BEND, OR -- The Deschutes Children's Foundation received a big gift, Wednesday. Subaru of Bend collected $250 from each new car sold between November and January, totaling $50,000. "That's huge," says Executive Director Amy Ward. "This is an absolutely historic donation; the largest we've received of unrestricted funding and it makes a huge difference for us. We haven't quite decided where we're going to spend this money, yet. That's something we'll discuss at our next board meeting. But, this sets us up to have a great rest of the year."

The foundation offers support and space to a number of other local nonprofits, including Head Start, CASA, the Family Access Network and Saving Grace. "There's a variety of services provided, from domestic and child abuse intervention and prevention, to making sure kids get started off on the right foot and have the best chance of succeeding in the future." It manages the East Bend and Rosie Bareis Community campuses in Bend, Becky Johnson Community Center in Redmond and La Pine Community Campus. "If Deschutes Children's Foundation didn't exist, our partners would still be operating. But, they would have to raise more funds to manage their space to pay their rent, and that means they wouldn't be able to help as many children and families. And, children and families wouldn't have such great access to multiple services in one location."