Submitted by Serve Washington.
Serve Washington has selected the Kiwanis Club of Puyallup Noemi Cagatin-Porter as recipients of the 2025 Washington State Volunteer Service Awards for the South Puget Sound Region of Washington.
The South Puget Sound Region includes Mason, Thurston, Pierce and Lewis counties. The purpose of these awards is to honor the many acts of kindness that individuals, families, service groups and organizations perform in communities across the state of Washington. The 2025 awards recognize volunteer activities preformed in 2024.
“Serve Washington celebrates all forms of volunteerism, whether it’s organized service through a community organization, or simply stepping up to support a neighbor in need,” said Trish Almond, executive director of Serve Washington. “Volunteerism is often a driving force of community resilience. Through these awards we honor those who embody the spirit of service, create meaningful connections and address critical issues facing our diverse communities. Their contributions are a testament to the power of service.”
Volunteers with the Kiwanis Club of Puyallup received the group volunteer award, and Cagatin-Porter received an individual award.
Kiwanis Club of Puyallup
Kiwanis Club of Puyallup co-hosts several community events each year such as the Grant Floral Parade at the Daffodil Festival, Meeker Days and a spaghetti feed.
Volunteers give their time and energy to make their community a better place, according to the club’s Immediate Past President Mike Boisture.
With an average of 50 to 80 volunteers at each event, these individuals play a crucial role in organizing parades, serving meals, supporting youth programs, and ensuring public safety during large gatherings.
“If we didn’t have volunteers, we wouldn’t get to serve the community the way we do,” Boisture said. “The volunteers serve the community, and the community gets to see and become aware of what Kiwanis Club of Puyallup can do.”
Noemi Cagatin-Porter
Cagatin-Poter is the founder of CJK Community Homes, a Pierce County non-profit that provides affordable rental housing and supportive case management to families experiencing poverty and homelessness across Pierce County. As an immigrant from the Philippines who once faced homelessness as a mother of three, she understands the barriers many low-income families encounter when searching for safe, affordable housing. That lived experience is what drives her work today.
Cagatin-Porter volunteers countless hours teaching financial literacy classes, advocating for affordable housing at the state and local levels, and working with policymakers to push for systemic change. In 2024, she spearheaded a proposal to support CJK with buying a 17-micro-unit permit-ready project to offer long-term affordable housing. She is also working to build nine townhouses to help low- and middle-income families buy their own homes and build generational wealth. The units will not be put on the market but will be sold to individuals in first-time homeownership programs, giving them the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty.
“I’ve lived that life, and I understand the many barriers people have gone through,” Cagatin-Porter said. “I want to be that support system for them to pay it forward.”
Volunteering in Washington
The announcement coincides with Global Volunteer Month in April, a time to honor and celebrate volunteers worldwide while encouraging volunteerism.
Washingtonians volunteer at higher rates than most other states, according to the latest AmeriCorps’ Volunteering and Civic Life in America research.
AmeriCorps works with the U.S. Census Bureau to collect data on volunteering and civic engagement to take a pulse on the nation’s civic health. The biennial survey looks at the rates of volunteerism through organizations, informal helping, charitable giving and other civic behaviors.
An estimated 32.8% of Washingtonians participated in formal volunteering at least once between September 2022 and September 2023, the period measured in the research. That’s higher than the national rate of 28.3%.
The research also found Americans’ volunteering rate increased by about 5 percentage points between 2021 and 2023. Again, Washington’s rate increased more than that, at nearly 8 percentage points.
For more information about the Washington State Volunteer Service Awards visit our Washington State Volunteer Service Awards page: https://servewashington.wa.gov/volunteer/washington-state-volunteer-service-awards
Noemi Is doing her heart’s gift to the world. I send my thanks and gratitude to her and CJK Community Homes. You and your other volunteers have changed the lives of many.