The Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond is the county's year-round event grounds, home to the annual Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo each summer and hosting trade shows, concerts, livestock and horse events, and community gatherings throughout the year.
Volunteering looks likeEvent-day support during the annual Fair & Rodeo: driving shuttle carts, staffing the information booth, ushering at the rodeo or main stage, and helping out at exhibits. Read more ›
Who can volunteerAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)
The Giving Plate is a Bend food pantry offering dignified, choice-based food relief. Guests shop for free at its Community Store, children pick their own food at the Kid's Korner Market, a mobile pantry bus reaches rural communities, and weekend food packs go to students in Bend-La Pine schools. Read more ›
Volunteering looks likeVolunteers sort donations and produce, assemble orders, and unload trucks at the distribution center; drive or ride along on food pickups around Bend (clean driving record required); help at food drives and special… Read more ›
Who can volunteerGroupsCourt-Ordered / Community ServiceAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)Oregon Health Plan Hours
The Deschutes County 4-H Association supports 4-H youth development in Deschutes County in partnership with Oregon State University Extension. Read more ›
Volunteering looks likeAdult volunteers serve as club and project leaders, teaching youth in areas like livestock, foods, textiles, and STEM, plus event volunteers for the county fair. Read more ›
Who can volunteerAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)
Tumalo Lavender is a working lavender farm in Tumalo, northwest of Bend, growing lavender on-site and making bath, body, culinary, and home products sold at its farm store and online. Read more ›
Volunteering looks likeAt the annual Volunteer Harvest Day in September, family and friends drop in anytime during the day to help cut lavender and celebrate the end of the season on the farm. Read more ›
Who can volunteerFamiliesGroupsChildren (3–9)Preteens (10–12)Adolescents (13–18)Adults (19+)Older adults (65+)
The Rural Oregon Community Foundation, which also does business as the Crooked River Roundup Foundation, is a Prineville nonprofit dedicated to preserving the Western Way of Life. Read more ›
Volunteering looks likeVolunteers, including many local FFA and 4-H students, help run the foundation's annual Dinner & Dance fundraiser that kicks off Roundup week, and support youth programs like Boots and Roots and community events like the Fall Cowboy Gathering.
Who can volunteerGroupsSchool GroupsAdolescents (13–18)Adults (19+)Older adults (65+)
The Crooked River Roundup is Prineville's signature summer event, a week of PRCA professional rodeo and pari-mutuel horse racing at the Crook County Fairgrounds each June that draws more than 450 contestants from across the country. Read more ›
Volunteering looks likeA volunteer board and crew put on Roundup week each June, and community volunteers help with gates and ticketing, parking, concessions, the horse races, arena and grounds work, and the Roundup Parade through downtown Prineville. Read more ›
Who can volunteerGroupsAdolescents (13–18)Adults (19+)Older adults (65+)
A Bend nonprofit cultivating a community of environmental stewards working together to build a greener, healthier planet through advocacy, action and education. Read more ›
Volunteering looks likeHands-on garden and land stewardship from May through September, with monthly volunteer events during the season and training and tools provided. Read more ›
Who can volunteerAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)Oregon Health Plan Hours
Central Oregon's first nonprofit cannery, launched in 2025 to reduce farm food waste and fight food insecurity. It collects surplus produce from area farms that markets can't absorb and turns it into healthy, shelf-stable jams, sauces, pickled vegetables, and soups, supporting local growers while getting local food to families year-round.
Volunteering looks likeVolunteers help glean and collect surplus produce from local farms, prep and process fruits and vegetables in canning sessions, label and package finished goods, and support distribution to food access partners, plus outreach and fundraising events.
Who can volunteerAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)
The High Desert Horticultural Center (HDHC) helps Central Oregon communities create beautiful, sustainable landscapes with plants native to the east Cascades and sagebrush steppe. Read more ›
Volunteering looks likeFrom March through September, nursery volunteers help the WinterCreek crew with weeding, repotting, watering, and more, committing 1–3 hours one day a week on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Read more ›
Who can volunteerAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)
Central Oregon Veterans Ranch is a working ranch near Bend where veterans find community, purpose, and healing, offering housing and care for aging veterans in a peaceful rural setting and hands-on farm, garden, and animal work for veterans of all ages.
Volunteering looks likeCommunity volunteers keep the working ranch running: providing meals for veteran workdays and partner gatherings, admin and outreach help, technical (IT) support, gardening and greenhouse work, and seasonal workdays such as roadside clean-ups and garden teardown. Read more ›
Who can volunteerAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)
The Jefferson County 4-H Association supports 4-H youth development in Jefferson County in partnership with Oregon State University Extension, giving young people hands-on learning in livestock and animal science, foods, textiles, STEM, and more through club projects, events, and the Jefferson County Fair.
Volunteering looks likeAdult volunteers serve as club and project leaders, teaching youth in areas like livestock, foods, textiles, and STEM, plus event volunteers for the county fair. Read more ›
Who can volunteerAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)
Boundless Farmstead is a 20-acre mixed vegetable farm 15 miles east of Bend, growing without chemicals, sprays, or GMOs and with a focus on soil health, low waste, and community. Read more ›
Volunteering looks likeWorkshare volunteers help tend the farm's medicinal herb garden through the growing season: spreading bark chips, weeding, planting, harvesting, and drying herbs. Read more ›
Who can volunteerAdults (19+)Older adults (65+)