‘Les Schwab has been a hit!’: Boys & Girls Club of Bend’s van gets new tires, while inspiring future careers
(update: adding video, comments from Boys & Girls Club, Les Schwab)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Just in time for snow and ice, one of the Boys & Girls Club of Bend’s Ford Transit vans is getting some top-notch new winter tires during a live installation demonstration Wednesday afternoon at the Les Schwab Tires store on NE Third Street.
"it's exciting!" said Bend Les Schwab Manager Steve Curtiss. "It's good that they can come down and watch this process, talk about tires and talk about what we do and how important tires are on vehicles nowadays, especially being in Bend and Central Oregon."
The demonstration was part of the BGCB’s #WorkforceWednesday program, which introduces young minds to potential career paths and offers them hands-on experiences in a variety of industries. The demo was attended by about a dozen students in grades 4-8.
Bess Goggins, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs in Bend, said, "It's an opportunity for our fifth-graders and our middle-school youth to really explore the different careers that are available to them in Central Oregon."
The students have had the opportunity to tour various area companies, including Saks, REI and the Hayden Homes Amphitheater, in addition to the tire dealership.
"Les Schwab today has been a hit for our kids, to learn more about the careers here. I think I saw a lot of them jumping up and down as they saw the tires being put on our van," Goggins said.
It was an especially exciting day for fifth-grader Dominic Wilson, who hopes to work in the industry one day. He shared some of his career goals.
"Probably to just change tires and make people happy, so they don't slide around in snow and crash," Wilson said.
Curtiss said, "It's exciting to be able to partner with this younger generation, and see if we can help them find that right career path."
The tires were a donation from Les Schwab as part of their Tires for Purpose Program. Four other nonprofits will benefit, including the Bethlehem Inn, Furnish Hope, NeighborImpact and Oregon Adaptive Sports.
