Volunteers with the Home Depot Foundation and the National Ability Center broke ground on improvements at the National Ability Center campus this week.

Almost 400 volunteers from both organizations spent the day working on various projects around the campus. Many of the projects were aimed at making the campus even more accessible, including new boardwalks and the installation of a new playground by the Lodge. Volunteers also built new picnic tables, painted murals, planted trees and built new shade structures around the equestrian area.

“This is the best of humanity,” said National Ability Center CEO Willie Ford, “where people give up time out of their day to give back to a cause that makes communities better.” 

For a few volunteers, this was their second time building a playground at the National Ability Center.

When the Home Depot Foundation installed the first playground, Monte Meier had just competed in the 2002 Winter Paralympic Games and won a silver medal for slalom racing. The Home Depot Foundation sponsored him as a Paralympic athlete, so when the foundation went to work at the National Ability Center, Monte volunteered his time.

Tracy Meier was an intern at the National Ability Center when she volunteered at the first playground installation. Now, 25 years later, Tracy and Monte are married. Tracy is the center’s chief programming and education officer, and Monte is a five-time Paralympian with medals and championship wins from all around the world.

“It’s a full circle moment,” Monte said. “Our kids play here, and thinking about all the people and all the use it’s had in the past 25 years, and for Home Depot to come back and build it again, it’s exciting.” 

“The playground is a true representation of inclusive communities,” Tracy said. 

It might be hard for someone to recognize the differences between this playground and others. The accessible features are included in the playground design with elements like swings that allows people who use wheelchairs to stay seated, ramps with access to the play structure and support bars to transfer from a wheelchair to the slides. 

The playground, which will be completed later this month, was designed to support parallel play, Ford explained, so people with different abilities can all use the same area at the same time.

Ford described an “impact first” philosophy that guides his work at the center.

“Impact first means everything you do is about how you create more impact for more people. That’s what we talk about every day here,” said Ford.

One of the individuals impacted by the work done at the National Ability Center is Mike Rice, who has Down syndrome and worked as a Creating Opportunities for Achievement, or COACH, intern this summer.

COACH is a supported internship program that helps people with disabilities build job skills while working at the National Ability Center’s recreation programs. 

“COACH internships are designed to help individuals with disabilities strengthen independence, develop vocational skills, and grow as self-advocates through hands-on experience at the National Ability Center,” said Kate McMahon, the nonprofit’s social media and content creator specialist.

Rice said he specifically developed his communication skills this summer. He added that he’s been able to help campers communicate with staff and learn about safety, equipment and activities, and teach people about what the National Ability Center does.

“A lot of people have joined us for making a disability flag,” Rice said.

For Rice, the Disability Pride flag represents support and understanding.

The flag has five multi-colored diagonal stripes across a charcoal grey background. It represents different disabilities and the different experiences people can have with them. The flags, built as small wooden plaques, will be given as gifts to program participants. While he worked with other volunteers on the project, Rice said he was educating them on the programs at the National Ability Center, including his internship. 

“I want people to come here and show them what NAC is and what a disability is,” Rice said. “I want it to be all one community.”

That kind of community is built through communication, Rice said.

The post Campus renovations at National Ability Center bring community together appeared first on Park Record.

Park City Municipal and Summit Lands Conservancy partnered up to plant trees and shrubs in the area Sunday morning, June 4, 2017. Volunteers planted a variety of shrubs and trees in an effort to soak up the carbon from the air. (Tanzi Propst/Park Record)

Link to gallery here: https://parkrecordphoto.smugmug.com/PHOTOS-Tree-Planting-in-Round-Valley/

The post PHOTOS: Round Valley Tree Planting appeared first on Park Record.

The Park City Museum welcomed 125,000 visitors last year.

With only four full-time staff members, the museum relied heavily on their volunteers to accommodate the high number of people who came to learn about the ski town’s history.

This year, the nonprofit expects around the same amount of patrons, and its director of education, Diane Knispel, is ready.

She’ll host two volunteer training sessions this month. The first will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, and the second will be from 3-5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

“People can just show up to these,” Knispel told The Park Record. “They don’t have to call or anything.”

These group volunteer orientations are less intense than the one-on-one volunteer interviews Knispel does.

“We’ll have groups of people come in and learn about the museum and what a volunteer is all about before they make a choice of whether or not to volunteer,” she said. “People can come to one orientation or the other. They don’t have to come to both.”

If neither of those days works for people who want to learn more about volunteering, they
can call Knispel.

“Then we can set up individual training sessions,” she said.

Volunteers are used for a variety of duties that include installing and taking down traveling exhibits, cataloging and processing collection items, assisting in the Research Library, helping with special events, leading both adult tours and school group programs and assisting as gallery guides.

“Many volunteers have been volunteers for years,” Knispel said. “Some only want to help in specific areas and programs, like our annual Historic House Tour.”

Some volunteers are seasonal.

“Just like many people who live in Park City part time, we’ll have volunteers who come for the summer or winter and not for spring or fall,” Knispel said. “When they get to town they’ll call us to tell us they’re ready to volunteer, and we’ll take them whenever they have time.”

Some volunteers like working with the public.

“We always try to have a gallery guide who gives people a quick intro to the museum, the layout, where things are and that type of thing,” Knispel said. “We also have volunteers who do our Historic Main Street tours and our annual fundraiser gala as well as school tours.”

Other volunteers work behind the scenes.

“They work downstairs in our collections and research library, because we need all the items that come in cataloged and entered in the computer,” Knispel said. “We also have volunteers that write ‘The Way We Were’ articles for The Park Record or help with our bulk mailings.”

People have their own reasons for volunteering.

“We have people who have been impressed by the museum during a visit and they’ll call us and ask if there’s something they can do,” Knispel said. “Some want to learn more about Park City.”

One thing Knispel wants to emphasize is potential volunteers do not need a deep knowledge of Park City history to help out.

“We will train them in all of that,” she said. “First off, give everyone tours to give them some background and history.”

Knispel will also hand out training manuals that include Park City’s history.

“Then we’ll have them observe a tour that will give them an idea of what needs to be done,” she said. “Even if volunteers want to work in the collections or write articles, they can do research and learn as they go on. So, you see, we don’t leave anyone high and dry because we want them to feel comfortable with what they are doing.”

The key is matching people with their interests.

“To do that, I’ll have them come in and meet and we’ll talk,” Knispel said. “They’ll be able to pick what they want to help with and we’ll see if they’re comfortable in that area.”

Sometimes people will start in one area and want to move to another.

“We’re fine with that,” Knispel said. “The thing is, there are many opportunities to volunteer in Park City, and we want them to remember the museum needs help, too.”

New volunteer orientation will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, and from 3-5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Park City Museum, 528 Main St. For information, contact Diane Knispel by emailing education@parkcityhistory.org or by calling 435-649-7457, ext. 102.

The post Volunteers keep Park City Museum rolling appeared first on Park Record.

Following the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, stores and galleries along Main Street have been spending the better half of the week restoring their spaces back to normal. The Old Towne Gallery worked all Monday morning to unload artwork from moving trucks and back into their gallery space. (Tanzi Propst/Park Record)

The post PHOTOS: Old Towne Gallery moves back in on Main appeared first on Park Record.