Before I begin, I need to make a shameless plug concerning the cultural hub of Pendleton, the Great Pacific. For those of you who drink coffee and don’t know this, you can get an excellent cup of joe for — get this — a buck and a half. And free refills. It drives me crazy to have to pay $3-plus for a cup of Maxwell House. If you like quality coffee, a good place for conversation, or curling up with a book, skip the overpriced Starbucks and drop in.

Now the meat of the matter: volunteer service. If someone were to ask you what you’re doing to make your community a better place to live, what would you say? Would you have something to say? The world needs us now more than ever and in case you haven’t noticed, humanity is going to hell in a hand basket.

While your personal existence may be peachy-keen, your neighbors are struggling to find assistance (and existence) with affordable housing, food security (including their pets), physical and cognitive disability, grinding poverty and loneliness because no one around seems to care whether they live or die. Many of us experience homelessness despite living under a roof, for “home” includes local community interaction.

Volunteerism is in danger of slipping into “Me and Mine are making it and I’m not concerned with you,” America First notwithstanding. If you question this, watch any news besides uber-wealthy Murdoch Fox and it will become obvious to you. Remember how fire-ravaged Angelinos survived horrible recent fires? Citizen volunteers came out of the woodwork to help their neighbors cope. We need each other. I’ve quoted Jeff Lynne before: “Without the friends and lovers, you could never go on living.”

I have good friends who volunteer as tax preparers, Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter caretakers, raptor protectors, high school track coaches, food deliverers, sewers, teachers assistants, gardeners, library assistance, garbage collectors, Pendleton Warming Station volunteers and other outreach nonprofits including churches. I could go on but you get the picture. What scenario are you a part of? How are you helping pull the weight for those who once helped you?

One volunteer assistance that is needed everywhere is what I do and enjoy: being a volunteer certified ombudsman. Besides being a cumbersome word to pronounce, ombudsmen and ombudswomen make a huge difference in the increasing population of elderly living in care facilities. There are residential care facilities for those who can pretty much take care of themselves, adult foster homes where they care for five or fewer residents, and nursing homes where residents receive a higher level of care.

I am a certified ombudsman (all of us are much needed volunteers), and I work on behalf of residents (sometimes their families) and believe me, they need it. I’ve come to bat for many of my elderly peeps and helped resolve issues for them both large and small. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful they are because they know that Matt cares.

When I asked a new resident if he knew what this hard-to-pronounce word meant, he replied succinctly: “You’re my fighter.” Exactly — an advocate that helps lives and fixes problems. This service is incredibly rewarding, and if you’re looking for an excellent volunteer service you might provide, I encourage you to try this out. If you are interested, contact Julie Maw, volunteer recruitment specialist at 971-600-6149.

But no matter what you do, you owe it to yourself and your community to raise the tide someway that lifts all boats. You can do this.