Law Enforcement for Youth

In 1999 Deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office began to discuss the idea of putting together a football game for charity. Early on they thought of flag football as a small scale fundraiser. The idea began to grow and they discovered that law enforcement in other states had full contact law enforcement football games for charity. After a few phone calls, the seed was planted for the birth of the Oregon Pig Bowl.

The Deputies met with the Marion County Law Enforcement Association and presented the idea to them. With overwhelming support from MCLEA, the first Pig Bowl was in motion with MCLEA as the lead sponsor. Finding amazing community and business support, the first Pig Bowl was a solid success. The Pig Bowl partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Salem and the funds raised were donated to the club to be used to provide scholarships to disadvantaged youth.

The MCLEA Pig Bowl continued as an annual event raising nearly $15,000 for the Boys and Girls Club. In the summer of 2002, the Pig Bowl gained another major sponsorship from Schutt Sports. Schutt Sports, one of the nations leading sports equipment manufacturers, donated protective equipment for the Pig Bowl teams. Also in 2002, the Pig Bowl traveled to Newport, Oregon. The Newport High School was in need of equipment for its athletic programs and a Pig Bowl was held to assist in their efforts. This event surpassed their goals and raised $5,200. In total Pig Bowl events had raised over $20,000 for youth and youth programs.

In the March of 2003, Law Enforcement for Youth was established as a non-profit 501c3 organization. In the summer of 2003, another PigBowl game was added in Washington County creating two games a year. With the formation of Law Enforcement for Youth, establishing the board of directors, and the addition of another game, PigBowl events brought in over $20,000 helping to fund our grant and assistance programs. This was more than all of the previous years combined.

In 2004, Law Enforcement for Youth partnered once again with the Boys and Girls Club, holding the first L.E.Y. football camp. Other community organizations such as the National Nineman Football League and local schools partnered up to help make this event a huge success. In 2006, the OFL has stepped up to the plate by agreeing to help with the youth football camp once again. They also became the official game ball sponsor of the Oregon PigBowl events.

Since the inception of Law Enforcement for Youth, the organization has given over $200,000 to local youth and youth programs around the state of Oregon.

Please come join us this summer for some hard-hitting, fast-moving, grid-iron football played by members of our law enforcement community.