The 2034 Olympic Winter Games may be several years away, but Utah’s organizing committee is actively involved in a number of community events and initiatives right now.
On Sept. 25, members of the committee joined with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, athletes and local volunteers to work with Utah first lady Abby Cox and her Show Up initiative to assemble snack kits for the Granite Education Foundation. More than 5,000 of the kits were produced at the event held at the Little America Hotel.
Each kit, assembled and placed in plastic lunch pouches, included juice bags, snacks such as granola bars, notebooks and pens that the Granite School District will distribute to students. These snack kits are a staple in many Utah schools, where studies show one in seven Utah children experience food insecurity.
Cox said that giving back “is what Utah does best — serving others. This is our way to show the world that in Utah, we come together … We show up when we are needed.”
One former Olympian who showed up was Bill Schuffenhauer, who won a silver medal in bobsledding at the 2002 Winter Games in Utah. He has spoken many times about his youth, where he grew up “on the streets” and was in and out of many foster homes. He called service projects like the snack kits “the right thing to do. I had a lot of support from the community that helped me reach my goals as an athlete, and I’m always happy to give back.”
The foundation coordinates assembly of the snack packs and student weekend kits, which it says are given to students facing food insecurity on weekends or school breaks. They are also used at times in schools to help manage student hunger or behavior in the classrooms. Principals, social workers and other school staff distribute these kits as needs are identified or before students leave for the weekend, in addition to using them as a resource during the school day.
The Salt Lake Organizing Committee recently launched Podium34, a philanthropic campaign with a goal of raising $300 million between now and the start of the 2034 Games to support a number of programs and communities within the state.
Local Olympic Organizing Committee Vice Chair and CEO Brad Wilson was part of the effort for the event held at Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. (Photos by Tom Haraldsen, Salt Lake Business Journal)