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 . 

Community Health Fair

Logan is said to be one of the safest communities in the nation, and  Wilson neighborhood chair  Jim Reese says there's no reason why it shouldn't also be one of the healthiest. Next weekend (Saturday, May 17th), Logan's neighborhood councils are sponsoring a community health fair with free activities of all sorts to help promote a healthier lifestyle for everyone. Wilson neighborhood residents responded to a survey that helped guide the planning for the health fair's activities, information booths, screenings and demonstrations.

Be inspired. Need a little motivation to make those changes you've been putting off?  Keynote speaker Daniel Burton got into biking as a way to turn his health around and eventually set a world record  traveling over 700 miles across Antarctica. Learn what a few small changes can do for your health too. 

Be informed. With 50 booths full of information, activities, screenings, and demonstrations, learn about what you can do to improve your health and feel better each day. (And learn about what to do when you're not feeling your best - when to call the doctor or ambulance and when to watch and wait.)

Be entertained. Try something different for your Saturday entertainment. The health fair will include olympic style trampoline demonstrations, a look inside the AirMed helicopter, health related how-to's from the fire department, and many other fun activities for adults and kids.

Bonus:   Want to show off your commitment to healthy living? May is National Bike Month -- enjoy the beautiful Spring weather and get a healthy start to your weekend by riding your bike to the Community Health Fair on Saturday morning.  

Extra bonus: Want to help out with this event?  Contact  Jim Reese (435-764-3200) for more information on what you can do to volunteer. 

Community Health Fair

Saturday, May 17th from 10:00 - 2:00

Logan Parks and Recreation Center (west gym)

UPDATED INFORMATION regarding the SCHEDULE:

Logan's Neighborhood Council presents . . . 

 

FREE, FAMILY-FRIENDLY, FUN FOR ALL AGES

“Creating a Culture of Activity”

Saturday, 17 May

10:00am - 2:00pm

Logan Rec Center 

(195 S 100 W, CVTD Route 7)

Over 50 health professionals 

(see attached poster for a list of many of the participants)

• Health screenings
• Consultation
• Giveaways, Draws
• Demonstrations
• Presentations
• 10:30am  TBA*
• 11:00am  Dave Scholz - USU Athletics - Head Strength and Conditioning Coach - 'Achieving the next level of fitness' 
• 11:30am  Shelley Compton - 'On the road back from breast cancer'
• 12:00pm  KEYNOTE PRESENTER:  Daniel Burton, the South Pole Cyclist - "Creating a Culture of Activity"
• 1:00pm  Caroline Shugart - Dietician 
• 1:30pm  Miss Cache Valley 

Learn exercise options that fit your life!

Take a tour of an AirMed Life Flight helicopter!

Seniors health, kids activities, more!

It's National Volunteer Week!

A HUGE   'Thank You' 

to all of the volunteers here in Cache Valley who make a difference in our community! We, and our partner organizations, couldn't do what we do without you.

National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate people doing extraordinary things through service. Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week focuses national attention on the impact and power of volunteerism and service as an integral aspect of our civic leadership. The week draws the support and endorsement of the president and Congress, governors, mayors and municipal leaders, as well as corporate and community groups across the country.

National Volunteer Week is not only our moment in time to celebrate our volunteers, but to share ideas, practices, and stories wherever they happen, and to re-imagine the notion of citizenship for the 21st century. Below you will find links to various volunteer week resources.

We're in the News: One Correction Needed

Our new Community Donations Clearinghouse is in the News!!

The Herald Journal ran an article yesterday highlighting a new program we are launching called the Community Donations Clearinghouse. The Online Statesman ran an article about the program March 17th. This program is designed to make it easier and less time consuming for businesses and our partner organizations to connect regarding donations of surplus products, services, etc.  We appreciate the help of our local media to get the word out about this and other programs that serve the Cache Valley community.

There is one pretty major correction that needs to be made for both articles, however. Clearly the inaccurate communication is coming from our end and not the fault of the newspapers. The Volunteer Center, for the most part, can not 'house' large surplus items.  We will accept and store gift certificates and some small items on a very limited basis. However, for the most part, this program is designed to provide an on-line listing of what is available so that non-profit organizations can more easily connect with the businesses and individuals that have what they need.

We are excited about this new program and hope that the community will utilize the program as a way to support local non-profits, maximize resources available, and promote volunteerism and civic engagement in the community!

You can see both articles here:

The Herald Journal Article

Online Statesman

Legacy House Spring Boutique

April 12, 2014