Posted by Tom Kelly

PARK CITY ROTARY CLUB HELPS KIDS IN COMMUNITY

 

PARK CITY, Utah (July 11, 2017) - The Park City Rotary Club, which has been serving the community since 1980, is drawing attention to the needs of youth in the Park City community. On Tuesday (July 11) the club announced significant financial grants to three relatively new local non-profits, all of which have a focus on kids. The club will present $125,000 in grants to Community for Children’s Justice, Bright Futures (a program of the Park City Education Foundation) and PC Tots in a ceremony in the Blair Education Center at the Park City Hospital.

PARK CITY ROTARY CLUB HELPS KIDS IN COMMUNITY

 

PARK CITY, Utah (July 11, 2017) - The Park City Rotary Club, which has been serving the community since 1980, is drawing attention to the needs of youth in the Park City community. On Tuesday (July 11) the club announced significant financial grants to three relatively new local non-profits, all of which have a focus on kids. The club will present $125,000 in grants to Community for Children’s Justice, Bright Futures (a program of the Park City Education Foundation) and PC Tots in a ceremony in the Blair Education Center at the Park City Hospital.

 

With the addition of matching grants, the distribution will bring $225,000 directly to organizations helping youth in Park City.

 

The grants were a part of a two-year initiative from the Park City Rotary Club. In 2015 the club decided to spend down its savings to directly benefit local causes. After meeting with over 40 community leaders, it determined that the most pressing needs were with youth.

 

“The message was clear to us from the community that it valued services to help kids,” said Rotary President Robert Holmes. “We also wanted to work with groups that were providing new, valuable services in an innovative way. And we were interested in supporting causes that we could grow with, as a club, in future service projects.”

 

The grants are the largest ever for the club, which is known for its ongoing support of community non-profits and for its Miners’ Day celebration and Giving Tree Festival.

 

Community for Children’s Justice

Since the establishment of the Summit County Children’s Justice Center in 2012, over 800 kids have come through the program - victims of sexual or physical violence. Last year the program served 212 victims. The statistics are startling. In Utah, one in five boys or one in four girls are abused before they turn 18. In most cases, the suspects are parents.

 

Community for Children’s Justice was formed to build a campus for the Children’s Justice Center so children of abuse will have a safe and private place where the children can tell their story of abuse and begin the healing process. Presently it occupies a tiny office in the Richins Building - which is not conducive to the work being done.

 

“This is a community issue that many of us don’t think about,” said Holmes, “and a cause where we wanted to help Community for Children’s Justice make a difference for kids.”

 

“I’ve seen the positive impact this program has on children of abuse,” said Susan Richer, president of Community for Children’s Justice. “I remember one young boy who was so emotionally distraught. But after an hour or so he felt relieved, supported and cared for - and his fear subsided, his stress decreased and we were able to truly help him. We will build a campus where they can begin to recover, begin to heal to become healthy, thriving and contributing adults. Kids can recover!”

 

The group will receive a $50,000 grant from the Park City Rotary contingent on it finding a $50,000 match - impacting the program by $100,000.

 

Bright Futures (Park City Education Foundation)

Park City has become a community of growing ethnic and socio-economic diversity. The area’s economic viability, as well as its culture, draws deeply on those new roots. But a growing segment of the community has not had a family culture of continuing education or college.

 

Bright Futures, a program of the Park City Education Foundation, is changing that in so many different ways. The program, which began in 2015, aims to break the cycle of poverty in Park City by significantly increasing the college-going culture, expectation and rate in our community among first generation students.

 

The new program recruits potential students in ninth grade, provides an introductory Summer Academy program then works with the students through high school and, most notably, plans to stay with them to help them through college, as well.

 

“This was another brilliant new program in our community to address our changing demographics and provide opportunities for kids - and their families - to adopt a culture of higher education,” said Holmes.


The program presently has its first class of 30 students moving from 10th to 11th grade, plus a new group of 30 recruits entering 10th grade.

 

“The Bright Futures Program is one of the most rewarding and impactful programs that Park City Education Foundation has helped launch in Park City,” said Executive Director Abby McNulty. “With just a year under our belt, we have seen the program make a big difference in the lives of young teens - and, it's just getting started! I can't wait to see the kinds of jobs and work these kids will be doing here in Park City after college graduation. It's humbling that Rotary, a long-standing and established organization, has chosen to make such a significant investment in this program, the future of these kids, and the future of our community.”  

 

Park City Rotary Club will present a $50,000 grant to Bright Futures contingent on a $50,000 match, resulting in a $100,000 impact to the program.

 

PC Tots

As a resort community, Park City has diverse needs for working parents with young children. With daycare costs that can soar to the level of state college tuition and work hours that begin in early morning hours and extend into the evening, there are great challenges in our community for working parents who may be spending a third of their family’s income on daycare.

 

Just over a year ago, the non-profit PC Tots came online in Park City and is already having a significant impact with over 100 children in the program plus a waiting list. But as with any startup organization, it’s tough to support a program like this especially when it’s in such high demand.

 

“With PC Tots, we had a unique opportunity to help a new program get over the hump and stay focused on its core mission - helping families with kids,” said Holmes. “This program has really caught the eye of the community and we’re proud to be a part of its success.”

 

“PC Tots offers a high quality early learning center for children six weeks to five years of age which is open 11-hours a day, five days a week, every week of the year,” said Board President Carol Loomis. “To help working families, our base tuition is subsidized, with higher subsidies available based upon a family’s need. We have found it will take a village to provide this service to Park City’s workforce and we are proud and grateful to receive this incredible show of support from the Park City Rotary.”

 

The Park City Rotary Club will present a grant of $25,000 to PC Tots to help fund equipment for the program’s facilities for kids.