Plenty of people are thinking about the welfare of children in Bend right about now, in the wake of a tragedy that directly affected the young people of the city. At Assistance League of Bend, its members have had a similar mission in mind for decades. As part of a larger national network of Assistance League chapters, the Bend chapter’s first mission is Operation School Bell, which helps outfit local children with clothes they can wear to school. This year, the Bend chapter provided clothing vouchers to 1,819 children in Bend, Redmond, Sisters and La Pine.
Advocates with the Family Access Network in local schools help to identify kids who may need help with clothes, and make referrals to the Assistance League, which then holds a fall and spring “dressing” for local kids. This fall, 39 vouchers went to students at Silver Rail Elementary; after the Oct. 15 shooting, Assistance League issued nine emergency vouchers to students at the school, said Assistance League of Bend President Marsha Bechtold.
“It gives them the ability to go out and not have to worry about anything other than doing what they need to do in their learning and creative process,” Bechtold said about Operation School Bell. “It has been proven that it reduces bullying. And you don’t have to worry about whether or not your shoes are too big or your pants have holes in them.”
Assistance League of Bend is the local version of an organization that started over 100 years ago, in 1919 in Los Angeles, to clothe children and stock local food pantries. Operation School Bell formally began in 1958 when a volunteer witnessed a kid being sent home from school for not having appropriate clothing.
Today the Bend chapter — which operates entirely through the support of just over 100 volunteers — also helps to clothe kids in the foster care system, and puts on a Breakfast with Santa at Pine Tavern that brings in funds for the organization. The nonprofit also operates the These Kids are Cookin’ program, teaching kids how to cook and prepare basic meals. And when a formal event is coming around the corner, the nonprofit welcomes teens to visit Cinderella’s Closet, where they can borrow formal wear — including dresses, shoes and accessories — for events including prom and homecoming. That program has exploded in size in the last several years, Bechtold said.
In addition to its work with local youth, Assistance League of Bend volunteers make hats and comfort items for those undergoing cancer treatment at St. Charles Health System. And Assistance League of Bend’s Senior Caring program delivers hygiene supplies and other gifts to older adults at 17 senior-care facilities in the area.
“When you’re in one of these facilities, they do not provide towels. They don’t provide your sheets, and they don’t provide your blankets. They don’t provide you with shampoo,” Bechtold said. “So if you don’t have people in your family that can bring you in these things — then these are the people that we serve.”
Bechtold, who’s been volunteering with Assistance League of Bend since 2003, and has served on the board for 18 years, said what she’s most proud of is the nonprofit’s all-volunteer crew, who help to bring in the donations that make a difference for local youth and seniors.
On top of its participation in Central Oregon Gives, Assistance League of Bend is getting ready for its biggest annual fundraiser, the Raise a Glass event happening Friday, Nov. 13 at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bend. Funds raised at the dinner and auction directly support Operation School Bell.
To sum it up, Bechtold said, “We dress more children than anybody else in Deschutes County, and we do it of our own resolve.”
Assistance League of Bend
Assistanceleague.org/chapter/bend
This article appears in the Source November 5, 2026.
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