Relief Nursery’s 4th Annual Dodgeball Tournament was a huge success for our Parenting Education Program! Thank you to all of the teams who participated.

Congratulations to this year’s Play for the Win and Play for the Cause division winners, as well as the winners for Most Spirited Team, Best Costume, and Best Team Name!

Tournament Photos

Find the full photo gallery here: Dodge for a Cause Photos

Thank you to our 2025 Dodge for a Cause Sponsors!

Thanks to our generous community, all Relief Nursery families have received Giving Tree and Holiday Meal gift cards.

We are grateful to everyone who donated funds, dropped off gift cards, or sponsored a family this season. You helped ensure a joyous holiday for the children and families we serve.

Joining our team is simple:

Step 1: Decide if you would like to participate in the 5K, Half or Full marathon.

Step 2: Email Ella at epolley@reliefnursery.org. You will be sent details about participating, and your fundraising page will be created for you.

Step 3: Start fundraising! Instead of paying a registration fee, you commit to fundraising the amount listed below, and will be given a code to register for the race on Relief Nursery’s team. Through Eugene Marathon’s Run for a Reason program, the funds you raise will be donated back to Relief Nursery!  

Race Fundraising Goals

Full Marathon- $350

Half Marathon- $250

5K- $150

Learn more about the Eugene Marathon!

Relief Nursery is a participating BottleDrop Give nonprofit, and there are two ways to donate:

Option 1: Donate from your online balance. Click the DONATE button below. From there, you can login to your account and transfer funds from your BottleDrop account right to Relief Nursery.

Option 2: Fill up a Relief Nursery BottleDrop blue bag. Contact Maggie at maggihi@reliefnursery.org to pick up a bag and Relief Nursery specific barcode tag. You fill up the bag, drop it off, and when the bar code is scanned, the funds will be donated to Relief Nursery.

The COVID-19 health and economic crisis has exposed and exacerbated these inequities, leaving communities of color further from access to employment, housing, education, health services, mental health treatment and other support critical to their family’s stability.

And now, the recent and deeply disturbing events are casting yet an even harsher light on the injustice and indignities faced by our Black and Brown neighbors, and the fear with which they live.

We grieve the victims of senseless and arrogant crimes, and condemn the opportunistic violence that is diverting attention from what really matters – acknowledging, addressing and ending systemic racism and bias.

It is incomprehensible, but true, that children are growing up facing the trauma of racism every day.

Relief Nursery is deeply committed to supporting all children and families and partnering with communities of color. We will draw upon our roots as a strength-based organization to build on what unites us, to work hard to bring about the change we want to see in the world, and to do what is right.

We will continue to stand alongside families as they navigate a world many of us cannot even begin to comprehend.

We are committed to listen, to learn, and to act so that staff and all families of color experience Relief Nursery as a place where they are valued, respected and celebrated for what they bring to this world.

There could be no greater call to action than the health and safety of our children, and equal opportunity to social, emotional and economic prosperity for all.

Kelly Sutherland 

Executive Director

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“En Relief Nursery trabajamos todos los días para fortalecer a las familias y mantener a los niños seguros.  Durante mucho tiempo hemos sido testigos de primera mano de la marginación y privación de derechos de los niños y las familias de color como resultado de las inequidades arraigadas en nuestra sociedad.

La crisis económica y de salud a consecuencia de COVID-19 ha expuesto y exacerbado estas inequidades, dejando a las comunidades de color más lejos del acceso al empleo, la vivienda, la educación, los servicios de salud, el tratamiento de salud mental y otros apoyos críticos para la estabilidad de sus familias.

Y ahora, los eventos recientes y profundamente inquietantes arrojan una luz aún más severa sobre la injusticia y la Indignidad que enfrentan nuestros vecinos afroamericanos y de otras minorias étnicas y el miedo con el que viven.

Lamentamos a las víctimas de crímenes sin sentido y arrogantes, y condenamos la violencia oportunista que está desviando la atención de lo que realmente importa: reconocer, abordar y poner fin al racismo y al sesgo sistémico.

Es incomprensible, pero cierto, que los niños crecen enfrentando el trauma del racismo todos los días.

Relief Nursery está profundamente comprometido a apoyar a todos los niños y familias y a asociarse con comunidades de color.  Nos basaremos en nuestras raíces como una organización basada en la fuerza para construir sobre lo que nos une, trabajar duro para lograr el cambio que queremos ver en el mundo y hacer lo correcto.

Seguiremos de pie junto a las familias mientras navegan por un mundo que muchos de nosotros ni siquiera podemos comenzar a entender.

Estamos comprometidos a escuchar, aprender y actuar para que el personal y todas las familias de color experimenten Relief Nursery como un lugar donde son valorados, respetados y celebrados por lo que traen a este mundo.

No podría haber mayor llamado a la acción que la salud y la seguridad de nuestros hijos, y la igualdad de oportunidades para la prosperidad social, emocional y económica para todos.”

Kelly Sutherland

Director Ejecutivo, Vivero de Socorro

COVID-19 has impacted EVERYONE, and it is important for all of us to focus on our well-being and mental health. Especially while we are taking care of our families, friends and fellow community members.

This interview between comedian and author, Katie Goodman and The Trauma Stewardship Institute’s Executive Director, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, is a great resource for strategies to manage our feelings and stay healthy. We hope you will find it as helpful as we did!

“We are one web of inter-being.” -Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, Executive Director, Trauma Stewardship Institute

Dear Relief Nursery friends,

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, Relief Nursery has remained focused on our work of supporting Relief Nursery children and families. Nothing could be more important as already vulnerable families are facing unprecedented challenges which increase the risk to their children.

I am reaching out to assure you that we are doing all that we can, and to share details about Relief Nursery sites and services, and our plans for Main Event.

With the closure of schools and the increasing spread of the Coronavirus, Relief Nursery has suspended on-site Therapeutic Early Childhood Program classes and Outreach Respite indefinitely. All evening classes for parents, staff trainings, and agency tours have been suspended until further notice, as well.

Adapting to the new reality of social distancing has been a challenge for us at Relief Nursery. Personal engagement and face-to-face contact is a tenet of our agency, mission and programs.

Our teachers, home-visitors, parent educators, and Outreach team are still very busy, checking in with families frequently by phone and other electronic communication methods. Phone calls include things like helping parents create a schedule for the day, and FaceTime sessions for the children with their teacher. A highlight of the day for both.

Relief Nursery staff is also delivering food and diapers to families, as this is an urgent need. Deliveries and care packages include activity kits and books for the children.

We’ve written a grant to supplement our emergency fund which is used to help families cope with unforeseen financial and personal hardships.

While we are currently unable to accept donations of household items, clothing, and toys, we are accepting donations of non-perishable food , diapers and monetary support. Arrangements have been made for Relief Nursery staff to work from home whenever possible, however, management and development staff are often on-site and can receive donations.

Relief Nursery continues to receive daily updates from Lane County Public Health and we have an emergency plan in place should it be necessary to close our buildings completely. If we need to take this step, you will be notified immediately.

With the prolonged restriction of public gatherings, Relief Nursery is unable to host Main Event as originally planned. Our ever-flexible and solution-oriented Development team will not be deterred — we simply cannot fail the children. Main Event 2020 will be a Virtual Gala culminating on Saturday, April 25th.

This undertaking would not be possible without the selfless generosity of our loyal sponsors. To that end, we will host a celebratory gathering in their honor, tentatively scheduled on June 27th.  We envision a festive party, when it is safe for all to gather, with a few live and silent auction items and a report on our Virtual Gala. We look forward to sharing updates with you about these plans.

In closing, a Relief Nursery teacher/home visitor recently shared this thought with me, “I believe that this experience is causing stress and fear for many of us, but I truly believe it is also teaching us new things … we will reinvent ourselves and do things that we never thought we could do.”

From the entire Relief Nursery team, we share our hope that all stay well, and our gratitude for this generous and resilient community.

Kelly Sutherland

Executive Director

Click Here To Donate

Relief Nursery is excited to share this podcast featuring Dr. Deborah Leong and the importance of nurturing executive functions.
Learn about young children’s brain development, the importance of play, and the role of assessment in early childhood settings.

Click Here to listen!

“Deborah Leong is professor emerita of psychology at Metropolitan State University of Denver where she taught for 37 years. She is co-founder and executive director of Tools of the Mind, a curriculum and professional development program that was developed more that 25 years ago for early childhood classrooms to improve how children learn and how teachers teach. Dr. Leong also has extensive experience working on and publishing about early childhood assessment and standards. In this episode, we discuss the history and development of Tools of the Mind,
brain development and the importance of play, and the role of assessment in early childhood settings.” -Melissa Duclos, Children’s Institute