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Get juiced today, help kids’ future

A.M. Stofko,

If it takes a proverbial village to raise a child, then what does it take to raise one or more on your own?

"It’s not an easy road," Marilyn Darby says. She speaks from experience: For 15 years she was a single parent and raised her four kids on her own. "I’m kind of that mom-of-all-moms," she says. "I want to help everybody."

Today, the "village" can help Darby and do its part by stopping by either of the Booster Juice locations in Park City Darby manages both of them. Half of Booster Juice’s Oct. 15 sales will go toward the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in Summit County. The Quarry Village location is behind the Albertsons at Jeremy Ranch and will be open from 10 a.m. 5 p.m. The Park City Plaza location’s hours are from 7 a.m. 6 p.m.

So, whether you’re warming up with a chai latte for breakfast at the Plaza location or noshing on a quesadilla for lunch at the Quarry Village location, you’ll be helping give back to children in the community.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a national, non-profit organization that mentors youth through school- and community-based programs. In the school-based programs, "bigs" join their "littles" during lunch or after school and do different activities such as homework, playing together or just providing someone to talk to, Linda Schott says. Schott is the marketing coordinator for Big Brothers and Big Sister of Utah. The community-based programs meet out of school and pairs participate in activities within the community.

Darby, who has been a Big Sister in Summit County for two years and previously volunteered in California, saw the need to help the local branch. "I’m always willing and able to help those that come to me," she says.

Ericka Wells, Summit County program coordinator, says Darby has been supportive of the Big Brothers Big Sisters programs for a long time. "This is just a new way that we came up with that we can partner and help Big Brothers Big Sisters and the community," she says.

"We work with all organizations that approach us," Schott says, adding that the organization wants to work with businesses that believe in the same commitment to the youth. "Booster Juice is a strong company and committed to Park City," she adds. "We feel like we could mutually benefit from the event."

Wells says Big Brothers and Big Sisters has been running programs in Summit County since 2003. They served 119 children in 2007 and plan to serve nearly 150 children this year. Before offices opened at their 1960 Sidewinder location in Park City in 2006, programs operated out of the state office in Salt Lake City.

"Our focus is to support the families," Schott says. "We are just an added adult that shows we’re caring about that child."

Locally, McPolin Elementary, Jeremy Ranch Elementary and Holy Cross Ministries offer Big Brothers Big Sisters services. The programs in Heber City and Midway are growing and need volunteers, Schott says. For volunteer information contact Wells at (435) 649-9366 or ericka.wells@bbbs.org.

"At any one time a child can use a mentor — somebody else in their lives that’s going to care about what they’re doing and the direction they’re going," Schott says.


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