Tucked among the high end boutiques and restaurants surrounding Main Street is a new offering, The Mega Genius Supply Store and IQ HQ. No, it is not a retail outlet for brain-boosting pharmaceuticals. The entree simmering behind the slogan-slashed Swede Alley storefront is a heaping plate of organic imagination with a dash of hope, stirred gently with one-on-one support.
On any given weekday afternoon the Mega Genius Supply Store is crammed with middle school-aged kids reading, writing, creating artwork, consulting with tutors and socializing. Only a few months old, the site is already a favorite after-school hangout for students from Treasure Mountain International School and Ecker Hill International School.
And not just because there might be free pizza and cake.
Guadalupe Garcia likes to spend time at the Mega Genius Store because she gets help with her homework and she can hang out with her friends. Julio Pedaza says the tutors “help and motivate” him and Leo Alonso comes to draw and concentrate on his favorite subject, social studies.
For Maria Martinez, an eighth grader at Treasure Mountain, the experience has uncovered her talent as an author. With enthusiastic support from volunteer Abby Wall, she has published a book, “The Street Ghost.” Martinez hopes it is the first volume in a long successful career as an author.
Many of the tutors will look familiar to those who frequent the Eccles Center. The Mega Genius Supply Store was conceived by Park City Performing Arts Foundation Executive Director Teri Orr and members of the PCPAF staff do regular stints as tutors.
Orr brought the concept of a ‘genius store’ home from a TED conference in San Francisco where she learned about Dave Eggers’ literacy efforts. Eggers created 826 National, a collective of eight nonprofits dedicated to improving students’ writing and literacy skills. The Park City program was inspired by his organization.
The PCPAF board embraced the project as part of its overall mission. “Student outreach has been part of out mission from the start,” says Orr who also spends afternoons with the students.
Before working with the PCPAF, Orr worked with at-risk students at Treasure Mountain Middle School and also contributed time to a writing program at The Colby School. “One-on-one tutoring makes a tangible difference for these students,” she says, adding “a piece of me would give up everything else to do this full time.”
The spacious Swede Alley location has been provided by an anonymous donor. Tables, books and computers have been donated by an assortment of local residents. But the elbow grease has come in large part from the PCPAF staff and a handful of volunteers.
Orr said, more volunteers are needed and another training session will be held in April.
In the meantime, anyone who wants to rub shoulders with some local budding geniuses and to buy some thought-provoking toys and t-shirts (proceeds support the literacy project) is welcome to stop by the Mega Genius Supply Store at 436 Swede Alley from noon to 6 p.m. on weekdays. And, prepare to be inspired by both the students and the staff.
For more information about becoming a Genius Store tutor call 435-655-8252.