Thurston County proclaims April Volunteer Appreciation Month; search-and-rescue, Stream Team and Habitat for Humanity highlight volunteer roles

The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners on April 15 proclaimed April 2025 as Volunteer Appreciation Month and heard presentations from several local volunteer organizations about how unpaid community labor supports public safety, environmental stewardship and affordable housing.

The proclamation, read by Chair Ty Mentzer, recognized volunteers’ contributions across “housing services, resource distribution, community response services, and more,” and encouraged residents to honor volunteers’ work. The board recessed briefly after the proclamation for photographs and to host a volunteer fair outside the meeting room.

Marcel Allen, president and training coordinator for Thurston County Washington Explorer Search and Rescue (TC WESAR), told the commissioners volunteers provide “people, canine, planning, coordination, logistics, and training to support the ground operations in wilderness, urban, and suburban environments.” He described the unit’s training load — new members often dedicate nearly 200 hours from fall to spring — and summarized missions that include searches for people with cognitive or medical impairment, lost hikers, and evidence or human remains. “We do these things so others may live,” Allen said, offering the group’s motto as a reminder of the service volunteers provide.

Cynthia Taylor, representing Stream Team (a partnership among the cities of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Thurston County stormwater utilities), said stream-team volunteers have logged more than 27,000 hours since tracking began and nearly 3,000 hours from 320 volunteers in 2024 alone. She described volunteer work ranging from habitat restoration at local parks to citizen science monitoring of benthic macroinvertebrates used in water-quality assessments. Taylor invited residents to upcoming stewardship events including Earth Day activities and seasonal salmon steward opportunities at the Fifth Avenue Bridge, Tumwater Falls Hatchery and McLean Creek.

Elizabeth Walker, CEO of South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, said volunteers are central to Habitat’s operations. Walker outlined Habitat’s multifaceted work — building affordable homes, performing critical repairs (mold remediation, roofs, plumbing), aging-in-place modifications and energy-efficiency upgrades — and provided a production target: the organization is planning 162 units over the next five years with 28 in Tumwater, 22 in Yelm and 112 in Olympia. Walker said volunteers contributed more than 19,000 hours last year and encouraged county employees and residents to join scheduled build days and ongoing volunteer opportunities.

The presentations emphasized volunteers’ local value: Allen noted the search-and-rescue units operate 24/7 and provide a free public safety resource; Taylor highlighted multi-jurisdictional funding and long-term monitoring that underpins regional water stewardship; Walker emphasized how volunteer labor stretches limited housing and repair budgets while advancing homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income households.

Following the presentations, the board recessed for photos and a volunteer fair. The commissioners also noted a series of county-supported volunteer build days with Habitat planned for September 2025.

For more information, the speakers provided these contacts: TC WESAR for search-and-rescue; streamteam.info for Stream Team volunteer sign-ups; and South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity for build- and volunteer-opportunities.