Find volunteer opportunities in Central Oregon
Find a place to give your time. Volunteer Central Oregon is the regional directory of nonprofits, community groups, and local efforts across Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties and Warm Springs that are looking for volunteers, donors, and partners right now.
Search by name, browse by cause, or pick a letter. Every listing takes you straight to the organization, so you can get involved on your own terms. No account, no login, no middleman.
More ways to get involved
Catalyze Central OregonA new local effort launching soon to connect residents directly with nonprofits.
Volunteer ConversationsRather talk it through with a person? A Central Oregon group building community around volunteering.
DREAMjamA monthly networking group for nonprofit development, events, and marketing staff.
Looking for the old portal? Here's what happened, and why.
Need to update your organization's listing? Check the field reference guide, then email support@volunteercentraloregon.org.
Featured Organizations
Destination Rehab helps adults living with neurological conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's, MS, and brain injury build confidence and independence through skills training, therapy-based programs, and adaptive adventures in the community and outdoors.
Volunteers assist adults with neurologic conditions during community outings and adventure-based activities, working alongside physical therapy staff to help participants build skills, confidence, and independence. No physical therapy background is required, just a willingness to actively support participants.
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Think Wild is Central and Eastern Oregon's only public wildlife hospital and conservation center, located on four acres on Bend's east side. Its veterinary staff and volunteers rescue, treat, and release hundreds of injured and orphaned native animals each year, from hummingbirds and flying squirrels to bald eagles and bobcats. Think Wild also runs a wildlife hotline, humane wildlife conflict help, Beaver Works Oregon habitat restoration, and education programs and camps for youth and the community. Found injured or orphaned wildlife? Call the hotline at 541-241-8680 (8am–6pm daily).
Volunteers help in the wildlife hospital with animal care, diet prep, and enclosure upkeep; rescue and transport injured wildlife; care for ambassador animals; support education programs, camps, and community events; and assist with humane wildlife conflict projects. Youth and family volunteering is available for kids and teens, and families and groups can join habitat restoration through Beaver Works Oregon. Training is provided.
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BendFilm is a Bend nonprofit, founded in 2003, that celebrates independent cinema's power to enrich lives, amplify diverse voices, and inspire change. It presents the annual Bend Film Festival each October, which brings more than 100 independent and student films, filmmaker Q&As, panels, and parties to venues across town. Year-round, BendFilm owns and operates Tin Pan Theater, the downtown arthouse cinema, and runs Free Movies in the Park, the Basecamp filmmaker program, and youth filmmaking camps and workshops.
Volunteers run nearly every part of the Bend Film Festival, including box office and ticketing, theater and venue operations, guest and filmmaker hospitality, event and party support, and distributing the festival guide. Year-round, volunteers also help with screenings, special events, and parties. Perks include a festival volunteer tee, screenings when seats are available, and free Tin Pan Theater tickets.
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Heaven Can Wait 5K is Central Oregon's walk and run for breast cancer awareness, founded in 2000 by breast cancer survivor Charlene Levesque with the Central Oregon Running Klub. Held each fall at Redmond High School, it benefits Sara's Project, the St. Charles Foundation initiative supporting local breast cancer patients, and has raised more than $2 million for education, early detection, and patient support.
Volunteers make race weekend happen, with shifts from Friday through Sunday: bib pickup and registration at FootZone in Bend and in Redmond, Saturday venue setup, and on race day course marshals, water stations, course and finish-line cheerleaders, parking, merchandise, and cleanup. Most shifts run two to three hours, and some roles are open to volunteers as young as 12. Sign up for a shift online.
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Catalyze Central Oregon makes it simple for residents to discover, support, and engage with local nonprofits — so giving becomes part of everyday life.
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Central Oregon Volunteer Connect
also known as COVC, Volunteer Connect, Volunteer Central Oregon
Central Oregon Volunteer Connect is a program of Connect Central Oregon representing one of their four pillars - alongside Mentoring, Innovation, and Partnership. It's a regional infrastructure, shaped and stewarded by community leaders over more than two decades connecting organizations, volunteers, emerging leaders, and community energy across Central Oregon. Along with direct partnership outreach across the region, most notably the Connect Central Oregon Volunteer & Board Fair — the in-person event connecting volunteers and organizations face to face, their Volunteer Central Oregon directory allows browsing or searching to find organizations across Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties, and Warm Springs looking for volunteers, donors, and community partners.
Connect Central Oregon is always looking for leaders who want to help connect individuals, groups, and organizations to each other and strengthen our community. One of the most important roles within the entire organization, serving as a "Connector" represents the very purpose of ConnectCO and serves as the primary method of our community engagement...using very literally every resource ConnectCO and its leadership team have to offer.
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Tower Theatre Foundation, Inc., The
also known as Tower Theatre
The Tower Theatre is downtown Bend's historic performing arts center, a 460-seat Streamline Moderne landmark whose neon tower has lit up Wall Street since 1940. Saved from closure by the nonprofit Tower Theatre Foundation and fully renovated in 2004, it hosts concerts, theater, dance, film festivals, lectures, and community events, along with its LessonPLAN youth education programs. The Doug Watson Scholarship for Performing Arts honors Doug Watson, the Foundation's longtime board chair and a co-founder of Connect Central Oregon, by helping graduating seniors across Central Oregon pursue the arts in college.
Tower Theatre relies on a large crew of volunteers to keep the venue running. Opportunities include ushering, photography, giving tours, administrative support, hospitality, community liaison work, and helping with special events, with weekly trainings offered.
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Furnish Hope is a Bend-based nonprofit furniture bank working to end furniture poverty in Central Oregon. It collects gently used furniture and household essentials and delivers them to individuals and families moving into stable housing, turning empty houses into furnished homes that foster permanency, comfort, and pride. Its boutique resale store, Furnish Hope & Home, along with home staging and design services, helps fund the mission.
Volunteers drive and co-pilot furniture deliveries, connect with recipients as community liaisons, gather and sort donations at the donation center, staff the Furnish Hope & Home resale store, and help remotely with admin work, events, and fundraising. Regular weekly shifts are offered, many roles don't require heavy lifting, and groups can schedule a team volunteer day.
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Connect Central Oregon is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that strengthens communities in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties (plus Warm Springs) by connecting people with volunteer opportunities, board positions, and mentorship. It promotes civic engagement, community leadership, and innovation through platforms like Central Oregon Volunteer Connect.
Volunteers help run CCO's community events, from volunteer and board fairs to robotics and drone expositions, support community media production, and help keep the Volunteer Central Oregon directory accurate by reviewing organization listings. Students and groups are welcome, and CCO can sign off on community service hours.
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Deschutes Women in Business
also known as DWB
A woman+ community founded in 2024 to connect and empower local women to reach their full potential in business. Industry and stage agnostic, it welcomes founders, operators, and leaders through workshops, networking, and large quarterly gatherings like its sold-out 2026 event at Tetherow. Listed as a Central Oregon business resource by EDCO.
Members connect through quarterly gatherings, Learn & Connect workshops, and Move & Connect meetups, and can give back by sharing their expertise as speakers and panelists, mentoring newer founders, hosting events, and helping welcome new members. Open to women founders, operators, and leaders in any industry and at any stage.
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Caldera, founded in 1996 by Dan Wieden and Priscilla Bernard Wieden, inspires and supports youth from underserved urban and rural communities by awakening the potential of their creative voice. Its free, long-term youth program pairs kids with artists and mentors for seven-plus years through school-year programming and summer camps at its campus on Blue Lake west of Sisters, blending art, music, dance, writing, film, and time in nature. It also hosts an Artists in Residence program. In 2015 it was the first Oregon nonprofit to win the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, presented at the White House.
Volunteers support events and workshops that bring the community together, help in operational roles that keep programs running, and take on youth program support roles, sharing their knowledge and creativity with students ages 12 to 18. Commitments range from a few hours a month to more, year-round, in Central Oregon communities and the Portland area.
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Redmond Area Park And Recreation District
also known as RAPRD; Redmond Parks and Rec; The Hub; Cascade Swim Center
A special district providing aquatic and recreation programs, facilities, parks and trails in the greater Redmond area. RAPRD runs The Hub, its aquatic and recreation center, and offers swim lessons, youth and adult sports leagues, fitness, art and enrichment classes, summer camps and adaptive recreation.
Volunteer coaches are always needed for youth sports leagues; coaches complete a background check, concussion training and a pre-season clinic. Volunteers also support adaptive recreation programs and other youth programs, and roles range from coaching to grant writing. Community members can serve on the district's budget committee. Apply with the district's volunteer application; volunteers under 18 need a parent or guardian signature.
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Heart of Oregon Corps empowers young people ages 16–24 through jobs, job training, education, and service to Central Oregon communities. Its programs include YouthBuild, where youth build affordable homes while continuing their education, the High Desert and Central Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, Camp LEAD, and Food Heroes. Since 2000, it has served more than 4,750 youth who are disconnected from school and work.
Volunteers can mentor a young person working to build job skills and finish their education, join the Employer Advisory Council to connect Corps members with local employers and careers, or serve on the Board of Directors (two seats are reserved for program alumni, and no prior board experience is needed). General volunteer opportunities are also available through the inquiry form.
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SAGE - Senior Advocates for Generational Equity
also known as SAGE
SAGE (Senior Advocates for Generational Equity) helps people over 50 give forward so that younger and future generations can thrive. SAGE members in central Deschutes County volunteer their time and experience with local youth-serving programs and advocate for policies that support children and families.
SAGE offers a range of ways to give forward, including leading or joining discussion groups and workshops, mentoring younger generations, event support, and contributing to special projects. Some opportunities are with SAGE directly, others through partner organizations SAGE promotes in the community.
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A random selection of organizations, different on every visit
Friends of the Metolius is a Camp Sherman-based conservation nonprofit protecting the natural resources and legacy of the Metolius Basin, with its unique water, forests, and wildlife. It monitors water quality and stream health, advocates for the basin, works with the U.S. Forest Service and Camp Sherman Historical Society to restore historic structures, and offers summer interpretive walks.
Volunteers maintain trails in the Metolius Basin, help restore historic structures like the Cinder Beach shelter, support summer interpretive walks, and serve as docents at the historic Black Butte fire lookout cupola, sharing its story with hikers. Reach out through the Friends' website to join a work party or the docent program.
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The Deschutes Public Library Foundation raises private support for Deschutes Public Library, funding programs and services beyond the library's budget, such as author events, early literacy, summer reading, and special collections, for readers of all ages across Deschutes County.
Volunteers help the Foundation with fundraising events, donor outreach, and community programs like author events. For hands-on volunteering in the libraries themselves (shelving, programs, teen volunteering), apply through Deschutes Public Library.
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Rawley Project, The
also known as FixBend
The Rawley Project is a Bend dog rescue that finds homes for abandoned dogs and provides temporary refuge for the pets of people in crisis who don't want to surrender them, and runs FIXBend, which offers low-cost spay and neuter surgeries to reduce pet overpopulation.
Volunteers foster dogs in their own homes — a short-term commitment with lasting impact — and support the FIXbend program, which provides low-cost spay/neuter, vaccine, and microchip services to reduce pet overpopulation in the community. The Rawley Project also provides temporary refuge for pets belonging to people in crisis, so volunteers may help care for animals during a family's transition.
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Sunriver Women's Club
also known as SRWC
All-volunteer community service club welcoming women from Sunriver, La Pine, Bend, and beyond, combining social connection with serious philanthropy. Its community grants, $92,000 to 14 nonprofits this year, focus on south Deschutes County needs: child abuse prevention, education and youth, hunger, health, and safe housing. Its 2026 Power of Giving: End Hunger campaign raised nearly $60,000, beating its goal by half.
A 100% volunteer organization logging more than 10,000 hours a year. Anyone can help staff Kids' Day and July 4th ticket booths in the Village at Sunriver, the Community Picnic, and the Sunriver Art Fair. Members also lead hikes, join hands-on service projects with grantee nonprofits, serve on the grants committee, and help run fundraisers like Art Meets Wine and Power of Giving.
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Age Friendly Sisters Country
also known as AFSC
Age Friendly Sisters Country (AFSC) champions a livable, resilient Sisters Country that people of all ages are proud to call home. Its all-volunteer board fiscally sponsors resident-led Action Teams, giving good ideas the nonprofit status, accounting, and support to become community projects in housing, transportation, health, and social inclusion. AFSC helped Sisters join the WHO/AARP network of age-friendly communities.
Join an Action Team working on a local issue you care about, from housing and transportation to health services and social inclusion, or serve on AFSC's all-volunteer Board of Directors to help incubate new community projects. Have an idea of your own? AFSC can fiscally sponsor it, providing the nonprofit status, accounting, and support to get it off the ground.
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ClearPath Healthcare
also known as Hospice of Redmond
ClearPath Healthcare, formerly Hospice of Redmond, is a local nonprofit that has cared for Central Oregon families since 1979. Now serving much of Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson Counties, it provides hospice care, in-home primary care for homebound seniors, and free Transitions support for people facing serious illness, plus grief support open to anyone in the community, special care for veterans, and the Pet Peace of Mind program that cares for patients' pets.
Trained hospice volunteers are part of the care team: offering companionship and respite so family caregivers can rest, sitting vigil, supporting veterans through We Honor Veterans, and helping with grief support. Others help with the Pet Peace of Mind program, community events like the Festival of Trees and Light Up a Life, Camp Sunrise for grieving kids, and office work. No medical background is needed; training is provided.
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Oregon High Desert Grotto
also known as OHDG
The Oregon High Desert Grotto is Central Oregon's caving club, a Bend-based chapter of the National Speleological Society founded in 1989. Its members explore, survey, map, and photograph the region's lava tubes and caves, and work to protect these fragile underground ecosystems through cave cleanups, graffiti removal, and responsible-caving education, earning a USDA Forest Service Partnership Award along the way.
Volunteers and members help protect Central Oregon's caves through cleanups and graffiti removal, cave surveying and mapping, and photo documentation, often alongside land managers and local partners. Cave cleanups are a great first way to get involved; members also receive the club newsletter and invitations to caving trips. Anyone who respects the fragility of caves is welcome.
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M Perfectly
also known as M Perfectly Me, Ranch of Refuge, #ReadForRefuge
Bend nonprofit walking alongside women rebuilding their lives after homelessness, addiction, domestic violence, and human trafficking. Partnering with Abi's House, New Priorities, Deschutes County Parole & Probation, and other local programs, it teaches life skills in personal finance, health, communication, and careers, with SMART goal coaching that continues after women graduate. It is raising funds to build the Ranch of Refuge, a restorative community for women and children leaving crisis.
M Perfectly welcomes volunteers with skills to share: financial literacy, career development, health and nutrition, photography, hair, makeup, and styling, caregiving, and more. Volunteers lead workshops, coach women on their goals, and help with events and the Ranch of Refuge campaign. Book clubs, churches, and workplaces can join the #ReadForRefuge read-along. Above all, they want people who love without judgment.
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Central Oregon Trail Alliance, Inc.
also known as COTA
Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) develops, protects, and enhances the Central Oregon mountain bike experience through trail stewardship, advocacy, collaboration, and education. Working with the Forest Service, BLM, and other land managers, this largely volunteer-powered nonprofit stewards nearly 600 miles of singletrack, five bike parks, and groomed winter fat bike trails across a region roughly 100 miles north to south and east to west, with local chapters and a goal of putting every Central Oregonian within 20 minutes of a trail.
COTA volunteers logged more than 20,000 hours last year building and maintaining trails across a region roughly 100 miles on each side. Join a trail work day with no experience needed, train as a volunteer crew leader, earn USDA national sawyer certification through COTA's saw program to clear downed trees, help groom winter fat bike trails, or get involved with a local chapter. Businesses and community groups can book their own trail work events.
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Youth Choir of Central Oregon
also known as YCCO
Youth Choir of Central Oregon has been developing young voices for more than 30 years. Its choirs for boys and girls are organized by age and ability, from beginner sessions for the youngest singers to auditioned choirs for grades 5 through 12, with a strong focus on vocal technique. Singers perform concerts each season and tour in-state, nationally, and internationally.
The choir runs on a small staff, a volunteer board, and parent volunteers. Families and community members help behind the scenes at rehearsals, concerts, and tours, and can serve on the board. Supporters can also sponsor a chorister. Contact the choir office to offer your help.
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Sisters Transportation and Ride Share (STARS)
also known as STARS
Sisters Transportation and Ride Share (STARS) provides free, curb-to-curb rides to non-emergency medical appointments for Sisters Country residents who can't drive themselves, including doctor, dental, lab, and physical therapy visits in Sisters, Bend, and Redmond. Launched in 2020 as an Age Friendly Sisters Country Action Team, STARS became an independent all-volunteer nonprofit in 2024 and provided 832 round-trip rides in 2025.
Volunteer drivers use their own cars to take neighbors to medical appointments, picking up rides that fit their schedule on weekdays between 8 am and 5 pm; STARS provides training and the rides go to Sisters, Bend, and Redmond. Volunteer dispatchers take ride requests by phone and match passengers with drivers, and Spanish-speaking dispatchers are especially welcome.
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The Oregon Long-Term Care Ombudsman program advocates for residents of nursing facilities, assisted living, and adult foster homes, protecting their rights, dignity, and quality of care through trained volunteer ombudsmen who visit facilities and help resolve residents' concerns.
Certified volunteer ombudsmen are assigned to local nursing homes and care facilities, visiting residents regularly, listening to concerns, and advocating for their rights and quality of care. The state provides training and certification, and volunteers set a few hours a week to their own schedule.
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You haven't seen them all yet. There are more organizations below.