Community spirit was on full display last weekend in Coupeville.

For the third year in a row, the Coupeville Farmers Market played host to the Central Whidbey Nonprofit Fair, an event that showcases some of the many volunteer organizations that do so much for our community.

The event, organized by the Town of Coupeville, offers nonprofits that serve Coupeville and Central Whidbey an opportunity to reach out to local residents, explain what they do and reach out to people who might benefit from the services they have to offer.

Among the groups at Saturday’s event were well-known organizations such as the Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation, which aims to find good homes for castoff pets, and our two local Lions clubs, which are very active service organizations that touch the lives of many in our community.

The event also included smaller organizations such as Small Miracles, a group that provides financial assistance to local residents who are struggling to pay health expenses, and Safe Ride Home, a new nonprofit that provides safe transportation home for any local resident who finds himself or herself in an unsafe situation.

All the groups that participated in the fair were able to reach out to new volunteers and supporters as well, helping to bolster their ranks with the people and resources they need to contribute to the community.

The Town of Coupeville recently was honored with a Small Town Success award from the Association of Washington Cities for organizing and promoting the Nonprofit Fair. Here at The Whidbey Examiner, we’re proud to help support the project by designing and producing the annual Central Whidbey Nonprofit Guide, which was inserted into the Sept. 6 issue and is available at Town Hall, the Coupeville Chamber of Commerce and the Coupeville library.

Kudos to Coupeville Town Councilwoman Molly Hughes for organizing this event and helping to make it a huge success!

* * *

Last weekend also highlighted the enormous generosity of our community.

Garrett Arnold, pastor of Living Hope Foursquare Church, fell and suffered a serious spinal injury last month that will force him to use a wheelchair. Knowing what a huge impact that health expenses will certainly have on the Arnold family, neighbors, friends, fellow church members and complete strangers pitched in to help raise a whopping $25,000 with two events – a silent auction and dance on Friday night featuring local band Johnny Bulldog, and a marathon car wash on Saturday in the lot behind Windermere Real Estate.

As the Arnold family faces this new and unexpected challenge in their lives, they must be heartened to know how much support this community has offered, and will continue to offer. More fundraisers are in the works.

* * *

Coupeville’s community spirit also shone brightly at the annual Coupeville Community Portrait, sponsored by The Whidbey Examiner and hosted by the Coupeville Farmers Market. It was great fun to see the big crowd assembled for the photo, some wearing silly hats, some in matching outfits, some showing off their furry, four-legged friends – and one person even clutching a gigantic white Teddy bear.

The photo captured that moment in time, a beautiful blue-and-white mackerel sky, a light breeze, sunshine sparkling on Penn Cove – and a lot of smiling, waving people there to enjoy the day.

Thanks for being part of the portrait – and we’ll see you again next year!

– Publisher Kasia Pierzga