Park City Day of Service, which is scheduled for Saturday, is needed more than ever, said Vicki Plumb, board member of Serve Park City, the local branch of Just Serve, a global nonprofit that uses volunteering to empower and help individuals, families and groups make a positive impact in their communities.
“Service breeds kindness, and it helps us unite as a people,” she said. You will get much more out of this event than you will ever put in, and I know that from experience.”
This year marks the third anniversary of Day of Service, which commemorates 9/11, and there are 39 nonprofits that seek volunteers, Plumb said. (See accompanying list.)
“We have room for 1,200 volunteers, and there are so many nonprofits in Park City,” she said. “There are some that people really don‘t know about. So this is a big deal. It’s an exciting deal.”
People can sign up to volunteer by visiting serveparkcity.org, and there are many options to choose from, according to Plumb.
“It links to Just Serve, which helps us host these events and helps us keep track of all the number of people who volunteer,” she said.
Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter needs people to help pick up trash and debris along the Preserve’s corridor, and Nuzzles & Co needs volunteers to walk dogs, sanitize spaces and help with property work.
Live Like Sam, a youth empowerment nonprofit that focuses on suicide prevention, needs people to help complete a teen-friendly craft and work on a trail service project.
“There are so many opportunities to serve, and I have had so much fun checking out the different nonprofits here and doing service with them,” she said. “We can learn so much about these nonprofits when we volunteer, and we get to know the people who run these organizations.”
Serve Park City not only helps people want to volunteer. It also gives nonprofit organizations a place to seek volunteers, Plumb said.
“When we started, we funded the organization ourselves,” she said. “After getting some great response with two Days of Service, people started to donate money to help, and we officially became a nonprofit last year.”
Karen Marriott serves as the organization’s president, and the co-president is Danny Glasser, Plumb said.
“We want to serve our community because Park City is a really cool place to live,” she said. “The thing is that it’s not just the skiing. It’s not just the beautiful mountains and the hiking. It’s the people. They are diverse, and the one thing they all have in common is that they serve.”
This year’s Day of Service on Saturday will begin with a volunteer breakfast donated by Hearth and Hill, the Market, Lucky One’s Coffee and Julie Hopkins, at 8 a.m. in City Park, Plumb said.
“Duing that time, we’ll do a short memorial, where a first responder will speak about service,” she said. “We’ll have a bagpipe player perform taps and the Summit County Sheriff’s posse arrive on horseback.”
The Sheriff’s department will also give a last call to honor those who died serving on 9/11, Plumb said, fighting back tears.
“That will be followed by a moment of silence in honor of what they did,” she said.
Volunteers will then head off to their various shifts at 9 a.m. and return at noon to City Park for a pizza and cookie lunch, donated by Dominos and Auntie Em’s Baked Goods, Plumb said.
“Hopefully everyone will all return for pizza, and then we can all sit around and talk about our accomplishments and what we have done for our community,” she said.
While the Day of Service commemorates 9/11, it goes deeper than remembering those who died that day, Plumb said.
“We remember the extraordinary response from everyday people who stepped up and helped,” she said, with her voice full of emotion. “This is the 25th anniversary of 9/11. We can’t change what happened on that day, and there are a lot of kids who don’t remember, or who weren’t born, yet. So, we can serve our community to help them know what happened. We want to make sure they know and remember those who died and remember those who rushed in and helped. We want them to see how much we need one another.”
Plumb has participated in the Park City Day of Service since it began.
“I could not believe how much joy, camaraderie and acceptance and a sense of unity the Day of Service has brought out,” she said. “That’s what makes us Parkites.”
Service doesn’t have to take a lot of time, nor does it require special skills, Plumb said.
“You don’t have to be talented and you don’t have to bring tools,” she said. “You just have to show up and be yourself. We’re building a network, so if Park City needs something, we can be ready to help.”
2026 Park City Day of Service
- When: 8 a.m.-noon
- Where: Park City and Summit County
- Web: serveparkcity.org
Serve Park City’s 2026 National Day of Service and Remembrance Projects
- Bridge 21 — paver project
- Christian Center of Park City — pantry deep clean
- Christian Center of Park City — Summit Exchange store cleaning and organizing
- Deer Valley — tree planting
- Dream Makers — encouragement letters for foster youths
- Habitat for Humanity — ReStore fence build
- Hope Alliance — eyewear sorting
- Intermountain Health — comfort kids for oncology patients
- Jewish Family Service — pantry kits
- Justice Center — yard cleanup
- KPCW — thank you notes
- Live Like Sam — creative service project
- Lucky ones Coffee — brew buddies
- Mountainlands Community Housing Trust — Parkside Community improvements
- National Ability Center — campus cleanup
- Nuzzles & Co. — animal care
- PC Tots — TLC for PC Tots clean and tidy
- Park City — Silver Creek cleanup
- Park City Mountain cleanup
- Park City Museum — Alliance Mine graffiti removal
- Park City Museum — Glenwood Cemetery cleanup
- Peace House — meal kids
- People’s Health Clinic — children’s care kits
- Recycle Utah — Kearns Boulevard cleanup
- Serve Park City — community breakfast setup
- Serve Park City — community volunteer lunch setup
- St. Luke’s Episcopal Church — yard cleanup
- Stitching Hearts Worldwide — various weaving and quilting
- Summit Community Gardens — weeding and mulching
- Summit County Clubhouse — mural painting and cleanup
- Summit County — 910 Ranch barbed wire removal
- Summit County — Rasmussen Road cleanup
- Summit Land Conservancy — rock restoration
- Swaner Preserve & EcoCenter — preserve cleanup
- Utah Open Lands — North Round Valley fence removal
- Utah Department of Natural Resources — Ross Creek vegetation removal
- Wasatch & Wool — knitting and crocheting hats
- Wasatch Immigration Project — family safety packets
- WasteLess Solutions — community fridge shelter build
- Wild Heart Sanctuary — sanctuary cleanup and hay organizing for winter
- Youth United — information packet assembly and delivery
- Youth Sports Alliance — winter sports clothing drive