Region
Volunteer Opportunities in Crook County, Oregon
Matching organizations, in a different order on every visit
Catalyze Central Oregon makes it simple for residents to discover, support, and engage with local nonprofits — so giving becomes part of everyday life.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
St. Charles Hospice provides compassionate end-of-life care across Central Oregon, supporting patients and families at home and in care settings with medical care, pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, and grief support, as part of St. Charles Health System.
Trained hospice volunteers offer companionship and support to patients and families, from visiting and reading to giving caregivers a break, sitting vigil, and helping with bereavement support, plus office and event roles for those who prefer not to work directly with patients.
Central Oregon Disability Support Network, Inc.
also known as CODSN
Central Oregon Disability Support Network (CODSN) offers no-cost, peer-delivered support to people with disabilities and their families across Central and Eastern Oregon; every team member has been touched by disability. CODSN provides one-on-one support after a new diagnosis, disability education, advocacy coaching, parent support groups, and family events, and hosts the annual Breaking Barriers Conference.
Volunteers help at family events and programs as their schedules allow, with no ongoing commitment. Roles include Jason's Run & Recharge respite care (looking after kids with disabilities so parents get a few hours to recharge), supporting riders at a summer adaptive bike camp, running games and treats at family celebrations, and helping at trainings, resource fairs, and the Breaking Barriers Conference.
Sparrow Clubs USA empowers kids to help kids in medical need through compassion, kindness, and sponsored community service. A local school adopts a child facing a medical crisis as its Sparrow, a business sponsor pledges funds, and students earn those funds for the family by completing community service hours in the child's name. Based in Bend, it runs clubs across Central Oregon and beyond.
Students volunteer through their school's Sparrow Club, completing community service projects in their Sparrow's name; every service hour earns sponsor money for the child's family, and the program is free to schools. Teachers and schools can start a club, and businesses can sponsor a Sparrow project or support fundraisers like Dancing with the Central Oregon Stars.
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.
Volunteers 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.
The High Desert Museum, just south of Bend, is the largest cultural institution in Central and Eastern Oregon and the only museum in the nation devoted to North America's High Desert. Opened in 1982 on 135 acres, it brings together live wildlife, art, history, and the region's Indigenous and pioneer cultures through indoor and outdoor exhibits, living history, bird of prey encounters, and hands-on STEAM programs, camps, and outreach for learners of all ages.
Volunteers support nearly every part of the Museum, from staffing exhibits and leading hands-on activities for visitors to helping school groups on field trips, assisting at Admissions, and interpreting living history and natural history at various sites. Teen-specific roles are available seasonally. Adult volunteers complete a background check and orientation.
Central Oregon Guardian Assistance Program
also known as COGAP
Bend nonprofit providing pro bono court-appointed guardianship and conservatorship services to incapacitated adults of limited means across Central Oregon, helping people who can't make their own medical, housing, or financial decisions move out of hospitals, jails, or unsafe situations into appropriate care. It also offers community education on planning for incapacity and end-of-life decision-making.
Visitation volunteers regularly visit clients living in care facilities so they feel cared for and not forgotten, with training and shadowing provided and a background check required. Volunteers can also help with donation drives and fundraising, community outreach, and administrative support.
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