On the evening of July 9th, we hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Party for the amazing volunteers that help all our different programming. 

The last time we held a celebration for volunteers was back in 2019. This is our first year revitalizing what will become a yearly celebration of volunteers’ hard work!

How we Celebrated our Volunteers

The evening’s festivities were a combination of fun indoor and outdoor activities.

On the way into the venue, volunteers swung by the check in table for a special PCD volunteer enamel pin and candy. Thanks to catering from Chronic Tacos and donated drinks and snacks from Puyallup Food Bank, attendees enjoyed a free dinner as they mingled and watched the year’s slideshow recap.

Volunteers enjoying dinner and mingling together at the appreciation party!

If attendees wanted to commemorate their hard work with PCD, volunteers could walk over to our photobooth for some shiny gold pics!

Volunteers use the photobooth and AmeriCorps members take a classic Dana selfie with her after their photobooth pic

Volunteers had plenty of options to enjoy the evening from the warm shade of the outdoor area. They could play lawn games like giant jenga, a ring toss, connect four, or cornhole. If their game playing got too intense, they could cool down with some ice, cold water, and fans at our cooling station. 

Attendees enjoy the lawn games outside. AmeriCorps members Katie and Laura try following along with the High School Musical 3 "The Boys are Back" choreography.

As the evening’s celebrations came to a close, our Volunteer Coordinator Bailey Wambold and Executive Director Dana Coggon recognized the many volunteers that make a difference in Pierce County. Internal PCD volunteers such as the Board of Directors, AmeriCorps members, Washington Conservation Corps, and National Civilian Community Corps all got a special moment of recognition. Some volunteers that went the extra mile this year throughout our programs and projects even received “Volunteer Superstar” awards to thank them for their dedication.

Luke happily presenting the "Certificate of Volunteer Awesomeness" and PCD stickers 

Thank You For All Your Hard Work! 

Whether you’ve pulled a dozen weeds or pulled hundreds, planted dozens of trees or gleaned hundreds of pounds of produce, we are so grateful for every one of you! Thanks to the consistent support and participation from volunteers, we’ve achieved a lot this past year together.

Our Harvest Pierce County Team and gleaning volunteers gleaned a record weight of produce last year, distributing produce that would have otherwise gone unused to hunger relief organizations.

Our Water Quality Team started up two new regular work party locations at the Peck Property in Puyallup and Waughop Lake in Lakewood.

The Environmental Education Team and volunteers distributed hundreds of salmon eggs to Tacoma schools through our Salmon in Schools Program and hosted hundreds of kids on a salmon release field trip in March.

Every one of you makes a difference in the community and we’re so happy to know you all. So many of you choose to join us in our invasive plant removal or native planting work parties regardless of the weather conditions. Some of you come out on those rare sweltering Washingtonian summer days for a work party or glean. Some of you come out in rain gear during a rain downpour looking like seasoned sailors at South Prairie Creek Preserve.

All the hard work you do helps us restore Pierce County ecosystems so they can thrive. So much of the work we do couldn’t happen without our volunteers’ love, passion, and determination to serve the earth and the community that inhabits it. We are so happy to have spent another successful year with you all. With your help, we know this next one will be even better!

If you want to get in on the year round volunteer fun, make sure to regularly check our Calendar of Events & Volunteer Opportunities!