Silver Rail Children's Fund
Give to the Kids Fun Fund →  ·  100% to the kids
Volunteer

Find your place.

This fund is run by parents who are still grieving, which means we need help with nearly everything. Ten committees below. Pick the one that fits what you know how to do, or tell us to put you wherever we're short. Every hour goes toward a kid who was at Silver Rail on October 15.

Sign up to volunteer

The committees.

  • Fundraising

    Donor outreach, matching gifts, corporate asks, grant leads, and the GoFundMe. Keeping the fund funded for the long haul.

    Need: people who've asked for money before and aren't afraid to.

  • Business sponsors

    Getting "Sponsor a Silver Rail kid" signs into Bend businesses, signing simple agreements, and collecting what's raised at the register.

    Need: people who know Bend's business owners.

  • Arts & enrichment

    Lining up ceramics studios, music, dance, sports, camps, and classes that will take Silver Rail kids, and building the list parents choose from.

    Need: teachers, artists, coaches, studio owners.

  • Trauma-informed care advisory

    Guiding what we fund and how: which activities and play-based approaches help children after an event like this, and which don't.

    Need: licensed therapists, counselors, school psychologists, pediatric providers.

  • Community events

    The pumpkin patch outing and everything after it: planning, logistics, chaperones, snacks, headcounts. All kid-facing volunteers complete a background check.

    Need: organizers, chaperones, drivers, people who show up.

  • Victim compensation & provider registration

    Helping families apply to Oregon's Crime Victims' Compensation Program, and helping local counselors and providers register with the Oregon Department of Justice so families can use it with them.

    Need: anyone patient with forms; victim advocates; providers' office staff.

  • Finance & transparency

    Bookkeeping, receipts, the monthly public ledger, donor acknowledgments, and the annual filings.

    Need: CPAs, bookkeepers, anyone who loves a reconciled spreadsheet.

  • Communications

    Social media, press, the website, the newsletter to registered families, and thank-yous to sponsors.

    Need: writers, designers, photographers, social media people.

  • Family support

    Welcoming registered families, the one-time enrollment check, annual check-ins, and making sure no family falls through the cracks.

    Need: Silver Rail parents with time and a kind phone voice.

  • Governance & legal

    Bylaws, policies, the 501(c)(3) application, Oregon DOJ registration, insurance, and liaison with our attorney.

    Need: attorneys, paralegals, nonprofit board veterans.

Not sure where you fit? Choose "General volunteer" on the form and we'll put you where the need is that week.

Professionals: we need you most.

If you're an attorney, a licensed therapist or counselor, a tutor or teacher, a CPA, or a pediatric provider, a few hours of your expertise is worth more to these kids than almost anything else we can ask for. Tell us on the form and a board member will reach out directly.

How we work with volunteers
  • Anyone working directly with children completes a background check and the two trauma trainings below first, no exceptions.
  • Volunteers never see the family registry. Committee leads get only what their work needs.
  • Nothing about any child or family leaves the fund. Not a name, not a story, not a photo.
  • No one is paid, including the board. Out-of-pocket costs are reimbursed with a receipt and approval in advance.
  • We don't speak for other organizations and we ask volunteers not to either. The fund's work is the fund's work.
Before you start

Two free trainings. Everyone takes them.

Every board member and every volunteer who works with children completes both of these before their first event. Everyone else is strongly encouraged. They're free, online, and self-paced, and our founder is doing them this week alongside you.

  • NAMI TraumaInSightA trauma-awareness course for people who work with youth, from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Nine short lessons, about three hours, free. Covers how trauma shows up in a child's brain and behavior, how to create safety and support, and how to protect yourself from secondary trauma. Start the course →
  • Trauma Informed Oregon modulesFour self-directed modules on the basics of trauma-informed care, from Portland State University and the Oregon Health Authority, with a certificate of completion. Their site also has Central Oregon tragedy resources for families. Go to Trauma Informed Oregon →

When you finish, email your certificate or a screenshot to hello@silverrailchildrensfund.org so we can note it. Background checks for kid-facing volunteers are arranged by the fund at no cost to you.

Sign up

Tell us where you'd like to help.

Goes straight to the fund's own private Google Workspace, seen only by board members. A board member will reply within a few days.

If the form doesn't load, open it in a new tab or email hello@silverrailchildrensfund.org.