Enjoy a volunteer vacation in Sisters, Oregon
By Jim Cornelius

Can’t sit still? Maybe pitching in with one of Sisters’ many community organizations will give your vacation a little extra zing.

“Volunteer vacations” are a satisfying way to engage with the Sisters community — and local organizations really appreciate the help.

Sisters Habitat for Humanity is a regular stop for colleges across the region during spring break. College kids looking for something more meaningful than a debauch on a beach come to Sisters for a week of building on local Habitat homes.

Other volunteers filter in throughout the year, particularly people on RV tours.

“People who are aware that we have a build going on will contact us because we’re listed in Caravaner magazine,” said Habitat program manager Marie Clasen. “I also let them know about Thrift Store or ReStore opportunities if we don’t have a build going on.”

RVers who volunteer for Habitat can camp for free at Creekside City Park under an agreement with the City of
Sisters.

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show draws thousands of people to Sisters during the second weekend in July.
According to Quilt Show executive director Ann Richardson, they come from 20 different states, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa. They do everything from selling raffle tickets to serving on the Quilt Rescue Team.

“They love Sisters,” Richardson said. “They love that a small town can pull together to put on such an enormous and important event in the quilting world. They like being part of something that is embraced by the quilting world, the town of Sisters and thousands of people.”

Cary Sund and Sandi Huston of Bridal Veil, Oregon, roll into town each September for the Sisters Folk Festival.
“We have been attending the Sisters Folk Festival since 2000 when our favorite performing duo appeared there,” they said. “As the years rolled by we became more and more involved in the event, to the point that we now make it a destination each year and arrive earlier in the week and stay until long after the event is over.”

Bonnie Malone of the Sisters Rodeo Association notes that the annual rodeo draws volunteers from across the Pacific Northwest.

“These people range from bank officers, laborers, contractors, carpenters, wait staff, corrections officers, retirees, across the gamut of lifestyles and careers,” she said. “Many of them have never owned a horse.”

Eighty-three-year-old Bev Perkins has been returning to Sisters to volunteer ever since she left the area in the 1980s. She lost her husband a few years back, so now her daughter is coming with her.

“We like the rodeo and it was a good chance to visit old friends,” she said.