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My name is Adam Simon, and I am the Community Fellow for the Walla Walla Immigrant Rights Coalition (WWIRC) this year. The focus of my fellowship is to support, expand, and re-imagine the WWIRC’s current volunteer engagement system. I am fortunate to work in close partnership with Abby Muro, WWIRC Executive Director, a fearless and deeply inspiring leader who truly leads with her heart.

Through this work, I’ve reinforced my belief that meaningful change is often built slowly, day by day, through trusting, caring relationships and the development of systems that can sustainably support impacted community members. Our community has no shortage of people who care about immigrant justice. And yet, one of the central questions guiding my fellowship has been: how do we translate our community’s energy, passion, and experiences into tangible local action? 

This fellowship has grounded my understanding of what it means to advocate for immigrant rights, especially when these issues can feel overwhelming and out of reach. Abby’s insights have been a powerful reminder that even when change feels impossible at the large scale, we always have the power to act locally, and at times, that’s the only power we have.

A core part of my work has involved thinking critically about how volunteers can best support impacted immigrant community members during a time when many are navigating daily life under heightened fear and uncertainty. WWIRC’s volunteer network is in large part made up of individuals with certain social and economic privileges that often exceed those of the immigrant community members the organization supports. My work has also focused on addressing this dynamic of volunteer positionality, and on thus developing a framework that creates opportunities for volunteers to contribute in ways that are appropriate, intentional, and genuinely responsive to community identified needs. I have been reminded that while a commitment to immigrant justice is an essential first step toward meaningful involvement, that commitment requires effective systems that enable such passion and drive to translate into real, targeted action. In practice, this has meant developing shared agreements, creating regular meeting spaces for collaboration, and putting clear structures in place so volunteers can engage in more coordinated and accountable ways.

One of my main projects has been working on developing a comprehensive volunteer handbook that outlines organizational values in the context of volunteering, onboarding processes, and clear expectations for volunteers, including a code of conduct. In collaboration with Abby, we have restructured the WWIRC’s volunteer system, moving from three separate volunteer committees to one unified volunteer group. Together, we defined three core volunteer initiatives for the year and organized smaller workgroups to advance each initiative outside of our larger group meetings. I help plan and co-facilitate volunteer meetings, thinking intentionally about what kind of volunteer engagement infrastructure best fits the WWIRC’s values and community’s needs.

The most meaningful experiences this semester have arisen from listening to community members. Ensuring that WWIRC’s volunteer work stays aligned with real community needs has been central to my conversations with Abby throughout the fellowship. Listening to community members share their concerns, needs, fears, and lived experiences in various community spaces has been foundational to forming an idea of where the WWIRC’s volunteer efforts need to be focused. Walla Walla is a community defined by a wide range of lived experiences and political beliefs. Advocating for immigrant justice in this context, where not everyone supports immigrant justice and values the safety of their immigrant neighbors, makes the strength and courage of both impacted community members and their allies truly stand out. 

Working with the WWIRC has also given me deeper insight into the essential role of community advocacy, capacity building, and systems-level work in creating lasting change. By strengthening volunteer systems and supporting the leaders who make this hard yet vital community work possible, this fellowship has affirmed that meaningful change often begins locally. I am grateful for the community leaders I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with, and I look forward to continuing to expand on this work in the spring.