Catherine Skrzypinski

Whatcom County is home to many returned Peace Corps volunteers, along with people who value community service and volunteer work.

PCVs aspire to leave a legacy in the lives of community members they collaborate with on local projects. Volunteers aim to exchange culture and knowledge, and help transform lives for generations during their two years of service.

“Volunteers give the tools and skills to community members so that they can continue Peace Corps projects on their own,” said Katherine Freimund, executive director of the Whatcom Literacy Council in Bellingham.

Bellingham wants to improve structures for underserved communities when it comes to summer adaptive sports and activities. During the long summer days, people of all abilities are eager to explore the city on its biking and hiking trails.

“Bellingham does pretty well with accessibility, but it’s often two steps forward, one step back,” said Daman Wandke, Wandke Accessibility's CEO.

Wandke rides his bike from his home near downtown Bellingham to Boulevard Park. Wandke, who has cerebral palsy, retrofitted his tricycle with an e-bike throttle to cruise up and down Bellingham’s hilly terrain.

Twice a week, India Mart owner TJ Sekhon delivers fresh vegetables that cater to the South Asian palate like okra; eggplant varieties like Indian, Chinese and graffiti; Thai chilies and Indian cucumbers to the Bellingham Food Bank.

The Indian grocery store’s donation to the Bellingham Food Bank for the past seven months has helped many families in Bellingham eat three healthy meals a day.

“People need pristine vegetables, and these are core staples in Indian cooking,” Sekhon said. “The food is not going to waste. People are suffering; people are hurting in this economy.”

At Western Washington University, a course pairs up Woodring College of Education students with students enrolled in Community Transitions, a program designed to prepare students in special education for independent living, employment and post-secondary training.

Community Transitions at Bellingham Public Schools is now in its 25th year, said Beverly Porter, executive director of The Arc of Whatcom County in Bellingham.

“Students gain confidence through Community Transitions,” Porter said. “They are integrating into the community, making connections and feeling like they belong.”

Around 100 U.S. and Canadian neighbors gathered at the Peace Arch April 5 to rally against President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about Canada joining the United States as the 51st state.

Participants waved upside-down American and right-side-up Canadian flags and displayed signs commemorating the U.S./Canada friendship. Drivers approaching both U.S. and Canadian border control at the 49th parallel occasionally honked their horns in approval.

Sher Grater from Cultus Lake, B.C. handed out Timbits as a gesture of friendship. “I was pleasantly to see this big group shaking hands and giving hugs."

The Western Gallery at Western Washington University highlights an exhibition of artists who confront social perceptions of disability — one step at a time.

For those with mobility challenges, scaling the Stadium Piece stairs by artist Bruce Nauman could be daunting. Joanna Pawlik, a performance artist from Krakow, Poland, wanted to dispel that notion with her work “Schody," Polish for stairs.

“Nauman wants all people to interact with his sculpture,” Pawlik said. “ ‘Stairs Piece’ is about the relationship between me and Stadium Piece. I’m overcoming the obstacles of climbing the stairs."

Two U.S. service members with ties to Washington state jumped at the chance to take part in the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 in February, where winter adaptive sports made its debut.

Before hitting the slopes with Team U.S., Sgt. Bianca Hayden of the Army National Guard and Staff Sgt. Colton Chabot, an active duty member of the U.S. Special Operations Command, could count on two hands how many times they had participated in winter sports.

“No matter what military branch we serve — we are now working together,” Chabot said. “We are now on the same team at the Invictus Games.”

Many factors have contributed to the rise of unhoused people in Bellingham and Whatcom County during the past couple of decades, including the slowdown of construction of new homes since the Great Recession, steadily rising rents and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many households are one medical emergency or job loss from becoming unhoused or housing insecure, said Greg Winter, executive director of the Opportunity Council in Bellingham.

“People may not know where they’ll sleep the next night,” Winter said. “There simply aren’t enough homes available for everyone."

The erosion of Washington state’s social safety net, along with sky-high rental and mortgage costs and the low level of affordable housing, has had a significant impact on the communities of Northwest Washington.

Around 10.3% of Washington state’s population lived below the poverty line in 2023. As a result, more and more Washington state residents are relying on donations from charities and nonprofit organizations to make ends meet.

“Poverty is a collective issue with lasting impacts on the community as a whole," said Greg Winter, executive director of the Opportunity Council in Bellingham.

The Western Washington University community reflected upon the aftermath of the 2024 U.S. presidential election in a panel discussion Thursday, Nov. 7, and questioned where the country goes from here.

“[President-elect Donald] Trump is coming into his second term as president in a very different landscape than he was coming in 2016,” said Catherine Wineinger, associate professor of political science at Western. “He’s coming in with a unified Republican Party, and a much Trumpier Republican Party.”

With a too-close-to-call presidential race and divisive issues on the Washington state ballot, some voters from Whatcom and Skagit County said on Halloween they felt nervous about Election Day.

“I’m trying to prepare myself in the event that the candidate I am not supporting wins,” said Scott Terrell, a journalism instructor at Western. “It’s a nervous experience — it shouldn’t be, but it is. It should be more of a celebration. There’s an underlying sense that if [former President Donald] Trump gets in, things could change dramatically.”

As Washingtonians continue to mail in their ballots, they are not only voting for the next president and governor; they are charting a course for the future of the state’s natural environment.

The Western Washington University community, including students, experts and residents, contemplated election issues during a time of climate change.

“We see the importance of environmental concerns practically every day in news about extreme weather events, flooding, and disputes over energy sources and natural resources,” said Kate Destler, associate professor of political science at Western.

The interplay of immigration and border security policy and reality — hot issues in the presidential election — drove the focus of a panel discussion Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Western Washington University.

More than 1.6 million immigrants moved to the United States in 2023 as migration has returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

At the same time, Americans’ attitudes have shifted against immigration. In 2020, 28% of Americans polled by Gallup said immigration should decrease, but in 2024, 55% want the government to reduce immigration levels in the country.

A day after the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the start of its war in Gaza, the Western Washington University community gathered to discuss the United States’ role in the world Tuesday, Oct. 8, just weeks before the 2024 presidential election.

Global issues can seem far away to people living on the West Coast, but U.S. foreign policy can affect lives here on a profound level, said Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Ross Distinguished Visiting Professor at the College of Business and Economics at Western.

White Rock, British Columbia installed an accessibility mat in late August that stretches along the east side of the city’s landmark seaside pier, thanks to the tireless efforts of a Canadian accessibility advocacy group.

The accessibility mat will make the pier’s uneven planks safer for people who use mobility aids like wheelchairs, walkers and canes, and for those with visual impairments.

"It’s reinstated my hope in advocacy work," said Kiran Aujlay, founder of Equal Access Collective. "We’ve wanted to do this for many years, and to see it come to fruition feels a little surreal."