There are about one in five children in Park City who are, by federal standards, considered low-income. The Christian Center of Park City has the Back to School Basics Fund Raiser under way to help children in need be prepared and excited for that first day of school.
The start of school should be an exciting time for kids as they head back to class, meet old friends and make new ones, settle in with their teachers and get ready to learn. Programs Director for the Christian Center of Park City, Pete Stoughton says there’s research showing the best ways to prepare students for success in school.
“And, it’s our effort to make sure that every kid starts school with the necessary and appropriate and adequate clothing and school supplies, so they’re prepared for school. Correlations and research showing that if students aren’t adequately given the right clothes and materials, that they won’t be as successful. So, we want to help bridge that gap.”
Stoughton says CCPC works closely with the school district, parents and families to determine those who would benefit. They’re trying to raise $85,000 this year.
“We’re limited right now to 600 (students) but we’re trying to raise additional funds so we can cover all of the students in Park City.”
The CCPC dispenses the funds in a way that Stoughton says empowers families. It’s unlike many other models used nationally or throughout Utah.
“We allow the families to determine what those needs are. So, we don’t give everybody a pair of shoes. We don’t give everybody a sweater. We allow the parents and the children to make that choice. Which is part of the empowerment model we are trying to embed in all of our programs.”
The Outlets of Park City continue their support of the program by offering what Stoughton calls extreme discounts before the stores open. This all happens on August 9th.
They’re holding a silent auction during the Wednesday Grand Valley Bank Community Concert at Deer Valley. They’ll also take donations on their website.
“Like a lot of all our programs, we couldn’t do any of this without the support, both financially and also volunteer timewise, without the entire community. $100 covers the cost of just the shopping card or they can volunteer and on our website there’s also a link to volunteer."
They’ve raised nearly half of the $85,000 they need to cover 600 or more student’s back to school needs. The auction on Wednesday night includes a variety of packages and prizes.
“We’ve got a lot of staycation packages. Resort packages for skiing. We have a lot of activities, such as snowshoeing and fly-fishing. And then, smaller items like headphones from Skull Candy and bike packages from Storm Cycles and Jan’s Sports. So, really exciting.”
The link to the Christian Center of Park City can be found here: https://www.ccofpc.org/ Donations will help every kid in Park City be ready for school this fall. Also, volunteers are needed to help prepare backpacks for the Back to School Basics campaign.
