Thayne Center Honored, Called ‘Champion of Service’

The Thayne Center for Service & Learning at Salt Lake Community College will receive the “Champion of Service” award Oct. 19 from The Family Support Center during its annual “Cherish the Child” event in Salt Lake City.

In recent years the Thayne Center has helped to “promote and spread the word” about the Taylorsville-based Family Support Center and its efforts to involve students who seek to volunteer their time and talents. “You have also opened our eyes to more skills-based volunteering projects through the partnership with the (SLCC) English Department,” Family Support Center volunteer coordinator Kellie Mieremet told Thayne Center Director Sean Crossland.

Kellie Mieremet (far left) and a group of volunteers from SLCC

“The Family Support Center has been an incredible community partner of the Thayne Center and Salt Lake Community College. They have embraced the partnership and provide our students, faculty and staff with meaningful and intentional service opportunities,” said Rebecca Van Maren, community partnerships coordinator with Thayne Center. “They have actively embraced their role in educating our College about the impact of their actions and their power to become change agents. Kellie Mieremet and their staff go the extra mile to ensure that everyone who volunteers with their agency is well prepared for their service and are willing to work with us to explore creative ways to leverage our partnership. They have been partner for SLCCserves, have hosted social work interns, provided training, and are an ideal placement for many of our service-learning students.”

For 40 years The Family Support Center has helped in protecting children, strengthening families and preventing child abuse in a variety of ways. The Support Center offers free childcare for “overwhelmed” for parents who are stressed, need a break, or have an emergency arise, in-home mentoring for parents, a housing and self-sufficiency program for homeless parents and their children and free or low-cost community classes on parenting, family blending and anger management, to name a few of its services.

SLCC’s Thayne Center seeks to empower the College and surrounding community to “cultivate knowledge and skills necessary to affect positive change.” Throughout the year the Thayne Center connects SLCC students and employees to volunteer opportunities throughout the Salt Lake Valley.

For more information about The Family Support Center, click here.

For more information about the Thayne Center, click here.

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