Mountain America CU "Runs With Ed" to Raise Funds for Park City's Education Foundation
May 31, 2022
PARK CITY, Utah — On Saturday, May 21, 2022, Mountain America Credit Union team members participated in the Park City Education Foundation's Running with Ed relay race. The credit union and its members also donated more than $5,000 to support Mountain America’s mission of helping first-generation college students with economic challenges achieve their academic and financial dreams.
The charitable event, now in its 13th year, raised funds for the foundation’s multiple initiatives including the Bright Futures Program, which motivates young people from low-income backgrounds to become first-generation college graduates with mentorship, access to resources and financial aid.
“With a college degree, these future leaders will support their families and make our community stronger,” said Jennifer Billow, the Park City Education Foundation’s associate director of communications and development. “When sponsors like Mountain America step up to support the foundation, what they are doing is changing families’ lives and giving them economic stability. You're changing economic outcomes for generations to come.”
Billow shared that foundation donors provide professional development opportunities, tuition assistance and emergency aid for its beneficiaries. She explained that financial support also helps bridge the gap between actual college expenses and what is covered by scholarships, financial aid and students' jobs.
Nearly 1,200 people of varying fitness levels competed in the approximately 26-mile, day-long race on a path that twisted and turned around city landmarks and schools. By end of day, organizers announced that with the community’s help, Running with Ed raised more than $326,000.
Leading up to the event, Mountain America employees and members in Park City donated to the fundraiser by making single contributions and rounding up deposits and payments when visiting the branch.
“In Park City, there is a great disparity between people that are very high income and those that support the tourism here. Many people even have multiple jobs to make ends meet for their families,” said Julianne Bown, the credit union’s Kimball Junction branch manager. “For youth on the lower end of the economic spectrum, we know that opening the doors to education will help them break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and move forward.”
To amplify efforts and help students reach their highest potential in academics and life, Mountain America donated $25 to each new youth account opened at the branch, plus an additional $25 to the program.
“I hope our collaboration will impact students in need and influence them to become adults that reap the long-term benefits of pursuing their educational dreams,” said Sophia Henley, a Park City resident and Mountain America loan officer at the Kimball Junction branch who participated in the event.
Since the program's inception in 2013, the foundation has helped more than 100 Park City students, including almost 50 who currently attend college. To donate to the Bright Future Program, visit the Park City Education Foundation website here.