MARS is a very volunteer organization

From the members of the UFO Club who shared gourd art, embroidered and sewn work, pillows, jewelry, and art books for our fundraiser auction, to neighbors who cut the grass or invite us over during power outages for fireside crossword puzzling… from board members who spend lots of time driving up and down WA-7 and I-5 to contractor talents who lay flooring for fun… from prior volunteer cooks to our crew of sometimes-volunteer dorm hosts, we’re moving forward slowly but surely with lots of helping hands.

Interested in volunteering? We’d love to talk about spot projects as well as ongoing projects you can own and help develop.

A Special Thank You To…

Sara Smiley of Design by SML who designed this wonderful site! Seattle Central Community College helped us design our prior web site, and Michelle Szwedo stayed after class to help us with our technology and design problems; we all learned together.

On the culinary help front: We received solid advice from Olympia food sourcing czar Brian McDonald, and quality kitchen time from chefs and cooks including Bastyr University students Julie Heath, Brittany Rouse, and Sarah Wall; sports nutrition grad student Kelly Neville; talented home cooks Val Cashman, Jackleen delaHarpe, Laura Gilliam, Dianne Niemann, Jane Taylor, Theadora Tolkin, and Dana Wolff; organic farmer Brittany McGrath; and pro cooks Jessica Callahan, Jason Cohen, Tessa Hulls, and Siolo Thompson.

We also need to give a shout-out to April Rebollo, Chris Arkills, Steve Botts, Sara Everett, Katharina Sharpe, Todd Oman, Elise Glassman, Bruce Yarrow, Anna-Marie Sannes, Andy Holmes, yogini Cynthia Land, Lisa Brewer and Big Tall Rick, writers Joni Blecher and Megan McMorris, mystic Fia, Joe Ray, Chelsea Werner-Jatzke, Lisa Sutherland Johnson and Chad Johnson, Amanda Castleman, and Kirsten and Nathan Lunstrum, for some unglamorous tasks in the buildings. Not to mention Portland Rob, the contractor-musician with a heart of gold and a box of tools. Cindy Pestka donated art, and many anonymous Northwest readers help us jury applications for residency. Michelle Goodman, Sarah Zurat, Jenny Hayes, and Mia Lipman have all helped, too.