All Along the Wasatch

Mike chats with Downtown Food Pantry Assistant Director & Community Involvement Coordinator Erika Gee. Crossroads Urban Center is a Salt Lake City nonprofit that has spent over 50 years supporting Utahns with low incomes, people of color, and individuals with disabilities. They operate two emergency food pantries, a low-cost thrift store, and offer essential assistance like bus and prescription vouchers. In addition to direct services, Crossroads leads advocacy efforts through groups such as FACE Hunger & Homelessness and Powerful Moms Who Care, pushing for policies that address poverty, homelessness, and hunger. www.CrossroadsUrbanCenter.org

Mike chats with Kyle Doubrava, Tobacco Prevention Media Coordinator and Marci Nelson, Tobacco Prevention Cessation Coordinator. Tobacco-Free Utah is the state’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, dedicated to reducing tobacco use, nicotine addiction, and related health harms across Utah. The program provides quit services, promotes smoke-free policies in homes, workplaces, and public spaces, and supports community and school prevention efforts. Serving all Utahns — with special attention to groups facing higher health risks — the organization works to prevent addiction, reduce disease, and create a healthier, tobacco-free future for the state www.WayToQuit.org

Mike chats with Founder and Executive Director Jacob Crane. Cultural Fire Events Inc. is an Indigenous-led nonprofit in Utah that creates spaces for Native culture to thrive. They put on powwows and other community events, and they also organize support efforts like firewood drives for families on the Navajo Nation. Everything they do centers on strengthening Indigenous communities, celebrating tradition, and making sure Native voices lead the way. www.CulturalFireEvents.org

Mike chats with Executive Director Alex Yrungaray. Building Up Youth promotes dignity, equity, and community through the principles of Restorative Justice. Our team of like-minded professionals provides curriculum and support to schools and community programs, helping foster stronger, more connected communities. We empower youth to embrace their authentic selves today so they can become caring parents, partners, coworkers, and community members tomorrow. www.BuildingUpYouth.org 

Mike chats with Executive Director Celeste Edmunds. The Christmas Box International is a Salt Lake City–based nonprofit that protects children who are abused, neglected, trafficked, or facing homelessness. Through its three “Christmas Box Houses,” youth programs, and community partnerships, it provides shelter, essentials, and support to children and young adults in crisis. For Christmas 2025, the organization is hosting “Project Elf,” “Kids Helping Kids,” and other holiday drives to collect gifts and raise funds for the children they serve. www.TheChristmasBox.org

Mike chats with Founder & Artistic Director Derryl Yeager. Odyssey Dance Theatre is a vibrant non-profit dance company dedicated to making professional dance performances accessible to the community through outreach, workshops, and a diverse full-season of shows that reflect cultural creativity and excellence. Their signature holiday production, the “Christmas Spectacular: SPECTACULAR!”, is a fast-paced festive showcase of beloved holiday stories and dances—running December 17-23, 2025 at the Grand Theatre in SLC — offering everything from ballet-inspired classics to hip-hop Santas in one 90-minute experience. www.OdysseyDance.com

Mike chats with Community Development Program Coordinator Camille Morgenstern. Women of the World (based in Salt Lake City) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting refugee, asylum-seeking and immigrant women and girls — regardless of immigration status — by providing tailored case-management, English classes, job-skills training and community support so they can achieve self-reliance, economic empowerment and a meaningful voice in their new community. On December 6th, Women of the World will hold its annual “Celebration of Success” event to honor the achievements of the women they serve and raise support for their work. www.WomenOfWorld.org

Mike chats with Education Director Liz Anderson, and Plants Stewardship Director Ella Abelli-Amen. Little Cottonwood, Big Cottonwood, and Mill Creek Canyons form a vital ecosystem within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Visited by over five million people a year, they offer hiking, biking, climbing, and world-class skiing while supplying 60% of Salt Lake City’s drinking water. The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation educates the public about this unique environment and provides opportunities for stewardship and volunteerism—helping ensure the Canyons remain healthy and beautiful for generations to come. www.CottonwoodCanyons.org

Mike chats with VP of Therapy Services Janel Wangsvick-Lane & VP of Community Outreach Kimberly Dansie. For nearly 100 years, Community Nursing Services (CNS), Utah’s oldest nonprofit home health care agency, has created exceptional, healing experiences through compassionate care. With nine offices serving 93% of Utahns, CNS provides home health, hospice and palliative care, immunizations, infusion therapy, oxygen and respiratory services, telehealth, and physical therapy—regardless of insurance or ability to pay. Its Charitable Care Program donates vital services to thousands of low-income, uninsured, and underinsured Utahns each year, upholding its mission to put health, dignity, comfort, and well-being first. www.CNS-Cares.org

Mike chats with Executive Director Gina Cornia. Utahns Against Hunger is a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that everyone in Utah has access to the food they need. Through advocacy, outreach, and education, UAH connects people to programs like SNAP, supports local farmers markets, and raises awareness about hunger and its causes. Their work helps low-income families, seniors, students, and underserved communities by expanding access to nutrition programs and shaping better food policy. The discussion also addresses how the current government shutdown is affecting SNAP recipients. www.UAH.org

Mike chats with Development Director Joni Clark. The Children’s Center Utah is a nonprofit mental health organization providing trauma-informed care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families. Founded in 1962, it offers therapy, a therapeutic preschool, and early-childhood consultation while ensuring financial barriers don’t limit access to care. The Hope & Healing Online Fundraiser is a 90-hour campaign to raise $90,000—providing 90 children with four sessions of family therapy—running from 6 a.m. Monday, November 3rd, to midnight Thursday, November 6th. www.ChildrensCenterUtah.org

Mike chats with Executive Director Stacie Kulp. Seven 2025 Walks to End Alzheimer's are coming up in Utah in Spetember & October. More than 38,300 people in Utah are living with Alzheimer’s. 115,000 caregivers dedicate 137 million hours of unpaid care. From Logan to St. George and every town in between, your local Utah chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association is here to help. Whether it’s offering support to anyone facing Alzheimer’s, advocating for the needs and rights of those facing dementia, or advancing critical research, we work toward methods of treatment, prevention, and ultimately, a cure.   www.Alz.org/Utah

Mike chats with Executive Director Encarni Gallardo & Development Director Francesca Perkins. Since 1884, we've stood as Utah's trusted guardian of child welfare. Through our core programs - Adoption, Building Blocks, Care About Childcare, GRANDfamilies, and Home Visitation - we empower families and transform lives. As Utah's oldest non-profit dedicated to child welfare, we provide comprehensive, coordinated care that meets each family's unique needs. One child, one family, one future at a time. This year’s Perennial Hope Gala & Auction is September 19th at The Garden Place at Heritage Park. www.CSSUtah.org 

Mike chats with Director of Operations Shirlee Draper. Cherish Families was founded by individuals with a wide range of life experiences and a shared commitment to community well-being. Our team brings meaningful insight and understanding to the unique challenges people face in navigating systems, building stability, and finding resources that meet their needs. www.CherishFamilies.org

Mike chats with Senior Project Manager and Director of Marketing Bailey Rivera-Wymes.The Center for Economic Opportunity & Belonging (CEOB) envisions a Utah in which all of our residents experience a sense of belonging and access to opportunity so they can contribute their whole selves to the growth and enhancement of the economic, social, and political life of our state. When we have opportunity for all, we can create the kind of state in which everyone can and should thrive. www.BelongInUtah.org  

Mike chats with Executive Director Rachel Garrett. At Common Thread, we believe every teen deserves a place where they belong. We exist to fill the gaps left by traditional systems, creating safe spaces for Utah’s youth impacted by foster care and other vulnerable experiences. Through joy-filled events, mental health resources, and mentorship, we build resilience and empower teens to chart new paths forward. More than a nonprofit, we are a movement—led by teens, for teens—committed to breaking cycles and transforming futures. www.CommonThreadUt.com

Mike chats with Music Director and Conductor Michael Palumbo. At Chamber Orchestra Ogden, we believe in providing the community with a series of state-of-the-art shows and performances that truly make an impact. In truth, Chamber Orchestra Ogden has been dazzling audiences with magical productions since 2011. We’ve produced and hosted a wide range of performances and have an outstanding group of performers that bring each of our productions to life. www.ChamberOrchestraOgden.org

Mike chats with Director of Operations Stephen Cook & Deputy Director Gunnar Bjorklund. Our organization is dedicated to the rescue of starved, abused and slaughter-bound horses to help heal and rehabilitate those that can be adopted out to loving homes and to  provide a permanent home for those that are disabled. In support of these efforts, the organization seeks to increase beneficial human and equine relationships through animal/human interaction. www.lazybequine.org

Mike chats with Clinical Director for Utah County Lisa Hansen & Certified Social Worker Stephanie Stevers . At Flourish Therapy, we are committed to expanding access to affordable, culturally competent, evidence-based behavioral and mental health services for LGBTQIA+ individuals, couples, and families. Flourish Therapy is a clinical care program that provides individual, couples, family and group counseling for all age groups, including short- and long-term counseling, crisis intervention, parent intervention, and support services with a focus on quality care for LGBTQIA+ clients and their families. www.FlourishTherapy.org

Mike chats with Education & Outreach Director Katie Newburn and Membership & Programs Director Holly Simonsen. FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake was founded in 1994. The mission of FRIENDS is to preserve and protect the Great Salt Lake ecosystem and to increase public awareness and appreciation of the Lake through education, research, advocacy and the arts. The long-term vision of FRIENDS is to achieve comprehensive watershed-based restoration and protection for the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. www.fogsl.org