By Kris Nielander, NLC Volunteer Services Coordinator
Over the past 51 years, Neighborhood Legal Clinics has become a staple in the legal aid community in King County. Though the structure of the program and the trends around folks’ legal issues have evolved over time, the earnest dedication of NLC’s volunteer community remains steadfast. On the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, NLC hosted a trivia night at the KCBA office to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate its volunteers — including volunteers from NLC’s partner clinics.
In total, nearly 50 people packed the KCBA office, including general clinic attorneys, debt and bankruptcy clinic attorneys, family law clinic attorneys, immigration clinic attorneys, clinic assistants, intake and referral interns, Federal Civil Rights Clinic staff and attorneys, volunteers and staff from LBAW/El Centro de la Raza who work on the Spanish Language Partner Clinic, and volunteers from ABAW who work with the International District Partner Clinic.
As folks trickled in, the space was filled with laughter, hopeful stories, and much-needed connection. Many folks who had been communicating via email for months (or maybe even years!) finally got the opportunity to meet in person, and new connections were made. As folks lined up to get food catered by Off the Rez, long-time NLC volunteer Mike Goldenkranz delivered some brief remarks. After sharing humorous and thoughtful reflections on his time volunteering with NLC, he reminded the crowd of the quote, “You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give,” which sums up the spirit shown by so many of our volunteers.
Shortly after, trivia began! Folks divided up into teams (and cheerleaders, for those who preferred to observe) and answered questions on three categories: Legally Blonde, King County Neighborhoods, and Music from Social Movements in the USA from the 1960s to now. During the rounds, the energy of friendly competition was palpable. At key moments, the room was filled with stumped silences, collective cheers, huge AHHHHs, and lightbulb moments. The final jeopardy category was Recent Local Sports News, which led to the victory of the purple team — aka the Etsy Witches — for each member to receive $15 gift cards from a selection of local businesses.
The conversations kept flowing right up until the parking garage was about to close.
Right now, things are tough for a lot of folks in our community and in our country — and things were tough before, too. In the short time that our volunteers have to work with each client, they may experience secondhand the client’s overwhelm and urgency as they describe their situation, encounter situations where there isn’t a clear solution to a client’s problem and have to deliver that difficult news, and/or navigate a meeting when a client is in crisis. Though our volunteers are primarily there to offer legal knowledge and support, they also navigate some challenging emotional dynamics — especially as challenges in our world escalate — and that can take a toll.
Cultivating intentional space for joy, play, gratitude, and nurturing strong community relationships is key to making the work in those challenging moments sustainable. This volunteer appreciation event was an effort to offer that kind of space to our volunteers. Looking ahead, we will continue fostering these opportunities in our work culture and in the quality of our interactions during the day-to-day work of the clinics.
Let this be a reminder for all of us to lean into our communities, to be disciplined about finding delight and joy, and to let ourselves be grateful for the good things — even on those really tough days.
Thank you very much to everyone in the NLC community, both those who attended and those who could not! Keep taking care, everyone!
