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Downtown Camas Association to host second annual volunteer summit

Jan. 25 event will feature more than a dozen local nonprofits offering volunteer opportunities

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The Downtown Camas Association (DCA) will host its Second annual Volunteer and Community Engagement Summit from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, inside the lobby of the Fuel Medical Group building at 314 N.E. Birch St., in downtown Camas.

The event is a chance for people to connect with local nonprofits serving Camas and Washougal, said Leah Nichelson, the DCA’s event and special project manager.

“We often hear that people want to volunteer but don’t have time to research which organization is right for them,” Nichelson said. “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. It’s also a great opportunity for people new to the area to connect and start building a community for themselves.”

The volunteer summit will feature 14 Camas-Washougal organizations in need of new volunteers, including 100 Women Who Care Clark County, Camas Farmer’s Market, Camas Ivy League, Camas Lion’s Club, Camas-Washougal Community Chest, the DCA, EatWell Camas community garden, Impact Camas-Washougal, Lacamas Watershed Council, LiveWell Camas, Read Northwest, ReFuel Washougal, the Rotary Club of Camas-Washougal and the Unite! Washougal Community Coalition.

“We had a great experience last year,” Nichelson said. “We estimate between 250 and 300 people walked through (the volunteer summit) last year. There was a healthy mix of age groups with quite a few younger families as well as people who were new to Camas, some teens who attended by themselves and a lot of retired people.”

The attendees were all looking to make connections in their community, Nichelson said, and 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, adding that, for members of the DCA who focus on promoting Camas’ downtown area, the news was surprising. “We spend every waking hour within those (downtown) blocks, so it was funny to hear how many people have never set foot in the area.”

And though the DCA kicked off the inaugural volunteer summit in March last year, Nichelson said the January date 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” — the area’s biggest sales event of the year, according to Nichelson — and it comes at a time of year when many local residents are setting goals for the new year.

“We have found a lot of people who are making New Year’s resolutions, so we’re hoping to tap into that and help people get more involved in their community and connect with others.”

Camas resident Zach Linn, a 2020 Hayes Freedom High School graduate and current Oregon State University (OSU) student majoring in natural resource management, has been volunteering for his community since childhood — working with the Scouts as a member of the Vancouver-based Boy Scout Troop 554 on electronic recycling projects, building a community garden near the Camas School District’s headquarters building, helping the DCA with downtown Camas volunteer projects and volunteering with his church group during the height of the COVID pandemic to help make the weekly Camas Farmer’s Market a success.

“I showed up more frequently after COVID,” Linn said. “I would help set up and take down (the farmers’ market) and set up tables for the kid connection booth.”

Eventually, that volunteerism turned into a part-time job for Linn, who now works as the market’s day assistant while taking remote classes at OSU.

Last year, Linn, who also volunteers with the DCA and other Camas-area nonprofits whenever he has the chance, attended the first-ever Camas Volunteer and Community Engagement Summit in March 2024.

“As a volunteer, it was great,” he said of the 2024 summit. “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 (the nonprofit groups) and to learn about volunteer opportunities in the community.”

Linn said he would advise anyone interested in volunteering in Camas or Washougal to attend the volunteer summit on Saturday, Jan. 25.

“If you’re interested in volunteering, come down and just talk to people to get your foot in the door,” Linn advised. “There are so many opportunities there. Say you like the car show and want to help with that — come talk to the DCA. If you’re new to the community and want to make friends, come down (to the volunteer summit). I think the biggest thing for people to understand is that they don’t have to volunteer hundreds of hours a year. They could volunteer for a single event. Even if they only volunteer a couple hours a year, it’s still a massive help.”

Jacquie Hill, the director of two nonprofit groups in downtown Camas — the EatWell Camas community garden and LiveWell Camas, a movement studio on Northeast Birch Street dedicated to making yoga, movement and other wellness classes more affordable and accessible for all community members regardless of age, ability or income level, also praised the DCA’s 2024 volunteer summit 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, added Hill, are “the most valuable commodity” a nonprofit has, and she hopes events like the volunteer summit will encourage would-be volunteers to get involved with several area nonprofits that speak to their passions and abilities — and will help nonprofit organizers realize there is no harm in sharing their volunteers with other nonprofit groups in need of hand-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. “I understand that it’s challenging to recruit and manage volunteers, but I think people would benefit from sharing and deepening their volunteer (roster).”

Nichelson said many of the people representing nonprofit groups were excited to meet other nonprofit leaders during the 2024 volunteer summit.

“The nonprofit (leaders) were really excited to meet people in person and get some new blood,” Nichelson said. “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. 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 will offer complimentary refreshments courtesy of Cedar Street Bagel Co., and new residents can pick up a DCA welcome packet that includes information about downtown Camas and a special gift (while supplies last) from Sweet Intention, a downtown Camas gift shop.

For more information about the summit, visit downtowncamas.com/event/volunteer-community-engagement-summit.