Seattle Seeks Volunteers to Help With Litter, Graffiti

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle will hold a citywide “day of service” in May offering thousands of volunteer opportunities in an event Mayor Bruce Harrell hopes will be a symbol of how his administration plans to beautify the city.

Rather than a budget boost or a new devotion of city resources, Harrell is appealing to civic goodwill to help clear litter, weeds, debris and graffiti, The Seattle Times reported.

Do something about it

More than 80 city-organized cleanup and volunteer events will take place May 21. Some of the options include picking up litter in Ballard, clearing trails in Jackson Park, working on community gardens in the Chinatown International District, sorting donations at downtown shelters and building tiny homes near the Duwamish River.

“This is going to be symbolic of how we’re going to get things done in our city,”

Harrell said Monday. “People want to help. Employers want to help, employees want to help.”

Everyone who volunteers for the day of service, Harrell said, will have a sense of self-fulfillment that they did something about a problem rather than just complaining, and a T-shirt.

The city annually spends about $3.7 million on graffiti removal and has the equivalent of about 15 full-time employees devoted to the problem. Harrell said he’s not yet sure if the city needs to devote more money to it.

People can register to volunteer at seattle.gov/dayofservice.