About BGCCO

Central Oregon's population boom over the last decade has had some noticable side effects. Among them is the increasing number of children without parental supervision after school. Locally, an increasing number of children are now left alone between 2pm and 8pm. In the late 80's and early 90's, youth crime rates shot up dramatically in Central Oregon. Coincidentally, over 50% of all juvenile crimes nationwide occur within this same seemingly brief 6 hour-span.

In response to this trend, twenty volunteers organized the Boys & Girls Club of Bend in 1994, Central Oregon's first Boys & Girls Club. It was started to provide positive, consistent activities for youth during the "Crime Time" hours previously mentioned. There are now seven Boys & Girls Clubs in Central Oregon, covering three separate counties spread over more than 7,837 square miles. They touch the lives of over 6,000 registered members and 16,000 total Central Oregon youth.