The Promise Partnership is working to ensure Utah students are ready for a lifetime of learning. In collaboration with the Utah State Board of Education, we’ve built Stay Safe, Stay Connected for families who have experienced the most disconnect from school since the COVID-19 pandemic began. With the help of dozens of community members and organizations, we are committed to helping Utah families support their children’s learning.
Get InvolvedGet Support Reimagine Education
We want to help make at-home education easier on parents, whether your student is full-time at home or needs help with their homework after school. Stay Safe, Stay Connected helps support children with distance learning so that they are on par with their classmates, no matter what their school day looks like due to COVID-19. Utah 211 can help parents get connected with:
• Academic programs to best suit their child's needs
• Referrals for organizations that help with rent assistance, food, mental health support, and more
We can't ensure that Utah students are thriving in school without your help. Get involved with Stay Safe, Stay Connected.
We are currently working with Silicon Slopes Serves to get every students access to the technology they need for their online education. Donate your used technology or give directly to our laptop fund so we can provide laptops to kids in Salt Lake, Davis, and Tooele counties.
I’m Ready for Math! Virtual Tutoring
Mill Creek Elementary
Help Mill Creek Elementary, a Title I school, and their 3rd graders rock their new math program, virtually! Don’t remember 3rd-grade math? Don’t worry! Students and tutors will go through lesson plans together via a digital platform. (We're looking for Spanish speakers too!)
Time Commitment: Volunteers are asked to tutor two times weekly on Mon and Wed OR Tues and Thurs; 8:45-9:30 am
Location: Millcreek, UT
Qualifications: Agree to a background check, and attend a virtual training
Kearns High Latinos in Action
Adopt-a-Classroom
Is your company or work team interested in getting more involved in the community? Sign up to "adopt" one of seven Latinos in Action classes at Kearns High School for the 20-21 school year. Latinos In Action (LIA) offers an asset-based approach to bridging the graduation and opportunity gap for Latino students, working from within the educational system to create positive change.
Volunteers will virtually meet with the same classroom and provide interactive lessons on career and college readiness. An outline of topics and curriculum is provided, but groups are welcome to play to their strengths and adjust the lessons. Some potential lesson topics include resume building, mock interviews, financial literacy, career exploration, and networking.
Time Commitment: 1-2 times per month for 2 hours
Location: Virtual/Kearns High school
To sign your company up to adopt-a-classroom, email courtney.dean@uw.org
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Mentor 2.0
Mentor 2.0 is a technology-enhanced mentoring program focused on supporting Cottonwood High School students in preparing for college and/or career.
Students at Cottonwood High experience many barriers in school due to inequitable systems within and external to their education. Mentors provide an additional positive adult role model and work with their Mentees on goal setting, being resilient, staying on-track in high school, and preparing for college or life after graduation.
Time Commitment: Weekly electronic communications and monthly in-person or virtual meetings (all events are virtual through 2020). Mentors are asked to commit to a minimum of 12 months, but with the majority of matches lasting 3 to 4 years to see your mentee through graduation.
Location: Cottonwood High School & Virtual iMentor platform
Volunteers of America
Amplifying Youth Connections through Mentoring
Join the Volunteers of America as a mentor for their community-based youth mentoring program to help youth experiencing a variety of risk factors. Mentors and youth do activities such as hiking, visiting museums, learning a new skill together, joining a rec league, etc.
Time Commitment: 1-2 hours a week for 9 months
Qualifications: Must be 21+ years of age and pass a background check
Location: Salt Lake County
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah
Community-Based Mentoring
Big Brothers Big Sisters needs dozens of adults to mentor kids of all ages from the community, providing them with an additional role model. The volunteer "Big" and youth "Little" meet together 2-4 times monthly for at least one year to spend quality one-on-one time with one another. Matches decide where they will meet and what they will do with guidance and ideas from BBBSU staff along the way.
Time Commitment: 2-3 times a month for 1 year
Location: Statewide
Catholic Community Services
Refugee Youth Tutoring and Mentoring
Catholic Community Services needs volunteers for both online tutoring and mentoring with refugee youth. Join the tutoring program to work one-on-one with a student when it is convenient for both of you. Join the mentoring program to work with a student between the ages of 9-17 to provide recently arrived refugee youth with additional support as they begin to navigate life in a new place. (Options for in-person mentoring exist if all parties are comfortable).
Time Commitment: 2-5 hours a week for at least a semester (tutoring) or 3 hours a month for a year (mentoring)
Qualifications: Mentors must be 21+ & complete a training; both mentors & tutors must pass a background check
Location: Salt Lake County
One Refugee
Professional Mentorship
One Refugee needs volunteers for its virtual professional mentorship program, which helps college students connect with professionals in the field for a one-time or monthly video call. The mentorship is an extended informational interview, providing an opportunity for students to ask questions about professional experience, as well as receive advice on industry-specific skills, preparing for a professional environment, job searching, utilizing LinkedIn, or networking. Most importantly, students are open to any professional advice mentors want to share!
Time Commitment: Flexible, one-time opportunities or monthly calls
Location: Salt Lake County
International Rescue Committee
Learning Labs Volunteer
Volunteer to help empower refugee students in the SLC area by providing one-on-one academic support in a socially-distanced outdoor setting. As students go back to school, they are having to navigate a new way of learning and often times increased barriers due to the vast impact of the pandemic on families' incomes and well-being. IRC is committed to supporting refugee students in a safe way. This opportunity is in-person, so we ask you think about your personal risk level and sign up only if you are comfortable with in-person, socially-distanced activities.
Time Commitment: The program runs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 8 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Volunteers are asked to commit to one 3-hour shift per week through October.
Location: Glendale
Virtual Reading Tutors
West Kearns Elementary
Sign up to be an ongoing tutor for an elementary student at West Kearns Elementary. Making sure students have a strong foundation in reading and comprehension is imperative to their long-term success in school. Tutors will meet virtually with the same students twice a week for 30 minutes. All training will be provided.
Time Commitment: 2-30 minute sessions a week for the semester. Sessions take place Monday - Thursday between 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Kearns, UT
Other Ways to Get Involved
Check out these other ways to get involved and support the education of kids in our community!
Contact volunteer@uw.org with any questions about volunteering.
Utah 211 maintains an online database of more than 10,000 statewide resource and service providers in both nonprofit and government sectors, which helps them provide callers with expert referrals to rent and utility assistance, healthcare, food and meals, income support, and much more. Type in your need and zip code to find resources in your area.
Aug. 11, 2020
KUER
Utah educators have been especially worried about equity throughout the pandemic, which they say has exposed and exacerbated long-existing disparities between students of color, those from low income backgrounds or non-native English...
Original Article07/31/2020
Fox 13 News
More than a decade ago, United Way of Salt Lake learned that traditional philanthropy was not enough to help every child in our community be well educated and achieve his...
Original Article07/06/2020
ABC4 Utah
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) – It is estimated that 20 – 50 percent of students in some Utah schools have not connected with their teachers since March, when...
Original Article
Thank you for committing to donate laptops to students in Utah so that they can continue learning while schools are closed. To ensure that we are giving families the best experience, we ask that all of your laptops be newer than 2015. We are currently not accepting iOS products or desktop computers.
After filling out the form, a representative from your local United Way will be in touch to discuss drop off times and more.
