One donation can change everything.

We’re grateful to have you here with us as we mark an especially meaningful milestone in our agency’s history and celebrate 140 years of creating a brighter future for Oregon’s youth.

It can be hard to grasp just how long 140 years of service truly is: Boys & Girls Aid was founded only 26 years after Oregon became a state and less than 20 years after the end of the American Civil War. Over nearly a century and a half, we have met the needs of our community and forged new paths through pivotal historical events and societal shifts. We supported families during the tumult of the Great Depression, housed Eastern European refugees during World War II, and became one of the first agencies in the country to provide support and housing to teenagers facing unintended pregnancies.

The positive impact our agency has had on countless lives is immeasurable. Our life-changing legacy was not achieved easily, nor was it accomplished alone. Boys & Girls Aid has endured for 140 years thanks to the unwavering support of our community.

*The Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon receiving home, c. 1910*

During the first four years of our history, the Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon operated entirely without paid staff, relying instead on dedicated community volunteers who took up the mission to “improve the condition of the homeless, neglected, and abused children of the State of Oregon.” Despite scarce resources, these passionate individuals achieved extraordinary milestones: placing 36 homeless children in permanent homes and successfully advocating for a ban on the sale of tobacco to minors in the Oregon State Legislature.

Despite these achievements, our limited resources imposed a real ceiling on what could be accomplished during those early years. As founder Thomas Lamb Eliot described it, the agency operated as a “hand-to-mouth” organization, with its work “necessarily limited” to only a small number of placements. During this time, the question of whether the Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon could achieve sustainability — or even survive to see the dawn of the 20th century — remained uncertain.

A single act of generosity changed everything. In 1889, Ella M. Smith, one of Portland’s most prominent residents and an early supporter of the agency, passed away and bequeathed $40,000 to our agency.

Smith’s gift, equivalent to approximately $1.37 million today, ensured the Boys & Girls Aid Society would not only survive, but also have the means to evolve into one of the first and longest operating child welfare organizations of its kind. Because of her investment in our mission, we were able to hire a small full-time staff and open a receiving home for children between foster or adoptive placements, allowing us to provide higher-quality care to more children and youth than ever before. This one donation changed the trajectory of our agency and set the stage for the lasting impact we continue to make on the lives of vulnerable children today.

Ella M. Smith’s story is a testament to how a single act of generosity can resonate across generations. Everything Boys & Girls Aid has accomplished since 1889 traces back to that one life-changing gift. Every adoption, every family formed, and every child who has found stability through our programs springs from the enduring impact of her investment and belief in our mission. Ella’s story shows how one donation can create a legacy — one you can help carry forward with your own contribution.

By donating to Boys & Girls Aid, you’ll join our 140-year legacy of breaking the cycle of foster care and youth homelessness, and you’ll strengthen our ability to serve as many young people as possible. Just as Ella M. Smith’s generosity helped propel us into the present moment, your contribution will help propel us into the future.

Donate today