perfect partnership,” Tallarico said. “We get to work with kids to enhance their learning and build their interest in conservation that will hopefully continue as they become adults.” Marsano, a Water Quality Planner with King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division, said that WTD and King County are always looking for ways to provide information in the most appropriate way. Sometimes, the best… Read More

In Washington State, 75 percent of prison inmates do not have a high school diploma. That’s why Stephanie Sato, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Senior Specialist in Truancy Intervention, is passionate about education. “Basically education re-engagement is crime prevention. When I worked in our juvenile division I got to see it for myself. The students skipping school—they’re not bad kids—maybe there are problems at home. But, if you don’t catch truancy early, they fall behind,” Sato said. “It spirals out of control into criminal activity, and I don’t know if the kids even… Read More

Every morning on his way to work, Dan Malone stops by King County’s Goat Hill Garden for a few minutes to rip up some weeds and make sure plants are growing as they should. Malone and fellow Goat Hill Garden Coordinator Heather Whitten, along with other King County employee-volunteers, tend and manage garden maintenance and growth on their lunch breaks and before and after work at the garden located across from the Chinook Building in downtown Seattle. Malone, a new Goat Hill Garden Coordinator, and Whitten, a veteran coordinator, have a few… Read More

To build trust between law enforcement and Hispanic community in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, Sheriff’s Office Community Service Officer Dahlia Corona started a workshop series called “Nurturing Trust, With Family, With Community – Padres Unidos-Familias Seguras.” “You’ll find that when there is a language barrier or a cultural barrier then there’s a disconnect between the police and the community,” Corona said. The workshops focus on topics such as positive discipline, domestic violence and child abuse, bullying, drug prevention and leadership in the community, and the role that law enforcement plays in… Read More