In spite of the exponential growth Bend has seen over the last few years, and the challenges of 2020, our community remains connected. We are strong as ever when a ‘barn raising’ such as a Vocational school for youth or housing for Veterans is needed, and you can count on Rotarians to be there to help!

The Bend Rotary Clubs supported J Bar J Youth Services construction of a Vocational Training School for the adjudicated youth in residence at the boy’s ranch. The J Bar J program is designed to help the boys understand and change the behavior that brought them here and help them achieve a GED and or a High School Diploma. In 2019 a Vocational training program was added to include training in the construction trades and Culinary Arts.

The Bend Rotary Clubs understood the need for this training immediately and stepped up to help. Mt Bachelor Rotary donated funds from the St. Patrick Day Run and Greater Bend committed $75,000, naming this their 3 year Signature Project.

The boys are now receiving instruction in the classroom and on line and are getting hands on experience building the tiny homes through a mentorship with Hayden Homes Project Manager, James Limerick. The boys will build the first three homes for The Bend Heroes Foundation’s Veterans Village at J Bar J and transported to the permanent site on Poe Sholes Road where the village is under development.

Deschutes County has leased the land to The Bend Heroes Foundation for the Veterans Village and the City of Bend is forgoing development fees and has awarded $200,000 to the project. Many community businesses, local and state foundations and citizens have donated to this project for homeless Veterans.

It’s been said many times but nothing describes this project better than the phrase “It takes a village.” That village often starts with or includes the community servants of Rotary.

The World Community Service team of the Rotary Club of Greater Bend is pleased to announce they have received full funding for a humanitarian project in rural Guatemala. This project will supply the Hospital Obras Sociales de Monsignor Gregorio Schaffer in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala with a C-arm X-ray Fluoroscopy unit for their surgical ward.

This C-arm will be used for fluoroscopic intraoperative imaging during surgical, orthopedic and emergency care procedures. This device will provide real-time x-ray images allowing the physician to monitor progress and immediately make corrections. The use of c-arm units dramatically improves the capabilities of the surgical units and provides for better patient outcomes.

The Hospital Obras Sociales de Monsignor Gregorio Schaffer is a mission hospital providing low cost or free health care to the community of San Lucas Toliman and surrounding areas. The hospital serves a largely indigenous population of about 35,000 people.

In 2017 the hospital served over 23,600 patients, providing many of them with life-saving surgical treatments. The surgical ward hosts many surgical mission trips per year including 6 planned this year alone: Podiatry/General Orthopedic Surgery team from Seattle, General Surgery team from Henry Ford Hospital, and Urology/Gynecology teams from Dallas and Oklahoma.

All the above-mentioned teams would be able to utilize the c-arm unit to improve the outcomes for their patients.

The Rotary Club of Greater Bend is proud to announce discretionary grant award recipients for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Discretionary grants are made possible through the various fundraising efforts of the club to include wine raffle sales, sports program ad sales and member donations.

• Assistance League of Bend – $2,000 to support Operation School Bell, providing new clothes and shoes for students in need residing in Deschutes County
• Boys & Girls Club of Bend – $1,500 for the purchase of two laptops to support their positive youth development programs
• Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs – $900 towards the purchase of a new dining table for the Child Protective Services facility
• Education Foundation for Bend-La Pine Schools – $900 for a drone kit to increase STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning opportunities in the district
• Healing Reigns – $1,200 to purchase two computers to support their therapeutic riding programs for people with special needs
• Heart of Oregon Corps – $500 to help provide job skills training, education and leadership development for youth 16-24 years of age
• High Desert Museum – $2,000 to support the Little Wonders program, providing free family memberships to area Head Start participants and their families
• Mountain Star Family Relief Nursery – $2,000 via a Rotary district matching grant to support the Parent Engagement Program
• Rebecca Foundation – $1,000 to purchase disposable diapers for the Bend Diaper Bank benefiting low-income populations
• Samara Learning Center – $1,000 towards the establishment of a scholarship fund for summer academic camps benefiting students with learning challenges in grades 1-8
• Sparrow Clubs – $500 to sponsor the Swinging with the Stars fundraiser
• United Way of Deschutes County – $3,000 to support professional development to address TRACES (trauma, resilience and adverse childhood experiences)
• Younity – $1,000 to support Challenge Day, a student empowerment and bullying prevention program

Duck Race beneficiaries for 2018 were also selected:

J Bar J Youth Services – To establish a vocational program for adjudicated boys to provide technical skills to help them earn living wages

Rotary Club of Greater Bend Foundation – To provide scholarships for underserved students at COCC and OSU Cascades and to support the Bend-La Pine Schools Perseverance Awards

The Giving Plate – To support the purchase of a new van for food pick-ups and deliveries to people in need throughout Central Oregon

Over the years, the Great Rotary Duck Race has generated more than $1 million for local charities. As the largest participant/ticket seller, Rotary Club of Greater Bend, is able to directly designate $20,000-$28,000 annually to worthy nonprofits.

Club President, Carolyn Jarschke conveyed, “The Rotary Club of Greater Bend was formed in 1976 and has been actively engaged in serving our community ever since. Our goal is to positively impact the lives of families (with an emphasis on children and youth) and we have helped provide vision, energy, coordination and funding for many major projects in the local community and around the world.”

For more information, contact Heather Vihstadt, Donations Committee Chair at donationrequest@greaterbendrotary.com.