(Photo | Courtesy of The Center Foundation)
The Center Foundation has received a grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust of Vancouver, Washington to support the expansion of its sports medicine program in Deschutes County to accommodate a new high school opening later this year. The Center Foundation currently provides sports medicine services to four schools in the Bend-La Pine School District (in addition to high schools in Sisters, La Pine, Madras and Prineville) and will add Caldera High School to its service roster in the 2021-2022 school year.
“The Center Foundation has been committed to the safety and health of student athletes in Central Oregon for the last 20 years, and we are the only organization in Deschutes County positioned to provide these sports medicine services to students,” said Sonja Donohue, Executive Director for The Center Foundation. “Funding like this is invaluable to our program, and we are so grateful for the support from The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.”
The $134,553 grant will support the expansion of The Center Foundation’s sports medicine program to Caldera High School, aiding in the addition of a certified Athletic Trainer at no cost to students or their families. Athletic Trainers provide medical services including the management of sports injuries, injury prevention, and concussion evaluation and management. Keeping youth active and involved in sports is important to their overall physical, mental, behavioral, social and educational development.
The Center Foundation is the region’s only nonprofit dedicated to providing sports medicine services to student athletes. The Foundation’s athletic trainers serve more than 5,000 students in over 1,400 sporting events each year in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties in Oregon. To date, The Center Foundation has conducted over 17,000 baseline concussion tests and provided evaluation and care for over 2,200 concussions for Central Oregon high school athletes. The Foundation, its board of directors and its staff look forward to continuing to provide sports medicine services to all student athletes as the population of Central Oregon continues to increase.
The Center Foundation has launched the Campaign for Caldera fundraising campaign to further support its expansion to Caldera High School. To learn more, visit: centerfoundation.org/campaign-for-caldera.
About The Center Foundation
The Center Foundation is celebrating 20 years of providing certified athletic trainers to Central Oregon high schools. Its high school sports medicine program serves more than 5,000 students at over 1,400 sporting events each year, managing injuries and concussions and educating young athletes on injury prevention. These services are provided at no cost to students or their families. Foundation programs also deliver brain and spinal cord injury prevention education in grade schools, free multi-sport helmets to children in need, and education seminars and conferences for healthcare professionals. Since 2000, The Center Foundation has been Central Oregon’s only nonprofit solely dedicated to providing sports medicine services as a means to ensure youth are safe, healthy, and protected in an active lifestyle. To learn more, visit centerfoundation.org.
About M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington — that seek to strengthen the region’s educational and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. murdocktrust.org.
