Thank You State Farm!

A VERY BIG Thank You to State Farm, who presented cash awards to Logan High School and our Team Mentoring Program during the Cache Inter-Agency Council meeting held at Pizza Pie Cafe on Wednesday evening.

State Farm Corporate representatives from Arizona and Colorado attended the event with local agents Tyson Luthi and Lana Powell.  We would also like to thank Representative Ed Redd, for his attendance and community support.

Logan High School received a $1,000 check from the YSA YOUth in the Driver's Seat Grant in support of their teen safe driving activities.  Their Safe Teen Driving Rally was a motivating, engaging event held in April and was sponsored by our TEAM Mentoring program.

The TEAM Mentoring Program was presented with a $25,000 check from the State Farm Good Neighbor Grant, in support of our work with young people in Cache Valley.

TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) is an after school club for all 9-12th grade students. At our daily club meetings we do fun team-building activities that develop life skills and service projects that help us get to know our community better.  We also tutor elementary-age children, and hold a 4-H club focused on one of our key topics (Health & Nutrition, Home & Community, The Arts, Career Readiness, and STEM (*Science, Technology, Engineering and Math*).

TEAM youth receive help and mentoring in preparing for college, and our students also have various leadership opportunities, including trips! This fall we will have 3 students traveling to Washington, D.C. and 1 student taking a humanitarian trip to Samoa in December!

If you would like to join the TEAM, email us at team.logan.utah@gmail.com

Volunteer at Summerfest

Described as "Cache Valley's highly anticipated summer kick-off event", the annual Summerfest Arts Faire will be here in just a few weeks.  Exceptional artwork to browse or purchase, excellent entertainment including headline performers each night, delicious food, an art yard for young creators, and the annual Plein Air paint and photography competitions all make the Cache Valley Summerfest a fantastic way to spend some time on Father's Day weekend. 

More than 300 volunteers are needed to make this fantastic arts fair a success, and there are just a few days left to sign up online (deadline June 1). There are so many ways that you can help! Help build the arts fair, or take down when finished. Fill in for the artists as a booth sitter so the artists can take a quick break. Help with awards and contests or the Plein Air competition tent. This year's new art yard needs volunteers to help young artists with hands-on projects. Or help performers with stage crew work, acoustics, or CD sales. Whatever your talents or interests are, there is likely a great way you can help out at Summerfest!

Summerfest Arts Faire
June 12th - 14th
(Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
  Saturday 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.)
50 North Main Street

Sign up today to be a Summerfest volunteer!

May Volunteer of the Month

The Cache Valley Volunteer Center wants to recognize our May Volunteer of the Month.  Liberti Lucas joined the TEAM Mentoring program this year and has gone above and beyond to mentor our youth from the beginning.  According to her peers, Liberti “takes the time to get to know the youth and helps them develop their life goals.”  The students love her.  She is committed to the youth she serves and shows them how much she truly cares, by attending some of their events beyond the mentoring program.  “She is always there and is always consistent.”

When talking with Liberti, it is clear that she deeply cares for the youth in the TEAM Mentoring program.  When asked what drives her, she simply said, “I love those kids, they are my life!”  Once Liberti began volunteering she found herself completely devoted to mentoring the youth who inspire her every day.

Liberti, you are a shining example of the heart of a volunteer, and a true inspiration to those around you.  Thank you for your service to our youth and to our community.

If you are as moved by Liberti Lucas as we are, consider volunteering.  There are so many opportunities, you are sure to find the right fit for you.  Liberti would tell you she receives as much from volunteering as she gives. 

Cache Valley Storytelling Festival

Coming up in June, Elk Ridge Park will be the home of the first Cache Valley Storytelling Festival! Enjoy a full day of stories and entertainment from award-winning storytellers, musicians, and even puppeteers. Or, do you have a story that you'd love to share? Sign up in advance and share a story of your own (for youth and adults). Thanks to the performers, sponsors and North Logan City, this year's festival events will all be free. Advance tickets are available though at several Cache Valley locations and will qualify you for Saturday evening's prize drawing.  

Volunteers are needed to help make this event a wonderful success! Find out more here about how to get involved. 

Cache Valley Storytelling Festival

Saturday, June 7th

12:00 - 10:00 pm

Elk Ridge Park, North Logan

Cache Valley Gardener's Market

Are you looking for a great family outing this weekend?  Look no further than the Cache Valley Gardener’s Market in Horseshoe/Willow Park.  Listed as one of the Top 20 Farmer’s Markets in America, our Gardener’s Market offers amazing local produce, musical entertainment, homemade crafts and great people watching opportunities!

Saturday, May 17^th is Community Day – Enjoy the beautiful weather and take in the wonderful energy, and all the goodies the vendors put together  to welcome the community and express their appreciation for the support of their Cache Valley friends.  Did you know when you buy local; twice as much money stays in our community and helps make the Cache Valley more self -sufficient? 

The Horseshoe/Willow Park location is especially family-friendly with awesome playground equipment and great dog-walking areas.  Be sure to bring the kids out to the Gardener’s Market on June 7^th for Kids Day – there will be lots of fun, free activities and entertainment that will delight their senses and inspire their young minds!  

If you love the atmosphere of the Gardener’s Market, you may be the perfect fit for one of the many opportunities to volunteer!  

Gardener’s Market

Horseshoe/Willow Park (500 W. 700 S.)

Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

May thru October

Community Day: May 17^th

Kids Day: June 7th

Kids to Parks Day

Established by the National Park Trust, Kids to Parks Day was created to be a nation-wide day of outdoor play to encourage children and families to explore the outdoors and become good stewards of our parks and environment.

For this year's Kids to Parks Day, try out one of the dozens of local parks that Cache Valley offers. (Find out more about Logan's parks with a brief history of each park on the city website.) If you're up for an even bigger adventure,  plan a visit to Hyrum State Park where you can enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, water sports, or just relaxing at the water's edge.

Want to add some volunteering to your Kids to Parks Day? Choose your favorite local park and set aside a few minutes of your outing to make sure the park and playground are clean and tidy.  Hyrum State Park also has an ongoing need for volunteers (find out more here).

Visit the National Park Trust site to learn more or to pledge to participate in Kids to Parks Day.

Kids to Parks Day
Saturday, May 17th

Logan River Clean-Up May 17th

When my family first moved to Logan about four years ago, we fell in love with the beautiful outdoors of Cache Valley. That first Autumn, we spent most weekends  on hikes, campfires, bike rides, or other outside adventures just enjoying our new city. We quickly found that the best hiking trails for our family were those that ran along a river or stream. Our young son stayed entertained and was a great little hiker as long as he could stop every once in a while to toss a rock or stick into the nearby water.

This weekend, we're excited to help out with a service project to help clean up the area along the Logan River. We'll be picking up trash, clearing the walking path, and helping out with whatever other clean-up duties we're given.  Want to join in too?

Meet at First Dam Saturday morning at 10:00 to receive your assignment and any necessary equipment. Then enjoy a beautiful Spring morning outside while we work on cleaning up various areas between First Dam and Second Dam.

Find more information and other volunteer ideas at the Cache Valley Volunteer Center.

Logan River Clean-up
Meet at First Dam
Saturday morning, May 17th at 10:00

Act Out Loud!

May is Global Youth Traffic Safety Month, so we want to acknowledge the Cache Valley High Schools who ended April with a big kick off to this month-long campaign of youth uniting across the country to protect teen drivers.  Each school partnered with the Cache Valley Volunteer Center, Allstate, and State Farm to organize Act Out Loud safe driving events in their communities.  Act Out Loud is a national program that provides teens an opportunity to take action that saves lives, while raising local awareness about the importance of safe teen driving.

Mountain Crest, Sky View and Logan High Schools each developed outstanding events in Hyrum, Smithfield and Logan respectively.  The Safe Teen Driving Rally at Logan High School was a fun-for-all ages event sponsored by TEAM Mentoring. The youth integrated their important message into lively student activities like riding scooters through an obstacle course while texting or wearing beer goggles to demonstrate the impact of distraction on driving.  There was also a booth where students could paint their thumbnails blue as a tangible reminder not to text and drive.  Way to go Grizzlies!

These exceptional student events were possible because of important youth leaders who played a leading role within each school and the support of our YOUth Advisory Council.  We are so grateful to our community partners like Jane Larsen of Allstate, the local volunteers from Conservice and Kohls who donated their time to help at some of these events, and our State Farm YOUth in the Driver’s Seat Grant.  These organizations actively support student leadership in the Cache Valley and understand the impact of distracted driving on public safety (especially among teens).  We are so inspired by these youth and community volunteers, and we hope you are too!

Distracted driving accidents are the number on cause of death for people under the age of 20.  11 teens die EVERY DAY from texting and driving accidents.

YOU can make a big difference by setting the example in your circle of family and friends.   Take a personal pledge to avoid distraction while driving, create a family contract not to text and drive,  ask all drivers of cars you’re a passenger in not to text and drive.

If you’re interested in making a difference in Cache Valley, consider becoming a local volunteer .