For Martha Zepeda Zarate, volunteering has been a full-time lifestyle for many years.

For over a decade, Martha Zepeda Zarate of Soledad has donated her time and effort extensively. She continues to do so, for various organizations and causes across Monterey County, while making service to her community into a career.

Her volunteer contribution list is long. Zarate distributed food with Celebration Nation and served on the advisory board for the Siembra Latinos Fund – a group within the Community Foundation for Monterey County that empowers and seeks to improve the quality of lives of the local Latino community. Her community outreach expanded in a job as a community health worker for VIDA, which has been instrumental in providing Covid-19 resources to people hit hardest by the virus. And that’s just a partial list.

Zarate arrived from Mexico 20 years ago, after getting married. She worked for seven years packing lettuce and at harvest, but the work didn’t resonate with her: “I half-learned how to cut it,” she says in Spanish.

While working in the fields, she felt intimidated by the skill of veteran farmworkers. “You can’t compare yourself with someone who has been cutting lettuce for 15 years,” Zarate says.

While not at her best in the field, Zarate became well known for her community work. That includes being very active on social media, connecting South County residents to each other and resources they might need.

She says she gained confidence as part of Mujeres en Acción, an organization that seeks to empower women and develop leadership skills. Zarate says it made her aware of the resources available to her. “We think they aren’t within our reach because of the situation we live in,” she says.

Zarate says people need to be positive – even if they’re going through a rough patch – and surround themselves with positive people who motivate them to pursue their goals. She points to her mother as an example. “She has a smile for me every morning,” she says. “In one way or another, we need to keep going. Never desist from something you want to achieve.”

Zarate was honored last year with Soledad’s Civic Service Award, and this year with State Sen. Anna Caballero’s 2022 Latina Advocate Award.

Weekly: You mentioned Mujeres en Acción opened your eyes to community resources. How do you mean?

Zepeda Zarate: Simply getting involved in the community and training yourself to be able to achieve your dreams. In this case, I went to college to study. In college, I have grown by learning English and meeting new people.

What motivated you to become a full-time volunteer?

I just like to help others when I can. I have always volunteered in the community without being in an organization. Something that motivated me to help in food distribution was the treatment people received – we all deserve the same opportunity and the same treatment, regardless of whether we need help or not.

I went to a food distribution, and I was treated badly because I did not have a car – the food was [distributed] by car. If you don’t have money buy groceries, you most likely won’t have a car to drive. What privileges does a person who has a car have over one who doesn’t?

What are some important goals have you achieved?

Working on a project as important as VIDA – I think it’s a great achievement. For so many years I have been involved in the community, doing different volunteer work. I am a community worker.

Why do you think people should consider volunteering their time?

It is something very beautiful that gives you the pleasure of making a change in the community, making a difference with people who have sometimes been treated badly.

You are also an outdoors person. Where is your favorite place to hike?

Pinnacles [National Park]. You can admire the landscape from a very high altitude. You climb up and you can see a panorama.

What advice do you have for people who haven’t dared to work toward their dream?

It’s never too late to start working on your dreams. They should start and try. If they don’t try, they won’t achieve it. Maybe sometimes you don’t believe in yourself. People shouldn’t desist from achieving their dreams, regardless of how big or small they are.