CAMAS — The Downtown Camas Affiliation will deliver collectively a number of nonprofits and teams for its second annual Volunteer and Group Engagement Summit.
“We often hear that people want to volunteer but don’t have time to research which organization is right for them,” stated Leah Nichelson, the affiliation’s occasion and particular challenge supervisor. “This event is a low-pressure way to meet so many great nonprofits under one roof. You can find the group doing the work that you’re most passionate about.”
The summit will function 14 Camas-Washougal-area organizations in want of latest volunteers, together with 100 Girls Who Care Clark County, Camas Farmer’s Market, Camas Ivy League, Camas Lions Membership, Camas-Washougal Group Chest, the downtown affiliation, EatWell Camas neighborhood backyard, Affect Camas-Washougal, Lacamas Watershed Council, LiveWell Camas, READ Northwest, Refuel Washougal, the Rotary Membership of Camas-Washougal and Unite! Washougal.
Making connections
This summit is a chance for individuals new to the world to attach and meet new individuals.
“We had a great experience last year,” Nichelson stated. “We estimate between 250 and 300 people walked through last year.”
Most who attended had been seeking to make connections, Nichelson stated. Many stated that they had not too long ago moved to Camas and had by no means been to the town’s historic downtown buying and eating space.
“We were hearing that over and over — they’d never been downtown before.” Nichelson stated.
The inaugural volunteer summit was in March, however Nichelson stated January is healthier for just a few causes: it received’t compete with the Little Artwork Camas occasion taking place the third weekend in March; it coincides with the downtown Camas retailers’ annual As soon as in a Blue Moon Sale and it comes at a time when many individuals are setting objectives for the brand new yr.
Zach Linn of Camas, a 2020 Hayes Freedom Excessive College graduate, has been volunteering since childhood as a member of Vancouver-based Boy Scout Troop 554. Linn has labored on electronics recycling tasks and helped construct a neighborhood backyard close to Camas College District headquarters.
Final yr, Linn, who additionally volunteers with the downtown affiliation, attended the primary summit.
“As a volunteer, it was great,” he stated. “We had the Camas Farmer’s Market and the Rotary Club and Lion’s Club and DCA down there with other groups, so people had a chance to get to know and to learn about volunteer opportunities in the community.”
Linn now works because the farmers market’s day assistant whereas taking distant courses at Oregon State College.
Jacquie Hill, director of EatWell Camas neighborhood backyard and LiveWell Camas, additionally praised the affiliation’s 2024 occasion.
“It was an amazing event,” Hill stated. “I connected with community members who were looking for volunteer opportunities and didn’t even know the community garden existed.”
Volunteers, Hill stated, are “the most valuable commodity” a nonprofit has, and he or she hopes occasions together with the volunteer summit will encourage would-be volunteers to get entangled with nonprofits that talk to their passions and skills. She additionally believes the summit will assist nonprofit organizers understand there is no such thing as a hurt in sharing their volunteers with different nonprofit teams in want of hands-on help.
“People often want to protect their volunteers and may be afraid of losing them, but we could all be a little more collaborative,” Hill stated.
Nichelson stated most of the individuals representing nonprofit teams had been excited to fulfill different nonprofit leaders on the 2024 summit.
“And one thing we didn’t expect turned out to be a highlight of the event — that was how much the nonprofits enjoyed connecting with each other,” Nichelson stated. “Some volunteer connections were made with staff members and board members. It was so authentic and organic. It was a treat for all of us.”
This yr’s volunteer summit, 11 a.m. to three p.m. Jan. 25, at Gasoline Medical Group, 314 N.E. Birch St., Camas, will provide complimentary refreshments courtesy of Cedar Avenue Bagel Co. New residents can choose up a downtown affiliation welcome packet that features details about downtown Camas and a present whereas provides final from Candy Intention, a downtown Camas reward store.
For extra details about the summit, go to downtowncamas.com.