Focus Area
Education & Workforce Volunteering in Central Oregon
Matching organizations, in a different order on every visit
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.
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.
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.
The Latino Community Association (LCA) empowers Latino families in Central Oregon to thrive, serving more than 12,000 people a year from offices in Bend, Redmond, Madras, and Prineville. Programs include English and citizenship classes, immigration legal services, health and family support, and computer literacy, alongside cultural events like Latino Fest, Welcoming Week, Día de los Muertos, and Christmas Posadas.
Volunteers provide bilingual support across LCA's programs: translation and interpretation, front-desk and client services, English tutoring, and help at cultural celebrations like Día de los Muertos, Latino Fest, and the Christmas Posadas community dinner, plus flyer distribution in Bend, Redmond, Madras, and Prineville. Spanish/English skills are especially valuable, and board service is also available.
Bend Emerging Talent
also known as Bend ET, Bend Young Professionals, Bend YP
Bend Emerging Talent, a BendNEXT Foundation program formerly known as Bend Young Professionals, helps early- and mid-career professionals build connections, grow professionally, and get involved in the community through learning and networking events, mentorship circles, and an annual Summit. It's open to all, with no membership required, and over the years local partners, including Connect Central Oregon, have helped support and share its programs.
Volunteers on the Ambassador and Advisory Council guide, plan, and champion Bend ET's events and programs, including the annual Summit, and members connect with community service and nonprofit involvement through the network. Seasoned professionals can volunteer as mentors in mentorship circles for rising leaders.
Leadership Crook County is the Crook County Foundation's community leadership program, relaunched in 2025 after a pause of several years. Each cohort spends the school year exploring how Crook County works, covering local government, economic development, education, natural resources, and health and human services, while building leadership skills. Graduates have gone on to serve as county commissioner, city councilor, school board member, and on local nonprofit boards.
Apply to join a cohort of emerging and established leaders for a nine-month program of monthly sessions with the people who run local government, schools, nonprofits, and businesses. Many participants connect with a local nonprofit during the program, and graduates go on to serve on boards, commissions, and in elected office. Businesses can sponsor the program or a participant.
Friends of Westside Village Magnet School
also known as Friends of Westside, Friends of WVMS
Friends of Westside Village Magnet School is a grassroots 501(c)(3) formed in 2008 by Westside Village parents and the wider community. Going well beyond a typical PTO, it runs the school's after-school program, where students and families bring their own ideas for clubs, activities, and experiences, and it funds camps during school holidays and summer break, school events, materials, staff development, curriculum, and student transportation.
Parents and community members volunteer by proposing and leading after-school clubs and activities, sharing a skill or passion with students, helping run holiday and summer camps, supporting school events and fundraisers, and serving on the Friends board.
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.
BendNEXT Foundation
also known as Leadership Bend Foundation
The BendNEXT Foundation is the 501(c)(3) arm of the Bend Chamber of Commerce. Originally the Leadership Bend Foundation (1997), it was renamed in 2019 and runs the Chamber's leadership and workforce programs, including Leadership Bend, Bend Emerging Talent, NEXTUp Leaders, and the Bend 101 community orientation series, along with Chamber-led initiatives on workforce housing and childcare.
Community members support BendNEXT programs by serving on the Bend Emerging Talent Ambassador and Advisory Council, mentoring in its mentorship circles, speaking to Leadership Bend and Bend 101 cohorts, helping at program events, and joining working groups on workforce housing and childcare. Employers can sponsor participants and scholarships.
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.
The Father's Group is a Black-led Central Oregon nonprofit founded by Black fathers concerned about their children's experiences in school and the community. Its programs include the Ujima and Empowered Youth programs, the IDA savings and Drive With Dignity programs, and the DeShaun Adderley Scholarship, and it hosts Central Oregon's Juneteenth celebration while working with schools, police, and city government on equity.
Volunteers help with the Ujima Youth Program, the annual Juneteenth Festival, community event pop-ups, and general needs across The Father's Group's work supporting Black youth and families in Central Oregon. Sign up with the initiative you're interested in, and the team will reach out to plug you in when opportunities come up.
Crook County School District
also known as CCSD, Crook County Schools
Crook County School District is the public school district for Prineville and Crook County, operating elementary and middle schools, Crook County High School, and rural schools, along with programs like ASPIRE college and career mentoring. Parents and community members volunteer in schools and through booster and parent groups across the district.
Volunteers support Crook County students in classrooms, libraries, and at school events, and at Crook County High School they can become ASPIRE mentors in the Future Center, helping students plan for college and careers. Volunteers complete the district's approval process before starting, and school booster and parent groups offer more ways to help.
You haven't seen them all yet. There are more organizations below.