Central Oregon Volleyball Club has launched a scholarship fundraiser in memory of Megan Lambert, the 25-year-old teacher killed in the October 15 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend. The club says donations will help athletes pay club volleyball fees when their families cannot afford them. Its board is organizing the Megan Lambert Volleyball Scholarship campaign with her family’s blessing. The Source reported October 20 that fundraising began Monday.
The purpose follows a choice Lambert made during her first year coaching. She declined pay because she wanted the money to help athletes who could not otherwise participate, the club says. Organizers hope to provide assistance over multiple seasons and are accepting both one-time and recurring donations. The campaign does not specify an application deadline or individual scholarship amounts.
Lambert grew up in Bend, graduated from Mountain View High School in 2019 and earned her degree from Boise State University in 2023, her family said in a statement released by Bend Police. Her family described teaching at Silver Rail as her dream job and remembered her commitment to children with special needs. She and three children died in the attack; two other people were injured, and the gunman also died. The scholarship joins community efforts that include two Bend students’ invitation to spend October 20 helping neighbors.
Her family has also established the Megan Lambert Memorial Fund through Oregon Community Foundation. That fund supports causes including education, mental health, children with special needs and Oregon schools, and may also support local volleyball programs. Readers can review each fund’s stated purpose on its donation page: the club’s scholarship campaign focuses on volleyball fees, while the family’s memorial fund covers a broader range of causes.
