Be Your Best

View of Dorena Reservoir from the Covered Bridges Scenic Bike Trail in Cottage Grove, OR

Fostering collaborative community work to support health and well-being of all South Lane and North Douglas County residents

Connecting the Southern Willamette and Umpqua Valleys

Newly revitalized Historic Downtown Cottage Grove, featuring the mural of Opal Whitley.
March 2026

In 2013, a group of community leaders and volunteers came together to create, through collective action, a brighter future for our rural community by ensuring access to the services and support people need to be their best.

The group organized in response to the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, and later the Oregon Health Authority for all nonprofit hospitals and coordinated care organizations to conduct a community health needs assessment (CHA) and implement a community health implementation plan (CHP) based on the priorities for for their communities of care.

Understanding that rural healthcare access and needs are often overlooked, the initial organizers started meeting regularly after attending a Collective Impact Training workshop. Over the past 15 years, the grassroots organization has formalized, forming a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit in 2022, and has continued to facilitate networking and collaborative community projects.

For a deeper look at the history of Be Your Best and some of the projects that have come to fruition through our work together, see this piece by Dana Merryday in the Chronicle.

Be Your Best is dedicated to improving community vitality in the South Lane and North Douglas region by:

  • Supporting a network of community builders to successfully lead, and participate in, collaborative projects;

  • Elevating rural community efforts and needs at the county and state level, helping providers and policy makers make decisions that will be reactive and representative, rather than prescriptive.

  • Documenting the work of those who have come before, helping to provide an ever-evolving guidebook with existing resource sand models tha thave a track record of success specific to the South Lane and North Douglas communities.