Most of us seek happiness, friendship, and community in our lives. There’s a proven way to find all three: volunteer where you live.

When people join together in their town or neighborhood, they can identify and fulfill their local needs. Everyone involved wins when neighbors build bonds of trust, particularly during a difficult and divided time.

On Whidbey Island, a lack of energy options led to a grassroots effort to convert to heat pumps (with support from the Washington State University Extension Energy Program). In Port Angeles and Clallam County, community members and Extension pulled together and made a commercial kitchen a reality, to reduce both food waste and food insecurity.

It’s part of WSU’s DNA to encourage a local focus. That often transfers to alumni and others connected to WSU. Cougar Nation, Washington state, and the Pacific Northwest are full of stories of volunteerism, in which communities tackle needed projects.

Recognizing a need, and sometimes even building a new community, goes way back. In the early days of Washington State College, a group of women formed the Fortnightly Club to read and discuss literature for their mutual intellectual enjoyment. It is still around 132 years later, a shining example of the staying power of shared interests.

When you give to your community, it gives back too. Jeremiah Allison (’16 Crim. Just.) starred as a Coug football player and as a dedicated volunteer in Pullman and his home city of Los Angeles. The WSU community in turn supported him through tough times and helped him achieve his dream of becoming an attorney⁠—currently for the Minnesota Vikings.

Whether it’s an alumni chapter, a service club, or just a group of neighbors with a purpose, anyone can make meaningful change and boost their happiness with a project just down the street.

P.S. If you visit the Pullman campus this fall, check out this issue’s online map of museums and exhibits (ArcGIS). It’s a great chance to reconnect with the WSU community and see some cool gems.

 

Dear readers:

Washington State Magazine will be changing its schedule and frequency after this issue. We’ll still bring you great stories from Washington State University and Coug alumni, but we will have three print issues each year. The next issue will be in January 2026, then May and August.

There are also some exciting new changes coming to the digital side of WSM: more stories, videos, podcasts, and other content in a central WSU story website.