CAMAS — The Downtown Camas Association will bring together a host of nonprofits and groups for its second annual Volunteer and Community Engagement Summit.
“We often hear that people want to volunteer but don’t have time to research which organization is right for them,” said Leah Nichelson, the association’s event and special project manager. “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 feature 14 Camas-Washougal-area organizations in need of new volunteers, including 100 Women Who Care Clark County, Camas Farmer’s Market, Camas Ivy League, Camas Lions Club, Camas-Washougal Community Chest, the downtown association, EatWell Camas community garden, Impact Camas-Washougal, Lacamas Watershed Council, LiveWell Camas, READ Northwest, Refuel Washougal, the Rotary Club of Camas-Washougal and Unite! Washougal.
Making connections
This summit is an opportunity for people new to the area to connect and meet new people.
“We had a great experience last year,” Nichelson said. “We estimate between 250 and 300 people walked through last year.”
Most who attended were looking to make connections, Nichelson said. Many said they had recently moved to Camas and had never been to the city’s historic downtown shopping and dining area.
“We were hearing that over and over — they’d never been downtown before.” Nichelson said.
The inaugural volunteer summit was in March, but Nichelson said January is better for a few reasons: it won’t compete with the Little Art Camas event happening the third weekend in March; it coincides with the downtown Camas merchants’ annual Once in a Blue Moon Sale and it comes at a time when many people are setting goals for the new year.
Zach Linn of Camas, a 2020 Hayes Freedom High School graduate, has been volunteering since childhood as a member of Vancouver-based Boy Scout Troop 554. Linn has worked on electronics recycling projects and helped build a community garden near Camas School District headquarters.
Last year, Linn, who also volunteers with the downtown association, attended the first summit.
“As a volunteer, it was great,” he said. “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 as the farmers market’s day assistant while taking remote classes at Oregon State University.
Jacquie Hill, director of EatWell Camas community garden and LiveWell Camas, also praised the association’s 2024 event.
“It was an amazing event,” Hill said. “I connected with community members who were looking for volunteer opportunities and didn’t even know the community garden existed.”
Volunteers, Hill said, are “the most valuable commodity” a nonprofit has, and she hopes events including the volunteer summit will encourage would-be volunteers to get involved with nonprofits that speak to their passions and abilities. She also believes the summit will help nonprofit organizers realize there is no harm in sharing their volunteers with other nonprofit groups in need of hands-on assistance.
“People often want to protect their volunteers and may be afraid of losing them, but we could all be a little more collaborative,” Hill said.
Nichelson said many of the people representing nonprofit groups were excited to meet other nonprofit leaders at 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 said. “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 year’s volunteer summit, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 25, at Fuel Medical Group, 314 N.E. Birch St., Camas, will offer complimentary refreshments courtesy of Cedar Street Bagel Co. New residents can pick up a downtown association welcome packet that includes information about downtown Camas and a gift while supplies last from Sweet Intention, a downtown Camas gift shop.
For more information about the summit, visit downtowncamas.com.
