We could not do everything we do without the service provided by our wonderful volunteers. April 19-25, 2020 is National Volunteer Week and we are celebrating by highlighting different group of volunteers. Our volunteers come in all ages and types! The impact of volunteering with Root for Kids benefits hundreds of young children in Washington County and the Arizona strip.
Families
We love when families visit us and join in a project such as bundling diapers, painting blocks and coloring matching games. We have projects for all ages! It is very special to have one family support another family.
Individuals
We have individual volunteers that have been with us for many years. Brad Hafen has been volunteering with us for over 20 years, Naomi has been with us for nine, and Susan joined us just last year. These dear friends of ours have given countless hours to support our mission.
We also have committees you can join to help with our community impact and plan our annual fundraising events, such as our Secret Garden Gala. You can read books & rock babies in our Caterpillar Clubhouse, bundle diaper packages for our enrolled families, create matching games and activity books for the children, and more.
School & Youth Groups
Our hallways are always buzzing with activity when we have a school or youth group on campus. They are active and willing to do just about anything! We’ve had boy scout and girl scout troops, WCSD Youth Leadership, and numerous church youth groups join us for an afternoon of service. We’ve enjoyed their work in our garden and yard area, our playground and fencing, and assembly projects such as building sensory bottles and fishing games.
Local Businesses
We are so grateful to the many businesses that donate to us each year. Especially those who also donate their time volunteering with us. Some of the businesses we’ve had volunteer with us are American Family Insurance, Enterprise, and our dear friends at Guild Mortgage. As part of our Early Head Start grant we are committed to offer volunteer opportunities. We have an average of 15,000 volunteer hours to meet each year and businesses like these help us match this commitment year after year.
Community Groups
Three hurrah’s for the best community! We are so grateful for the many community groups that join us throughout the year. They tackle tasks like our yard work, painting projects, and building and coloring educational toys. We’ve enjoyed partnering with AUCH, Rotary Club, SUHBA, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, AGC- and many more.
University Students & Athletes
Our partnerships with university students are some of our favorites. When they volunteer, they are always eager with wiling hearts to giving all they can to our mission. Last year we enjoyed having the DSU football team come by to help with our yard work and creating puzzles for our graduating children.
Each semester we have DSU nursing & dental hygiene students, U of U physician assistant students and students in leadership from RVU join us at our various family events. Many of our families primarily speak Spanish, and we often need Spanish Interpreters. The DSU Spanish Club has been helpful at our dental days and other family events. We also have student interns each semester. Last year we had Abby join us as a health communication intern and Ashleigh as a community involvement intern.
Health Heroes & Clinicians
We love our health partners! They each provide a service that greatly impacts the families in our programs. Last year at one of our parent nights our enrolled parents enjoyed learning from Danyelle Evans, a Registered Dental Hygienist in our community, about the importance of oral health for their families. We are so grateful for the DSU dental days each semester with the DSU dental hygiene program. Each semester, a local Dentist from our community volunteers his time to oversee the dental days. Alongside the DSU students the Dentist provides free dental checkups for our enrolled families. The U of U physician assistant program provide free well child exams & immunizations for our Early Head Start families.
We have an ongoing partnership with Stefani Watson from USDB to provide hearing testing, and Dr. Joshua Schliesser offers vision screenings for our program children. Our partnership with Stapley Pharmacy provides our staff with flu shots and necessary immunizations.
Lastly, we are so grateful for our Health Services Advisory Committee that is comprised of a dozen or so local health provides that meet twice a year on their own time to discuss the health of our families. Without the donation of these clinicians’ time, our families would continue to fall between the cracks in necessary health services which can lead to effects on the child’s development.
We are thankful for our volunteers’ dedication and desire to improve the lives of hundreds of children. Interested in volunteering with us? Call our Volunteer & Community Partnership Coordinator to get started! (435) 673-5353, ext. 123
