It may not give away chunks of land anymore, but the Bean Foundation in Madras continues to have a positive impact on Jefferson County’s largest community. That was clear in the recent article in the Madras Pioneer newspaper, which discussed the possibility of expanding the Central Oregon Community College campus there.

If the expansion occurs — it’s being considered as part of the college’s 10-year master plan — it will be able to do so in part because of the Bean Foundation. The foundation committed to giving COCC about 47 acres years ago.

Fifteen acres of the gift already are home to COCC in Jefferson County. The school will take over another 15 acres in its second phase of development and get the final 17 acres when it’s time to expand again.

The Bean Foundation was the creation of Al Bean, a long-time Madras resident who died in 1988, according to a 2004 article in The Bulletin. Bean moved to Madras from Eugene and began buying land on the city’s east side, a practice that continued through World War II, when he served in the Navy. An injury forced him to return to civilian life. He later opened Al Bean Insurance in a building on Fourth Street that continues to house an insurance company today.

Bean began giving land away even before the Bean Foundation was created in 1981. St. Charles Madras, formerly Mountain View Hospital, was built in 1967 on land given by Al Bean.

The Madras Aquatic Center sits on land from the foundation. Juniper Hills Park and Bean Park also are on land donated by the foundation. In most cases, meanwhile, Bean land grants have required partnerships with other community organizations that advance recreational and social opportunities for children and families.

COCC’s expansion would add another link in a chain of public facilities that owe their presence in part to the Bean Foundation, a charity that has had and continues to have a big impact on the community its founder clearly loved.