When I dropped my son off at preschool this morning, it was 29 degrees outside.  Not a warm morning to say the least, but at least it wasn’t raining, and I was off to help a group of volunteers build a playground at West Fenwick Park in Kent.

What I found when I arrived was about 30 volunteers from United Way, The Seattle Seahawks, GMC and a playground building company Sitelines, all digging in the frozen earth and laughing.

The build was part of GMC’s Monday Night Football Tour, which partnered up with local United Ways in nine different cities to build a playground the Tuesday morning following a Monday Night Football game.   So last night while the Seahawks were dismantling the St. Louis Rams, they were also preparing to make the lives of many kids in Kent a whole lot brighter.

What struck me as I was working with the other volunteers was how this national GMC campaign felt so hyper-local.  I was helping install a slide with me on one end, someone who’d flown in from Alexandria Virginia on the other end, and an employee of the city of Kent in the middle.  We learned that West Fenwick is one of the busiest parks in the city of Kent.   Busses loaded with preschoolers, after-school civic groups and others come to the park all year round and while there’s no shortage of green space, the current playground equipment can’t accommodate a large number of kids.

It’s no surprise to me that professional sports franchises have a large following of people that want to be associated with them, to feel close to them.  It’s why the national NFL and United Way partnership works so well.  United Ways get a little extra publicity and the NFL franchises are connected to opportunities to make a difference.

But it’s different here.  We are lucky to have the Seattle Seahawks in our community.  Not only do they want to make our community a better place to live and work, they want to learn how they can do more.

Just last month they went out with us to the Compass Housing Day Center downtown and provided backpacks full of supplies and served lunch to people experiencing homelessness.   Next month in celebration of MLK day, they are opening the doors to CenturyLink to help homeless people get the services they need all in one place and in one day at our Community Resource Exchange.

The Seattle Seahawks have redefined what the NFL and United Way partnership can look like, and all of us who live here are better for it.   Think about that the next time you see Marshawn Lynch rumble into the end zone for his Skittle treat, and find out how you can join the team.

Marcus Trufant lends a hand on a cold morning putting together the playground equipment