New Redmond campus opens to teach and train Central Oregon youth

Published 12:00 pm Saturday, October 3, 2026

A few hundred people gathered in Redmond on last Wednesday morning to celebrate the opening of Central Oregon’s youth workforce development facility.

Heart of Oregon Corps opened its $7.3 million campus in east Redmond, providing youth with a centralized workspace and education and training center.

Heart of Oregon is an alternative education organization that helps young people build trade skills, learn basic academics and carve out career pathways in construction, wildfire prevention, food handling and childcare. It serves youth who have struggled in traditional school and work settings, often because of money or limited rural resources.

In 26 years, Heart of Oregon has hired more than 5,000 people aged 16 to 24 who have gone on to work as professionals in trades like construction and conservation. Until now, the nonprofit operated out of borrowed, aging and crowded locations across the tri-county area.

From learning in the classroom to hands-on work in the courtyard, the Redmond hub will serve six programs and 225 young adults each year from across Central Oregon.

Speaking to the crowd, Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, said he supports the project because it reflects the region’s progress on workforce and economic development.

“We know that it is our duty to be ready for the wildfire, for the climate, for the growth challenges that face Central Oregon. And we know that it will be our young people who step up. We know we can do hard things in Central Oregon. We are the heart of Oregon,” Broadman said. “It’s never been clearer to me that we are going to continue to lead the state on economic development and a bright future for everybody.”

The 3.4-acre campus includes a 6,600-square-foot building with classrooms, staff offices, meeting rooms and equipment bays for wood chippers and trailers. As requested by youth members, there is also a laundry room, kitchen and showers.

Graduating from Heart of Oregon

Heart of Oregon youth split their time between the classroom and training sites, earning paid work experience, certifications, high school and college credits and sometimes a GED (General Educational Development), which is equivalent to a high school diploma.

As a member of the YouthBuild program in April last year, 18-year-old Jayden Hamilton rode the bus every day to and from his home in Sisters and the sites that would bounce around the region.

Hamilton’s mom encouraged him to join the program. While in the middle of Hamilton’s high school career at Bend Tech Academy, now Deschutes River High School, his mom couldn’t give him rides to school anymore due to work. She came across Heart of Oregon and realized it not only offered alternative schooling but paid young people to learn trade skills.

“I could take the bus there to save time, help with the car and all that,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton was reluctant at first. Recalling a grueling building workshop in high school, he was sure he couldn’t work in construction or trades.

“At first I was super nervous,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t know anything about construction. And I got in and it was really welcoming. Everyone else there didn’t know a thing about construction, and the teachers really took their time to help me. And over time, I learned how to be good at what I did.”

Hamilton learned things he never thought he would: reading a tape measure, slicing wood with a chainsaw and installing parts to a building. Through the Heart of Oregon’s academics and job training, Hamilton eventually earned his GED.

After graduating from YouthBuild, Hamilton returned to Heart of Oregon and is now a member of the High Desert Conservation Corps, a different program that works to maintain trails and reduce wildfire fuels. Hamilton hopes to work in forest conservation in the future.

“Heart of Oregon feels like a family more than a job,” Hamilton said. “It’s more hands-on. They pay you to actually learn, and they actually encourage you to find other opportunities out here. They can really shape your future here.”

While some youth graduate Heart of Oregon with their GED and find a trade job, others return to high school or college.

Corbin Marshall is in his last term at Central Oregon Community College and he simultaneously serves as a part-time field team lead for Heart of Oregon, helping lead training and teaching youth how to use equipment.

Marshall was job searching when he came across the High Desert Conservation Corps over a year ago.

“Now we can actually have our own building where we can all do things, so it’s very special,” Marshall said. “I’m just really excited to see all the new faces and new youth, and as well as the community just gathering around a central point instead of being dispersed all over.”

After graduating with his associate’s degree, Marshall plans to study wildlife conservation at Oregon State University.

James Miller, construction and safety manager for Heart of Oregon, graduated from YouthBuild in 2013. Before joining the program, Miller said his expectations for his life and career were “very low.”

“I wasn’t set up for success after high school,” Miller said. “Being able to come here has been able to change that and set me up where I am today.”

He continued, “The biggest thing I got from YouthBuild was the support. I didn’t have a lot of that growing up, and then it was coming to a place where these people aren’t related to me, but they care about me, and seeing that support and knowing that I can do things.”

A five-year campaign

Heart of Oregon started envisioning its centralized facility in 2019. More than 420 individuals, businesses and foundations contributed to the fundraising campaign, which kicked off five years ago with a $2 million grant from the state.

“We set out to create a thriving regional hub for youth learning, leadership, community service and workforce training to robustly support our young people to become everything that they wanted to be in their futures,” said executive director Laura Handy at the event.

A few weeks before the grand opening, however, Heart of Oregon was short of its $7.3 million campaign goal.

In mid-September, the nonprofit received a $400,000 anonymous gift which closed the funding gap needed for the facility. The 11th-hour donation exceeded the fundraising goal, meaning the campus opened on time, on budget and with no long-term debt.

In a comment attached to their contribution, the anonymous donor said, “Everyone does not need a four-year degree, but they do need to connect to the skills and education required to help businesses and workers in our community grow. Heart of Oregon is that connection.”

On behalf of Governor Tina Kotek, former Oregon State Senator Tim Knopp congratulated Heart of Oregon in front of the crowd.

“This campus fulfills the Heart of Oregon’s commitment to creating a place where youth on the workforce path can learn with dignity and be supported to achieve prosperity,” Knopp said, “just like any other young person at the beginning of their career.”