news & updates
Welcome
New KIDS Center Staff in 2024
Crystal Cooper Family Advocate
Carly Halsey Forensic Interviewer
Kelly Harding Child & Family Therapist
Sheri Massine Front Desk Coordinator
Brittany Nylund MDT & Client Service Coordinator
Megan Pike Family Advocate
Abigail Rauber Development Coordinator
New KIDS Center Board Members in 2024
Christine Frazer Chief Human Resources Officer, Rudy’s Markets, Inc.
Lynn Freeman Therapist
Tristen Ross
VP, Treasury Solutions, First Interstate Bank
The 2024 Visionary Leadership Award was awarded to Stan Fridstein, a long-time supporter of KIDS Center and the creator of the Wall of Wine, which is auctioned off at Cork & Barrel each year! Stan accepted the honor at Grand Cru, with special thanks to everyone who has donated wine to his favorite cause—helping kids.
This year’s Cork & Barrel (July 18-20) returned to its roots as an outdoor event, under a big tent at the Athletic Field at Central Oregon Community College. Close to 1,000 guests joined us for Sip and Grand Cru to support KIDS Center. Along with donations to the Cork & Barrel Community Campaign, Cork & Barrel raised 20% of KIDS Center’s annual budget.
Golfers Hayden Klein (pictured above), Cort Benner, Dylan Cramer and Graham Schmaltz played on behalf of KIDS Center at the Hayden Homes Charity Championship on September 5. The team tied for first place, winning $15,000 for KIDS Center, and Cort Benner brought us another $1,000 for the longest drive.
Did you say “bingo”? Silver Moon Brewing and The YOUNI Movement hosted a special Not’cho Grandma’s Bingo event for KIDS Center on Easter Sunday, and the house was packed! We’ll have another bingo event this December 22. Be sure to join us!
With Thanks
We are deeply grateful to Lois Vallerga, Molly Carroll, Dave DeRose and Jason Maniscalco (not pictured) for their many years of service to KIDS Center’s Board of Directors. Thank you all for supporting your community!
Last Day to Give in 2024 December 31 The Blue Ribbon Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse
2025 Healing Hearts April 1, 2025
& Sound Prevention Series April 7-25, 2025 Cork & Barrel July 17-19, 2025
How we’re celebrating
30th Celebration & Open House
On Thursday, September 12, we welcomed 55 friends, neighbors, partners and community members to stop by and get to know us or reconnect.
Visitors toured KIDS Center and traced a child’s journey—from the family waiting room to the forensic interview room, medical exam room, and therapy room. Staff were on hand to answer questions and share ways to get involved, from taking a training to volunteering.
30 years
Planting Day for the Healing Garden
Our 30-year celebration continues Saturday, October 19, when the community is invited to KIDS Center for Planting Day from 9 am to Noon. Stop by and plant a daffodil bulb in our new Healing Garden. The garden is dedicated to children who have experienced abuse and will burst into bloom next April for Child Abuse Prevention Month. Dress for dirt and plan to join us!
Call for Stories
Do you have something inspiring you’d like to share about KIDS Center? If you have a special memory or experience from the last 30 years, we’d love to hear from you...whether you came through our doors as a child, worked with us as a volunteer or community partner, took a prevention training, or came as a guest to Cork & Barrel or Healing Hearts. Visit kidscenter.org/story to start sharing! (You may do so anonymously. )
$30 for 30 Campaign
This fall, this grassroots campaign is encouraging Central Oregonians to give $30 in honor of KIDS Center’s 30 years of service as your region’s Children’s Advocacy Center. Look for the donation envelope inside this newsletter!
How you’ve LIFTED KIDS UP
Over the last 30 years, our community has helped make a generational impact—by making Central Oregon safer for kids, and by giving hope and healing to children and families impacted by abuse. Here, we’re celebrating our visionaries, community partners, caring adults, and generous supporters for changing lives and making a difference.
VISIONARIES, SUPPORTERS & VOLUNTEERS
You brought KIDS Center to life.
In April of 1990, Deschutes County District Attorney Mike Dugan sent mock “subpenas” to a group of local citizens—a creative ploy to get people together to learn how the community could better respond to child abuse. That meeting sparked the dream of a children’s advocacy center to serve all of Central Oregon.
A steering committee researched and developed the idea of KIDS Center, and then rallied the community. The Rotary Club of Bend and St. Charles Medical Center provided critical seed money for the project, and Deschutes Children’s Foundation agreed to site KIDS Center on its Rosie Bareis Campus. The project broke ground on May 3, 1993. Individuals and foundations generously donated $180,000 to help construct KIDS Center. The remaining project costs (estimated at $320,000) were covered with donated goods and labor. Jan Wick of Avion Water Company volunteered to oversee construction as the general contractor. Dozens of local businesses donated construction materials, skilled labor and other services. Along with KIDS Center’s Board and the Bend Rotarians, lots of folks lent a hand to help construct KIDS Center’s building. (Follow the link below for a full list of names.)
After a year of intense community effort, KIDS Center opened on May 2, 1994 and began serving children and families.
Learn More: kidscenter.org/history
17 K More than
Central Oregonians have taken a training to learn how to prevent abuse.
CARING ADULTS
You’ve made the world a safer place.
Over the last 30 years, more than 17,000 Central Oregonians have learned how to protect kids by taking a child safety training from KIDS Center.
Getting trained in child abuse prevention is one of the best ways adults can help protect children.
Research shows prevention efforts gain steam when communities train 5% of adults to spot and report abuse. Thanks to you, we reached that critical tipping point in 2016, and our region continues to maintain that critical mass of trained adults even as Central Oregon’s population has swelled.
Get Trained: kidscenter.org/upcoming-trainings
You’ve worked together to support families.
Community partners—in law enforcement, child welfare, prosecution, mental health, the medical field, and schools—each play a critical role in responding to cases of child abuse. These partners work together as a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) and collaborate with KIDS Center (our region’s Children’s Advocacy Center). The result: children and families are better supported. MDT partners work closely with KIDS Center to coordinate their services. They ensure the needs of each child and family are addressed—from physical and mental health to safety. MDT partners also support families as their case moves through the legal system, and they help support kids at school.
MDT partners in law enforcement and child welfare attend child abuse evaluations onsite at KIDS Center. It’s a substantial time commitment—especially for partners based outside of Bend. By coming to KIDS Center, MDT partners strengthen the child abuse evaluation and investigation process. The multidisciplinary team approach to child abuse evaluations and treatment minimizes trauma and improves outcomes for children and families.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
You’ve helped children find justice.
Central Oregon district attorneys expressed early support for the creation of KIDS Center, knowing that a Children’s Advocacy Center could play a profound role in pursuing justice and healing families.
In the last 30 years, numerous adults across our community have done a simple yet extraordinary thing—when they’ve felt concern for a child’s safety and wellbeing, they’ve taken action and made a report. In many cases, these everyday heroes have helped to save a child’s life—by noticing something wasn’t quite right and immediately calling the Child Abuse Hotline at 855-503-SAFE. For many kids, that call has made all the difference.
How to Make a Report: kidscenter.org/report
Independent, objective child abuse evaluations conducted at KIDS Center give District Attorneys critical insight into a child’s case. Prosecutors use information gathered in a child’s forensic interview and medical exam to help determine next steps in an investigation.
If a case goes to trial, district attorneys can introduce legally-sound evidence preserved from a child’s evaluation. At trial, DAs may also request testimony from KIDS Center’s specially-trained medical examiners and forensic interviewers.
The result? District attorneys are successfully prosecuting alleged offenders and securing justice for kids.
children and families have found hope and healing at KIDS Center. 17,100
DONORS & SUPPORTERS
You’ve ensured every child gets the help they need.
Thanks to your steady support, you’re helping us meet the growing need in our region. The number of children needing KIDS Center’s services has more than doubled since 2001.
Because of your generosity, cost is never a barrier to healing. For 30 years, families have received KIDS Center services without the stress of a bill.
Many of our long-time donors are looking ahead and considering their legacy. Planned giving offers a special opportunity to help future generations of children.
Think Ahead: kidscenter.org/planned-giving
EVERYONE
You’ve raised awareness.
Thousands of community members have raised awareness of KIDS Center and supported prevention efforts. KIDS Center launched the Blue Ribbon Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse in our very first year. Thanks to your support, this campaign continues to inspire adults to prevent abuse. Over the years, people have joined the Blue Ribbon Campaign by displaying blue ribbons—in trees, on their cars, and on their person. In 2023, people proudly wore Blue Ribbon wristbands. Prineville and Madras have put their own “spin” on the Blue Ribbon Campaign with blue pinwheel displays whirling in public spaces.
More than 7,000 people have attended KIDS Center’s Healing Hearts event since we launched this annual fundraiser in 2010. Held in April to coincide with the Blue Ribbon Campaign, Healing Hearts shares how KIDS Center serves children and families. Attendees also learn how they can make a difference—by getting trained, volunteering, and donating to support services for children and families.
Thanks to all of you for caring about kids! Join Us Again: See page 2 to save the date.
1375 NW Kingston Avenue
Bend, OR 97703
We rise by lifting others.
—Robert Ingersoll
KIDS Center Tours
October 17, 11 am
November 5, 5 pm
November 21, 11 am
December 3, 5 pm
December 19, 11 am
Gift Card Drive
December 1-31
Giving Tuesday
December 3
Bunco Blitz at Bevel Brewery
January 25
Masquerade Ball at Hanai Center
October 12
Poker Night at The Loft of Bend
November 7
Happening this fall—exclusive Cork & Barrel parties benefiting KIDS Center! Tickets are available online at corkandbarrel.org/fall-parties.
Va Piano Fundraiser
December 1-31
Visit Va Piano’s Tasting Room in Old Mill this December and make a donation of $100 or more for KIDS Center, and you’ll receive 50% off bottle purchases for the rest of the month! (Donation must be made in December and must be collected by Va Piano to qualify.)
Not’cho Grandma’s Bingo: Holiday Edition!
December 22
This fundraiser for KIDS Center is guaranteed to be a blast! Silver Moon Brewing and The YOUNI Movement have created a truly special community event that will bring the holiday cheer! Scan the QR code to reserve your seats!
