OPPROTUNITY
Doneilous King
Educator, Event Curator & Consultant
Doneilous King is a lifelong Mohawk Valley resident who is happy to call this community home. As an educator, event curator and consultant, he has found ways to contribute through board service, sports enrichment, educational programs and community organizing. His connection to that work began with the people who raised him and the experiences he had growing up in Utica’s Cornhill neighborhood.
His grandmother, Ella Mae King, and his mother, Dorthea King-Simpson, showed him early on what it meant to get involved. They served in their church and community center and fought for social justice. “My grandmother Ella Mae King, and my mother Dorthea King-Simpson planted seeds while I was young.” Their example introduced him to the ways people could contribute to their community, something he now does through his own work.
For Doneilous, helping young people living in poverty is especially personal. “I am deeply connected to young people living in poverty, because I am a product of poverty.” Growing up in Cornhill, he and his friends did not have many connections to people with financial resources or people they had seen achieve their dreams. That limited what they imagined might be possible in their own lives. “We had minimal connections to people with affluence or to those that ever achieved their dreams.”
Basketball has been one of the ways Doneilous has gotten involved. Over the years, he has run King of Kings Pro Am Basketball Leagues, Doneilous King Basketball Academy and Utica City Rocks AAU. Along with his work in education and community organizing, those programs have given him different ways to contribute through an interest he can share with others. His involvement has also extended to music and events, including Brown Sugar: The Ultimate R&B Experience.
Connecting people is at the center of Network & Chill, an initiative designed to bring together professionals, entrepreneurs, influencers and people working to make a difference in the Mohawk Valley. Doneilous describes its purpose simply: “Network & Chill puts people in a room together, that normally aren’t in a room together.” The idea is to help people meet beyond their usual circles, giving them an opportunity to get to know others who live and work in the same region.
Having grown up with limited connections to people who had achieved their dreams, Doneilous understands why those introductions can matter. Through basketball, education and community events, he brings people together and has a chance to show others what is possible. “Being involved in the community brings joy to my life, as it provides me an opportunity to show others what is possible.”
That sense of joy is also where he suggests others begin when they want to help. Rather than trying to take on every need, Doneilous encourages people to consider what matters most to them. “I advise them to think about what brings them joy, or what social problem would they solve if money wasn’t an issue.” From there, he recommends finding others who are already involved. “Start with that one thing and find people working to solve that problem.” It gives someone a place to begin, with people who care about the same issue and are already working toward a solution.
This Thanksgiving, Doneilous is grateful for a sound mind, a healthy body and a loving family. He also appreciates being able to build his life in the community he has always called home while contributing to the lives of others. “Lastly, I am extremely blessed to live in an area where I can make a good living while enhancing the quality of life for my network and beyond.”
