A helping hand: Show Up for Summer Service Fair in Lehi encourages people to engage in volunteering
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- Utah first lady Abby Cox and Gov. Spencer Cox stand before a crowd during the Show Up for Summer Service Fair at Electric Park inside Thanksgiving Point on Monday, June 9, 2025.
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- A crowd of attendees and participating organizations are pictured during the Show Up for Summer Service Fair at Electric Park inside Thanksgiving Point on Monday, June 9, 2025.
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- Golden Healers therapy dogs are pictured during the Show Up for Summer Service Fair at Electric Park inside Thanksgiving Point on Monday, June 9, 2025.
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- A family visits with representatives of a volunteer organization during the Show Up for Summer Service Fair at Electric Park inside Thanksgiving Point on Monday, June 9, 2025.
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- Organizers and community members converse during the Show Up for Summer Service Fair at Electric Park inside Thanksgiving Point on Monday, June 9, 2025.
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- A staff member from The Five.12. Foundation packs a bag filled with food and snack products during the Show Up for Summer Service Fair at Electric Park inside Thanksgiving Point on Monday, June 9, 2025.
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- Utah first lady Abby Cox speaks with representatives of a volunteer organization during the Show Up for Summer Service Fair at Electric Park inside Thanksgiving Point on Monday, June 9, 2025.
Dozens of Utahns converged on Electric Park at Thanksgiving Point on Monday evening for the fourth annual Show Up for Summer Service Fair, hosted by first lady Abby Cox and Ashley Smith.
More than 60 nonprofit organizations were on hand providing various service projects for families and individuals to partake in, as well as information for summer volunteering opportunities.
Amanda Millerberg, Show Up for Summer Service Fair coordinator, said the focus of the event was to help families engage in summer service activities, thus fostering community connections and involving their children in different service projects.
“We recognized a need for families and people wanting to serve in the summers, and not knowing where to go or where they could bring their kids, and we had this idea to bring the nonprofits to a place … have a summer fair where we could invite families and they could connect with them,” Millerberg said.
Organizations ranged from the United Way of Utah County, Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry, Utah Foster Care, The Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Five.12.Foundation, One Kind Act a Day and a bevy of others.
Millerberg said the wide range of nonprofits and organizations allows families to seek service projects that they’re most passionate about.
“We want them to find what speaks to them, what connects to them,” she told the Daily Herald.
Golden Healers CEO Mike Carlson said his organization, a nonprofit that provides service dogs for people with mental health and physical disabilities, relies heavily on volunteers who help make an impact on the lives of the many clients they serve.
“We have about 1,500 active volunteers, and they can do anything from helping us with puppy raising, (training) future potential service dogs and therapy dogs and doing events to help us fundraise,” he said. “So we always need lots of volunteers.”
The organization is headquartered in Draper but provides service throughout the state and beyond.
Carlson said their volunteers are vital to Golden Healer’s mission of helping people gain independence and companionship through expertly trained service dogs.
“People that have disabilities — they typically can’t afford to have this kind of a dog, and they need them. (They) can help someone’s life dramatically,” Carlson said.
He also noted that it costs between $30,000 to $40,000 to train a service dog, and without volunteers who can help with fundraising efforts, they wouldn’t be able to sustain the financial responsibility.
People interested in volunteering with the organization can visit goldenhealers.org for more information.
The Show Up for Summer Service Fair is an initiative of Show Up Utah, the statewide service campaign led by Cox to inspire Utahns to engage with their communities through meaningful action.
Utah is often recognized for its charitable spirit.
In 2023, over 1.2 million Utahns volunteered their time through an organization, which helped solidify a No. 1 ranking among states across the country in volunteerism.
Utah also scored No. 2 in the country in a 2024 Wallethub study for the most charitable states in the country.
Cox said the goal of the Show Up Initiative is to create a state where service is at the forefront of its values.
“We can connect, and we can help serve the people right here in our community, right here in our neighborhoods, right here in Utah, and that’s what we do best,” she said Monday.
To learn more about the different service opportunities available, those interested can visit showuputah.org.
