Update Your Volunteer Profile

The Mountaineers has a small full-time staff, but volunteers create and run our hundreds of monthly activities, courses, and events. By using the "My Volunteer Profile" tab of your account, you can contribute to these efforts by letting  our volunteer and staff leadership know what talents and interests you have. 

Bringing Talent together creates great programs

Our passionate volunteers lead classes and activities as well as organize community events like film festivals and potlucks. Our volunteers are inspired by the outdoors to share their knowledge so that others can "explore, conserve, learn about and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest and beyond." 

It takes a variety of talents and skills to do everything we've been doing since 1906. Each committee or program operates much like its own small business and being a superstar at an activity does NOT mean that you want to serve as its administrative leader as well! The different talents of our membership combine all the different skills needed to operate the inspirational programs we put together across all of western Washington. 

Tell us about yourself!

We added a "My Volunteer Profile" tab to your profile. It allows you to tell us about your skills and interests, which will help us connect you with volunteer opportunities. Please take a moment to tell us about your volunteer skills and interests. Then, as our programs identify different needs they have, they can reach out to the people who have the most relevant skills for the task! 

Make sure we know what you like to do!

Separate from the talents you bring to The Mountaineers are the things that you would enjoy doing for your own personal development and enjoyment. Your "My Volunteer Profile" also  lets you tell us what types of projects and activities you are interested in - generally. This will help our program leaders identify the people who will most enjoy volunteering for a particular task. 

Volunteering Should Make You Happy and Contribute to The Mission of The Mountaineers

No one is EVER obligated to accept a volunteer role they do not want. Feel free to list your skills and interests but to also say "no thanks" to any request for assistance.  We have amazing volunteers. But taking on too much is a recipe for increased burnout. As we've said before, the most sustainable and efficient volunteer recruitment really starts with good job design and not everyone is suited for every type of volunteer position - so it's OK to say "no!" 

However, if you are looking for something right now, keep an eye on our website for volunteer opportunities that interest you. There are: 

• Instructor opportunities
• Volunteering with youth
• Conservation & Stewardship
• Project-specific postings
• Branch and Board Leadership
• Any of the activity committees that most interest you! (look them up in the committee section of your branch home page). 

Are you a Mountaineers Leader looking for people to help with a project?

If you would like to develop a volunteer position and find the people who are most likely to be great at it, contact the Leadership Development Manager (LDM) for a list of the people with the most relevant skills and interests. That way you are reaching out to the members who are most likely to enjoy the role - and succeed in it! The LDM can help you: 

• Draft a meaningful position description
• Post it on our volunteer opportunities as a blog
• Send a link about the position to the members with the skills and interests that apply to it (based on their "My Volunteer Profile" ). 

Volunteering to help others is the right thing to do, and it also boosts personal happiness...research shows that those who aid the causes they value tend to be happier and in better health. They show fewer signs of physical and mental aging. And it's not just that helpful people also tend to be healthier and happier; helping others causes happiness. 

- Gretchen Rubin 

Furthermore, about one-quarter of Americans volunteer, and of those, a third volunteer for more than a hundred hours each year. Although we aren't looking for everyone to volunteer that much - many of our members do!