BottleDrop® Give Boosts Camp Scholarship Funds

Nonprofit partnership + fundraising campaign raises vital dollars, boosting kids ability to attend camps and thrive

Every day, it feels like we are inundated with the stark headlines around how the environment is at risk, relationships are at risk, and people themselves are at risk. For today’s kids, growing up in such a world is really tough. They not only have exposure to those headlines but may experience risk or live among real struggles themselves. And that’s where Camp Fire Central Oregon comes in.

Founded in 1916, Camp Fire Central Oregon has been an innovative, regional leader of youth development, with a mission to connect youth to the outdoors, others, and to themselves. Our research-based youth-development practices align to our mission, empowering kids to learn, connect, grow and thrive. But we don’t do all this alone. We rely on the power of partnerships with organizations and individuals that understand, share, and support our mission.

Taking Action, Supporting the Planet
The annual BottleDrop® Give fundraising campaign, hosted generously by BottleDrop® for nonprofits throughout Central Oregon, plays a vital role in Camp Fire Central Oregon’s ability to act upon and live out its mission. While it allows us to promote and celebrate BottleDrop®’s campaign with our campers, staff and the over 3K+ individuals and families with whom we regularly communicate online, it also allows us to take action around supporting a healthy planet, one bottle and one redeemable at a time.

Funds raised through Blue Bags and/or online donations from BottleDrop Green Bag accounts during the specified time (April 10 – 22) are eligible for a 20% match. It's so much fun and rewarding to honor our ongoing partnership with BottleDrop® during its Earth Week BottleDrop® Give campaign. At our Camp Fire Afterschool program, kids and their families are taking home bags, filling them up with redeemables, and bringing them to BottleDrop®. We also have bags available for anyone in the community, in a box outside the front door of our new office location: Sunlight Solar Office Building, 150 NE Hawthorne Ave. in Bend, directly across from a BottleDrop Redeemption Center. The redeemables will raise not only funds for our camp scholarship program, but the hearts, smiles and peace of mind for so many of our local Camp Fire families. Why?

Well, it’s no secret that many people are struggling financially right now. Times are tight. Inflation is impacting people’s wallets and choices. So with the goal of increasing the number of families Camp Fire is supporting as well as providing many of those families more support, we have increased eligibility for scholarships to include more middle income families and special circumstances.

In addition, we have also raised our percentage of support maximum from 50% scholarships to 60% scholarships. In the 2021-2022 school year, we awarded over $14,000 in scholarships for school year programs. For the 2022-2023 school year, we have more than doubled the amount of scholarships awarded, with over $31+K+ committed to families for school year programs and 272 scholarships awarded. And the scholarships don’t end there…we offer financial support for everything from our three week-long outdoor summer camps at Tumalo State Park to our nine-week summer camp program, summer tech program, ExplOregon outdoor program, and Teen & Leadership program. With every bottle redeemed on behalf of Camp Fire Central Oregon from BottleDrop® Give, we are able to award more scholarships to local youth. This means more families can afford to send their kids to Camp Fire. More kids get to go to our camps and programs. And, in spite of the challenges of growing up today, more youth get to enjoy an opportunity to experience Camp Fire Central Oregon, find their “spark,” and learn what it means to thrive!

More Ways to Help
Camp Fire also receives support for our BottleDrop® campaign by partnering with local businesses that collect redeemables on site in our Blue Bags. A Camp Fire employee will stop by and pick the bags up and turn them in on a regular basis. Want to support our scholarship fund with a partnership? Please email us at info@campfireco.org.