MARYSVILLE — If there’s one need community service organizations share, as much as funds, it’s people-power.

Beckye Randall, who serves on the board of the Red Curtain Foundation for the Arts in Marysville, was reminded of that during a chat with a friend from the local Kiwanis earlier this year. Rather than just lament this state of affairs, though, Randall took action, recruiting 18 groups from throughout the community to take part in a Volunteer Fair Aug. 13.

Randall predicted it would become an annual event, calling the fall an ideal time to recruit volunteers.

“As summer winds down and kids get ready to go back to school, a lot of moms and dads will be looking for ways to keep busy,” Randall said.

Randall touted the diversity of the groups at the fair, from Northern Sound Choirs and the Marysville Dog Owners Group to Seeds of Grace and Soroptimist International of Marysville. The event was free for all.

Eilene Zachry, a board member with the Marysville Historical Society, noted that she could already count 20 volunteers among her ranks, but added that she would need 30 more because Ken Cage will not be running for president of the society again.

“Since he and his wife Ethel were retired, they were able to do so much,” Zachry said. “So the rest of us need to step up and commit.”

The society is looking for volunteers who have experience in video production, as well as those who can staff its Third Street Museum and the Gehl House.

“I’ve loved learning about the city’s logging, agriculture and fishing,” Zachry said. “People now think of Marysville as a place to shop, with a water tower, but so much went into making this town what it is.”

Kloz 4 Kidz can claim a complement of about 50 volunteers but not all of them are available at the same time. And with the new school year coming up, the group needs volunteers to staff its center for the nine hours of family shopping appointments it maintains each week.

“We give training, and of course we check people’s backgrounds, but it’s all about whether you have a heart for the kids,” board member Ardyce Johnson said.

Kloz 4 Kidz always tries to have three volunteers on site during its shopping appointments. Its goal is to make sure school-age children in Marysville and North Snohomish County are kept adequately clothed. Although it’s intended to serve local families in need, none of its clients is asked to supply proof of income or residence.

“We have a brand new family that just came here from Alaska,” fellow board member Linda Max said. “They’ve already come to us. Word gets around.”

Karen Harper, a volunteer with Quilceda Community Services, was recruiting volunteers for the organization’s thrift store in Arlington, as well as its expanding Willow Place recreational program in Marysville.

“We need volunteers at both one every day,” Harper said. “For the thrift store, we need experienced bargain shoppers, so that they’ll have a sense of which things will sell. For the folks who pick up our merchandise from Foss Appraisers’ estate sales, we need strong, husky movers who can go to Seattle.”

And for Willow Place, which serves those with disabilities, volunteers need to bring a combination of patience and unflappability.

“We’ve recently started a ceramics program, so we welcome those who know about that, but what’s more important is that our volunteers have an even-keel disposition,” Harper said. “Our special needs people can take a while to do some things, so we need people who can work with them, and who don’t get rattled when things don’t go according to plan.”

Marysville Community Food Bank president Dell Deierling is always in need of volunteers to load and sort food, as well as guide clients through the food bank’s shopping area, but September is an especially lean month for volunteers.

“Every September, we take a hit, because kids go back to school and snowbirds start to head south for the winter,” said Deierling, who credited Marysville schools with incentivizing student volunteer work at the food bank, through senior projects and varsity letters.

Within the first half-hour of the Volunteer Fair, the food bank made contact with 40 potential volunteers.

“This is an awesome event,” Deierling said.