The leaves are turning, snow is falling in the mountains, and the end of the year will soon be upon us. With the approaching holidays, you may be looking for ways to give back. If this applies to you and your family, you'll have no need to look further than Park City's dozens of nonprofit organizations working on everything from open space preservation and arts education to food security and community health. Here are just a few suggestions of how you can help out right here in town.

ReLEAF Utah

Do you love trees? ReLEAF Utah works to plant, protect, and preserve trees in our communities. As part of National Make a Difference Day, they're bringing trees to underserved and underforested parts of Salt Lake City. This is a wonderful way to get the entire family outdoors and volunteering. To join them at the Roots Disc Golf Course, Rosepark (1200 N Redwood Road) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on October 28, sign-up here.

Park City Peace House

The Park City Peace House works tirelessly combatting domestic violence in our community. Although you can donate money or volunteer year round, right now they are specifically preparing for their annual Bling Fling fundraiser set for November 10 and 11 at the Park City Community Church and are in need of both volunteers and donations. For the Bling Fling, they are seeking donations of gently used scarves, handbags and purses, both men's and women's jewelry, and belts (adorned with designs and accessories or hand-crafted not plain strip belts) to be sold at the event. For volunteers, they'll accept anyone from teens to older adults, though they prefer teens to volunteer with parental supervision. If you are interested in volunteering you can email Nancy Tosti ([email protected]) or visit their website. 

Donations can be dropped at the following locations: 

• Shepherd of the Mountain Lutheran Church, 4051 N. S.R. 224
• Right at Home furniture and gifts, 1745 Bonanza Drive.
• Park City Community Church, 4501 N. S.R. 224
• Promontory concierge desk, 9065 N. Promontory Ranch Rd.
• Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club, 8770 Jeremy Rd.
• Mountain Life Church, 7375 Silver Creek Rd
• Vessel Kitchen catering, 1784 Uinta Way, Suite 1E. All donations are tax deductible.

Annual Navajo Rug Show & Sale

The Adopt-A-Native-Elder program supports Native American Elders, providing food, medicine, clothing, fabric, and yarns to help them live their traditional lifestyle. Every year, the program hosts the Annual Navajo Rug Show & Sale at Deer Valley. This fundraiser's success depends on volunteers and if you'd like to get involved, make sure to attend the General Volunteer Meeting for the rug show on Wednesday, October 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the Park City Community Church. Find more information and sign-up to volunteer here. 

National Ability Center

The National Ability Center (NAC) is always in need of volunteers, especially as we head into winter, and they're currently looking for Adaptive Ski and Snowboard instructors, assistants, and peer partners. They do have more immediate needs for two upcoming events as well.

On October 28, they'll be hosting a Halloween Party and are in need of volunteers to help decorate ahead of the event, hand out candy, and run activity stations. Volunteers are encourage to wear costumes, though they should be family friendly and no masks since some of the trick-or-treaters can be made anxious/scared by masks.

The NAC also needs ten volunteers to spread awareness about their programs at this years Shred Fest in Salt Lake City on November 4. Volunteers will help with a variety of event functions, including taking tickets and helping with setups. 

For more information or to sign up for any volunteer activities at the NAC, contact [email protected] or check out the their website.

Christian Center of Park City

The CCPC focuses on meeting essential needs, fighting hunger through their food pantry every month and sponsoring numerous other charitable efforts throughout the year. Currently, they are in the midst of a winter clothing drive and are in need of new and gently used winter jackets, snow pants, boots, hats, socks, goggles, and helmets for school age children. You can drop off your donations at the CCPC (1283 Deer Valley Dr) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day through October 13. In November and December, the CCPC will also be doing a book and toy drive. 

Live PC, Give PC

The ultimate day of giving in Park City. Live PC, Give PC is scheduled for November 10, but you can donate any time leading up to the day on the organization's website. This is a perfect way to give back to the community organizations that do so much for us. There are dozens of groups to choose from, so you can give to the causes you feel most passionate about.