Region
Volunteer Opportunities in Sisters, Oregon
Matching organizations, in a different order on every visit
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.
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.
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.
A special district providing parks, recreation programs, and youth activities to enhance livability and community connection in Sisters, Oregon.
Volunteers, including parents, help run youth sports and recreation programs, serve on the board of directors, and support community events like the annual Easter egg hunt at Creekside Park.
Big Ponderoo
also known as Big Ponderoo Music + Art Festival
The Big Ponderoo Music + Art Festival is a two-day summer festival in Sisters' Village Green Park featuring lively, danceable Americana and bluegrass on outdoor stages, interactive art experiences, and local art vendors. Produced by SFF Presents since 2023, it is built as a throwback to friendlier festivals: bring your own chair, skip the huge service fees, and make friends with the people around you. Its fifth year is June 25–26, 2027.
Volunteers make the festival possible, helping with gates and entry, guest services, bars and concessions, artist hospitality, and set-up and take-down in Village Green Park. Volunteers earn a free festival pass. Ages 16–17 can volunteer with a signed parent or guardian waiver. Create a volunteer account through the festival site to get shift alerts.
Commute Options increases access to transportation options across Oregon, helping people walk, bike, roll, carpool, vanpool, and ride transit more and drive alone less. Based in Bend, it runs Safe Routes to School programs with bike and pedestrian safety education and walking school buses, the Get There commuter challenge and rewards program, and free e-bike safety education.
Volunteers lead Walking School Bus routes, walking students to and from school on a planned route, and support Safe Routes to School by helping at Walk+Roll to School Day, leading safety workshops, and mapping safe walking and biking routes. Volunteers also help at community bike and walk events and Get There challenge outreach, and board service is available.
Wanderlust Tours is a Bend-based guide company that has led half-day, naturalist-guided outdoor trips around Central Oregon since 1993, from canoe and kayak tours on the Cascade Lakes to lava tube cave explorations and snowshoe outings. Its mission is to share the region's natural and cultural history in a way that builds appreciation for protecting it, and through its Voluntourism program it organizes regular cleanups and restoration days with local nonprofit partners.
Volunteers join Wanderlust Tours' Voluntourism outings: seasonal cleanups of Central Oregon's lava tube caves in spring and the Cascade Lakes in fall, plus restoration projects with local nonprofit partners. Outings are organized for small groups and company teams, and usually end with a refreshing beverage in the high desert.
A nonprofit serving Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties through food access, housing stability, child care, and financial services, empowering individuals and families to succeed.
Volunteer opportunities include sorting and packing donated food, supporting warehouse operations, and helping with group service days for corporate and community groups across food, housing, and family support programs.
J Bar J Youth Services, Inc.
also known as J Bar J; J Bar J Boys Ranch
Founded in 1968, J Bar J Youth Services is the largest provider of services to at-risk youth and families in Central Oregon. Its programs include J Bar J Boys Ranch and J5, the J Bar J Learning Center, Cascade Youth & Family Center, Grandma's House, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon, Kindred Connections and the at: project anti-trafficking program. The Oregon High Desert Classics horse show is its major fundraiser.
Volunteering at J Bar J happens through its programs. Adults mentor children through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon. Volunteer families and church communities support families in crisis through Kindred Connections, mentoring parents and providing temporary housing for children. J Bar J does not publish a single volunteer page, so contact the program that interests you or the main office to ask about other ways to help.
The Oregon Band of Brothers gives veterans of every era since World War II, along with current service members and their families, a place to share friendship, camaraderie, and support. Founded in Bend in 2006 by a few WWII veterans meeting for coffee, it has grown into hundreds of members with chapters in Bend, La Pine, Prineville, Redmond, Sisters, and Burns. Chapters raise funds for veterans in need, provide the Flag Line honor guard at veterans' funerals, and support veterans' causes.
Veterans, current service members, and their spouses and close family join local chapters' weekly meetings and help with their service work: the Flag Line honor guard at veterans' funerals and memorial ceremonies, fundraising to assist veterans in need, and support for Honor Flight and other veterans' organizations. There are no dues. Non-veterans who help local veterans can be welcomed as associates.
You haven't seen them all yet. There are more organizations below.