(Photo | Courtesy of United Way of Deschutes County)
It’s scary for those who wake up in the morning not knowing where they will sleep that night, if they will eat that day, if they will be assaulted or abused that day. This is a hardship faced by many members of our Central Oregon community.
Now, United Way of Deschutes County offers the opportunity for those living in Central Oregon and beyond to help alleviate some of that daily fear faced by so many… by facing their own fears so our community’s most vulnerable don’t have to.
On Saturday, September 7, 2019, OVER THE EDGE participants — called Edgers — will rappel off the roof of the Oxford Hotel in downtown Bend, Oregon. Edgers are invited to raise funds to support our community in exchange for the exhilarating experience of rappelling off the tallest building in Central Oregon. The Oxford Hotel stands at 7 stories and 70 feet and will offer quite a thrill to Edgers.
The rappel is completely safe and has been duplicated over 920 times — sending over 64,000 people OVER THE EDGE since 2008. OVER THE EDGE events have raised over $87,000,000 for nonprofits in the United States and Canada.
NewsChannel 21’s Chief Meteorologist Bob Shaw and news anchor Mike Allen, will both be rappelling side-by-side as United Way of Deschutes County’s 21 Cares for Kids partners. And, local radio DJs Dave Clemens and Austin Reed of Horizon Broadcasting Group have signed up to go OVER THE EDGE to raise funds for our community.
Participants need not be brave or young or non-disabled to go OVER THE EDGE in September. However, there are a limited number of spots, so interested folks should sign up today, as registration is now open. Once registered, Edgers set up a personal fundraising page, reach their fundraising goal, and secure their spot to rappel off the Oxford Hotel on September 7.
The event offers opportunities for creative challenges and competitions. With Toss Your Boss employees can challenge their supervisors to go OVER THE EDGE, with Client Strikes Back clientele can rally behind local professionals in their fundraising goal, and with Treat Your Team employers can raffle off a rappel spot to employees who have contributed to the goal. OVER THE EDGE proposes a new angle on rivalries between high school sports coaches, business competitors, work colleagues, and friends.
For those who are not ready to rappel, United Way gives other opportunities to partner with one of Bend’s most reputable and longest-standing nonprofit organizations. The local nonprofit is seeking business sponsors for the event, as well as volunteers. Those interested can visit deschutesunitedway.org/overtheedge or call 541-389-6507 for more information.
In addition to the rappel, United Way will be hosting a ground party — closing NW Minnesota Ave and NW Lava Rd to traffic in order to host food vendors, a Sunriver Brewing Company beer garden, activities, DJs, and more. KTVZ, Horizon Broadcasting Group, The Bulletin, and the Source Weekly are media sponsors for the event.
United Way of Deschutes County fights for the health, education, financial stability, and resilience of every person in the Central Oregon community. Since 1953, the local nonprofit has been strengthening communities in Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties and investing locally in the most needed programs and services while simultaneously strengthening our community. For 66 years, the organization has focused on health, education, and income as the foundation of well-being and opportunity, along with basic needs like food, safety, and shelter.
However, funding the immediate is necessary, but not sufficient. The local nonprofit is still focused on those challenges. In addition, through its TRACEs (Trauma, Resilience and Adverse Childhood Experiences) partnership, the nonprofit is also moving upstream to address childhood trauma as the root cause of challenges currently faced by so many in our community—issues that are immediate today—so that they don’t exist tomorrow.
United Way has also taken on resilience—the ability to manage hardship, cope with stress, and bounce back from trauma. Resilience is like an inoculation against the impacts of trauma.
As a Central Oregon-based nonprofit, United Way works to improve lives and foster a healthier Central Oregon in 4 main ways: through incubating programs and initiatives to steward them into existence, awarding grants to local nonprofit organizations focused on health and wellbeing, assessing need in our community through data collection, and delivering philanthropy so that everyone can give back to our community. United Way strengthens the web of support in Central Oregon and enables direct-service nonprofits to deliver programs and coordinate more effectively.
