Skagit Volunteer Center Newsletter: September 2026

September 1, 2026

Happy September Community Volunteers! The following are current volunteer opportunities with Community Action and our community partners. If you have any volunteer opportunities you would like to see included, please let us know.

Tracy Montaron

Volunteer Coordinator

Community Action of Skagit County

VolunteerCenter@CommunityActionSkagit.org

Spotlight: Melissa Self

After more than 31 years of dedicated service, Melissa Self is preparing to begin her next journey through retirement.

Since joining Community Action of Skagit County in 1995, Melissa has dedicated her career to supporting individuals and families throughout our community. From her early work visiting and supporting young families to her current leadership as Deputy Director and Director of Community Services, Melissa has helped strengthen countless programs and has made a lasting impact on the people we serve.

We are incredibly grateful for Melissa’s compassion, leadership, and commitment to our mission. Her years of service, dedication, and care for our community have left a legacy that will continue for years to come. Congratulations, Melissa—we wish you all the best in retirement!

As we celebrate Melissa’s incredible career, we are also excited to announce that we are hiring our next Director of Community Services. This is an opportunity for a mission-driven leader to build on Melissa’s legacy and help guide programs that support and strengthen our community. You can find the job notice on our website at: www.communityactionskagit.org/about-us/employment/. Please join us in congratulating Melissa on an extraordinary career and wishing her a wonderful retirement!

Join Our Team and Make a Difference with Community Action!

Community Action of Skagit County is committed to hiring employees who are skilled, dedicated, and motivated by our agency mission and vision. Our core set of values include integrity, compassion, empathy, respect, dignity, empowerment and commitment. Openings include:

Director of Community Resources
Disaster Care Specialist
Employment Specialist
Energy Intake Specialist I
Resource Specialist

If you're ready to bring your skills, heart, and energy to work that truly matters, we'd love to hear from you! Learn more or apply at www.CommunityActionSkagit.org/employment/

Volunteer with Community Action

The following volunteer opportunities are available at Community Action.

Adopt-a-Yard Helper

Summer is here and the grass is growing! Volunteer to help a senior in your area take care of their yard. Tasks include mowing, weeding, pruning, and general yard work. You choose your own schedule. Help a senior remain in their home and feel proud of their yard!

Household Helper

Join our Neat Team and help a senior remain living independently in their home. Volunteers can sign up to help with different activities like light housekeeping or minor repair projects. You can pick the activity of your choice. Flexible schedule, location and time commitment.

Food Delivery Drivers

Volunteers are needed to go out in pairs using an agency vehicle to deliver boxes of food to seniors who may have trouble leaving their homes, and to select food banks in the San Juan Islands. Sign up as a pair or be assigned a route with another volunteer. Must be able to lift 30-50 pounds; those who do not choose to drive can sign up to ride along. Flexible schedule, one to three shifts per month.

Adopt-a-Unit Sponsor

This position offers opportunity for creativity! The William J. Shuler Family Development Center, a 10-unit short-term family shelter, is looking for volunteers to clean, paint, and decorate units when families move out, in order to prepare them for the next family. This can be an individual or small group project, done once or on an ongoing basis.

Street Outreach Intern

Internships are sometimes available with the Street Outreach program, for students in Human Services or related fields. Interns learn by providing support in the office, at events, resource centers, and out in the field, to assist the unhoused in our community. Training and staff supervision is provided. Office tasks may include phone and computer help, organizing supplies, and assisting those looking for resources. Interns may also help set up and provide resources at events and go out with staff members to field locations around the county. Flexible with school class schedule, approximately twelve hours per week. A commitment of one to two quarters is required.

Please contact Tracy Montaron at VolunteerCenter@CommunityActionSkagit.org for more information about any of the above opportunities.

Volunteer With Our Partners

The following are opportunities with our partners. Please contact them directly for more information.

NAMI Skagit

Be the voice that helps someone feel less alone! Join the NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group as a peer support leader. They are looking for compassionate volunteers to become peer support group facilitators, to lead a monthly support group where people living with mental health conditions can come together to share, connect, and find strength in one another. Volunteers are also needed to facilitate family support groups, helping family members find understanding, encouragement, and a sense of community. Must be 18 or older; all training provided. New classes begins September 7. No professional experience required, just compassion, empathy, and a passion for helping others.

For more information contact Laura Fisher at (360) 313-7080 or laura@namiskagit.org.

Skagit Runners

Skagit Runners hosts runs and uses the proceeds to fund scholarships and trail projects throughout Skagit County. Skagit Flats Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K will be held September 13 and is their biggest event and requires the most volunteers.

More info and sign-ups are at https://volunteersignup.org/XCBW7.

The NOAH Center

The Northwest Organization for Animal Help (The NOAH Center) is dedicated to stopping the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable and treatable homeless dogs and cats. Volunteers are needed to foster animals, walk dogs, play with cats, take care of kennels, assist in the spay and neuter clinic, help with special events and photography, and much more.

Volunteers age 14 or 15 are welcome with a parent or guardian.

For more information contact info@thenoahcenter.org or (360) 627-7055.

Skagit Valley Chamber of Commerce

Do you like to meet new people and talk about our beautiful Skagit Valley? The Chamber is looking for volunteers to support the front desk at their Mount Vernon office. They have four-hour shifts available Monday through Friday. The role involves light office duties and customer service, primarily welcoming and assisting visitors.

For more information contact Dalesmy Gonzalez at dalesmy@skagitvalleychamber.com.

Children of the Valley

Volunteers are needed to assist in a free after-school program for young people in various locations around the county. Bike savvy volunteers are needed to help with bike club, people are needed to shop for and prepare snacks, drive vans, be homework helpers and more.

For more information contact Yasmeen Davila at volunteercoordinator@covmv.org or (360) 982-2399.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho (PPGWNI)

PPGWNI is looking for people to train as health center greeters at the Bellingham or Mount Vernon Health Centers. Shifts are no more than two hours, and volunteers are asked to commit to a weekly shift for 2- 3 months. Positions are inside and outside; training is provided.

Spanish speakers are also needed for the Raiz program, which is committed to breaking down barriers in accessing health care in the Latinx community. Volunteer opportunities may include event support, health center greeter, and donor thank-you card writing and walking in Pride parades.

For more information contact volunteer@ppgwni.org.

Helping Hands Food Bank

Helping Hands is looking for volunteers at its Sedro-Woolley location for various other roles, such as setting up for food distribution, distribution support and check-in. Training is provided, flexible schedules, Monday through Friday, must be able to lift 20- 50 pounds.

For more information contact Olivia Luplow at volunteer@helplinghandsfoodbank.org, or (360) 383-8339.

For more volunteer opportunities with over 150 local non-profit organizations visit: www.SkagitVolunteerCenter.org.