Service Project at Orem Nursing and Rehabilitation

Kiera, Brian, and I (Julianne) have been coordinating service projects for the Summer of Service Program. On Friday we had a group of about 25 people at the Orem Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Youth made 4th of July crafts with the residents then used them to decorate the resident's doors. The kids were very creative (and messy!) with the glitter, string, foam, paper, and glue. My favorite part was watching the kids interact with the seniors. Here's a glimpse of their work:

Project Progress! Yay!

So for the past few months I've been working on developing a program for Centro Hispano, Proyecto para el Mejoramiento de la Vida, that would incorporate classes from throughout the community to help Centro Hispano clients make and achieve important educational goals. Recently many important things have happened at Centro Hispano that have helped this project move along. Centro Hispano has been awarded significant grants that will help fund the project and allow for the hirings of new key positions, such as mentors, instructors, and curriculum writers. We also have some great volunteers who are doing such things as developing a "course catalog" of community resources, designing a proper in-take procedure, and gathering curriculum for a future parenting class. As I'm approaching the end of my year of service, it's exciting to see this project really come together and become something that will benefit the community. -- Jana

Project Safe Neighborhoods Anti-Gang Training

Last week I attended a 2 day training about gang intervention and prevention in Salt Lake City. This was a very educational experience for me because I'm a country girl from rural Ohio -- I don't know anything about gangs! Not only did I learn all about the different gangs in Utah, but I also learned about the reasons youth join gangs, how to help members leave gangs, and how to effectively work with parole officers. At the end of the training I received a certificate stating that I successfully completed 16 hours of Project Safe Neighborhoods Anti-Gang Training. The training was very neat and I would recommend it to anyone who'd like to learn more about gangs.

Festival Latinoamericano

Currently I am on the planning committee for this year's Festival Latinoamericano. Festival Latinoamericano is held every Labor Day weekend on the Provo Courthouse lawn and draws thousands of people, especially local Hispanic families. This event celebrates the local Hispanic community as families come together to eat good Latin food, watch dance performances, learn more about Hispanic cultures, and so forth. My responsibility in the planning committee is to ensure that community resources are showcased through the event. This year we are planning on having a community tent that will highlight different community resources through informative displays and family-friendly activities. We're also hoping to help community agencies put together short DVD clips with information about their services.

Summer at the Boulders!

Hi everyone! My name is Daniel Jensen and I'm a new VISTA working with Angelica in the Boulders. I just graduated from BYU in International Relations and am excited to get working here at United Way! We're really excited about this summer and anticipate several great activities! We are going to have a BBQ for the residents in June and in July we are going to host a three week long summer camp for the children! Several other activities and programs are on their way!

Summer of Service

School is out and it's time for youth to start serving!

I have been working with United Way to create a program to encourage youth to volunteer in the summer months. Youth will be invited to participate in group service projects and given a list of volunteer opportunity ideas at local agencies. They are also encouraged to find their own projects tutoring a child, organizing a food drive, helping an elderly neighbor, or organizing a project of their own.

Everyone who completes at least 10 hours of service by August 11th and writes a reflection about one of their projects will be invited to a celebration event!

If you know anyone who might be interested in participating, have them call United Way at 374-2588.

Global Youth Service Day

As an AmeriCorps VISTA working at United Way of Utah County, I have been working to encourage service among youth. I worked with youth from 8 Utah County high schools to hold service projects for Global Youth Service Day.

Global Youth Service Day is a global event organized by Youth Service America, Global Youth Action Network, and numerous international organizations and coordinating committees. It is the largest annual celebration of young volunteers with millions of youth in countries everywhere carrying out thousands of community improvement projects.

Starting in November, I met with student leaders to plan service projects for this day. Orem, Mountain View, Timpanogos, Lehi, Pleasant Grove, Lone Peak, Springville and American Fork high schools teamed up to provide service projects. The schools repaired and cleaned parks, wrote letters to soldiers, cleaned the G on the mountain in Pleasant Grove, made toys for children in need, colored alphabet books, helped with maintenance at a city cemetery and more.

The whole purpose of the event was to help youth start a life-long habit of service. I think that if youth start getting involved with service and volunteer work when they’re young, it is more likely to continue with them for the rest of their lives.

To close the festivities, Community Action Services and Food Bank hosted a dance sponsored by United Way of Utah County to recognize the students who organized the projects. The entrance fee to the dance was a donated hygiene item. SubZero Ice Cream of Provo provided entertainment and free ice cream for the event. At the dance youth participated in food-stacking competitions, “Guess the Crate Weight” and a dance off. It was a success.