Celebrating 55 Years of Impact
Early staff members of The Next Door who helped build the foundation of services we provide today. Pictured: Bill Barkheimer, Mark Bell, Earl Boots, Ralph Kupersmith, Kelly Beard, Janet Harrington, Nancy McCall, Kevin Doroski, David Dye, Sherri Frasier, Anne Lindberg, Etta Cline, Carolyn Bondurant, Susan Erickson, Gloria Needham, Derryll Dexter, Charlotte Wertgen, Michael Mehling, Jeff Cook. Not pictured: Jim Asbury, Jerry Brown, Julie Davis, Jim Hamer, Tom McFall, Marque Moga, Antonio Arroy-Rojas, Kim Larson, Nancy Paul.
In 1971, concerned community members opened The Next Door Inc. (TNDI) to provide a safe home for local teens. They could not have imagined what that small but powerful act of compassion would become.
As we celebrate our 55th anniversary at The Next Door, we reflect on decades of meeting children and teenagers where they are, supporting parents through their most difficult times, advocating for traditionally overlooked communities, advising organizations, businesses, and government entities, and even helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and flourish. Today, The Next Door is the Gorge’s largest social service agency, offering more than 36 programs that meet children and families in moments of crisis, transition, and hope.
The Next Door now has over 100 full-time equivalent employees. Pictured above, staff attended an annual training focused on bystander intervention in Spring 2025 at The Dalles Civic Auditorium.
Over the past year, we’ve launched a Community Preparedness team with Community Health Workers addressing urgent needs, ensuring help is available at a time when it is needed most. We’ve also expanded our services in Klickitat County where they were previously limited. This spring, our newest program, Open Door Youth Employment, will begin providing diverse skills training for local teens who may face challenges finding jobs or continuing their education, offering paid work experiences. These programs and so many like them at The Next Door are designed not only to be responsive to a critical need, but to provide preventative services that keep people out of the system, always working in partnership with others in the community.
Though our organization has grown and evolved over the years, one thing has remained constant: our purpose. In 2007 we put that purpose into words, creating our mission statement, “Opening doors to new possibilities by strengthening children and families and improving communities.” This mission drives us in times of peace and relative prosperity as well as during times of sorrow and stress. It shapes every program we create, every partnership we nurture, and every interaction with our neighbors.
As we continue to be responsive to our communities’ needs, we are guided by our vision of “a supportive community where all children and families are safe, healthy, and valued.” So, you will continue to see us out and about in our communities, welcoming you into our offices, and helping our neighbors as much as we can, especially during their greatest times of need. It is what our founders would have wanted from us, and it is our duty and our honor.
Thank you for supporting us over the last 55 years and helping us carry our mission forward. Your support makes our work possible as we open doors, strengthen families, and work toward a safe, supportive community together in the years to come.
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