What happens when homework help meets basketball courts, art supplies meet leadership training, and caring mentors meet kids who are ready to explore? You get the Boys & Girls Club of Bend. This year, that winning combination earned it the Best Nonprofit award for its outstanding work with children and families.
“It’s super exciting to step in an organization and have such an amazing team,” said Bri Slusser, interim CEO for the Boys & Girls Club of Bend. “I think it just shows that the organization is very much loved by the community and appreciated by parents and kids that attend the program.”
The club gives kids and teenagers a safe place to go after school and during summer break, offering everything from homework help to sports, arts and crafts, leadership programs and dozens of other activities. The club has programs specifically designed for kids from all different backgrounds, and all facilities work for members with disabilities, too. The Boys & Girls Club of Bend also provides financial help so any kid can participate. Housing Works even supports the east Bend location, showing how the whole community invests in kids’ futures.
What makes this club special isn’t just what it offers, but who it partners with to make it happen. They’ve built strong relationships with Bend-LaPine Schools, Bend Park and Recreation District and the Sylvan Learning, and secured partnerships with state-level organizations like the Oregon Department of Education and community violence intervention programs.
“We just couldn’t be more proud of our programming staff, the people who show up here every day to support our wonderful youth,” said Slusser. The organization also credits former CEO Bess Goggins, described as “a real go-getter” who “really lifted up the organization during her tenure.”
The program’s impact really shows up in kids like 11-year-old Hazel, who’s been coming since first grade and now helps mentor younger members.
“We have a couple of the kids in our group that have been going here for a while that go and volunteer to help the kids when it comes to art and crafts projects,” she explains.
Kids can get tutoring support, try new hobbies, hang out with friends and work with mentors who care about helping them succeed. Hazel’s favorite activities include field trips – she recently went mountain biking in Drake Park with six other kids – and a world geography program where students, “learn all about the countries of the world,” including “flags and cultures.”
With both downtown and east Bend facilities, the Boys & Girls Club of Bend continues expanding its reach while keeping the quality programming that earned this well-deserved community recognition.
Runner up: Family Access Network
Boys & Girls Club of Bend
Summer hours June 24-Aug. 22: Mon.- Fri., 7:30am-5:30pm
500 NW Wall St., Bend
bgcbend.org
This article appears in Best of Central Oregon 2025 and the Source August 21, 2025.
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