by Amy Worthington
Volunteer Events and Training Coordinator
Every summer, hundreds of youth in Salt Lake, Davis, Summit, and Tooele counties fill their summer vacation with service in their community. This summer was no different! Between June 1 and August 31, there were over 150 youth between the ages of 5 and 18 who completed United Way of Salt Lake’s Summer of Service program.
In total we had over 1,875 hours of service reported! Projects that were completed ranged from school supply drives, boxing up meals that were sent to a special needs orphanage, assisting at community safety fairs, helping at various homeless shelters, volunteering at the Hogle Zoo, and much more!
Regarding her service, 15-year-old Tiffany said, “It always makes me happy to help others and I love all different kinds of service. I am learning many things including how many people it actually takes to make things happen in our community. It’s always fun to work with different people and make a difference!”
On September 18th we held an End of Summer of Service Party, where we had over 85 people gather to celebrate the accomplishments of the youth who participated in Summer of Service. Every participant had ear to ear smiles as they received their completion certificate and a prize from our drawing. Boondocks Fun Center was humming with excited youth and their families, as they enjoyed a pizza dinner, access to all Boondocks attractions including go-karts, mini-golf and laser tag, and 20 tokens to the arcade!
We are grateful for all the youth and families that participated in, and successfully completed, Summer of Service 2014! It was a wonderful opportunity to serve alongside all of you this summer, and to honor your hard work at our party!
If you or your family are looking for ways to get youth involved in service, please visit uw.org/volunteer or email United Way of Salt Lake’s Volunteer Center at volunteercenter@uw.org.
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