Region
Volunteer Opportunities in Jefferson County, Oregon
Matching organizations, in a different order on every visit
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.
Catalyze Central Oregon makes it simple for residents to discover, support, and engage with local nonprofits — so giving becomes part of everyday life.
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.
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.
Mountainstar Family Relief Nursery works to prevent child abuse and neglect by supporting young children and their families, offering free therapeutic preschool classrooms, home visits, parenting education, and family support services at sites across Central Oregon.
Volunteer opportunities include classroom support in therapeutic preschool programs, MLK Day service projects, monthly Community Care Project donation drives (like hygiene kits), and support for fundraising events such as Birdies 4 Babies.
Crooked River Ranch Volunteer Fire Association
also known as Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue
The Crooked River Ranch Volunteer Fire Association supports the volunteers of Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue, which serves the Ranch with structural and wildland firefighting, emergency medical services, and technical rescue alongside career staff. The association backs its volunteer firefighters through training and community events like the station's annual pancake breakfast.
Volunteers join Crooked River Ranch Fire & Rescue as firefighters and EMS responders, training in fire suppression, rescue, and patient care, operating hoses, pumps, and apparatus, and helping maintain equipment and facilities. Others help with the district's administrative work or join the Crooked River Ranch CERT team to support neighbors during emergencies. Training is provided.
Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District
also known as Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District; SCSFD
The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District is a combination career and volunteer fire department serving Sisters, Camp Sherman, and the surrounding area, home to about 6,500 year-round residents and up to 20,000 in summer. It provides fire suppression, advanced life support EMS, and rescue from stations in Sisters and Camp Sherman, plus fire prevention education, wildfire home assessments, and fuel reduction.
Volunteers serve as firefighters and EMTs, with training and EMT tuition provided, and there is a particular need at the Camp Sherman station. Fire Corps auxiliary volunteers support crews with food and drinks during long incidents, help people affected by emergencies, and teach CPR, first aid, and Stop the Bleed. A resident volunteer program for ages 18 and up includes housing and a COCC fire science or EMS scholarship.
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.
Saving Grace
also known as Saving Grace Imagine Life Without Violence
Saving Grace provides comprehensive services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Central Oregon, including a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, advocacy at hospitals and the courthouse, support groups, and community education and prevention, all built on the belief that everyone deserves a life free from violence.
Volunteers complete a 40-hour advocate training to work directly with survivors, staffing the crisis hotline, supporting shelter residents, facilitating support groups, and accompanying survivors at hospitals or the courthouse. Background check and 18+ required.
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